Odeon of Herodes Atticus — Geocache of the Week
Athens—a city defined by its greatness. The Greek capital has produced some of the world’s most significant cultural, scientific, and philosophical advancements. But did you know that among the ruins of past civilizations lies a secret?
Step back in time with us for our Geocache of the Week, Odeon of Herodes Atticus (GC50NAA)!
On the southwestern slope of the Athenian Acropolis is an odeon, a stone theater, constructed in AD 161 by Roman senator Herodes Atticus. Not long after, the venue was destroyed and remained unused until the 1950s when the stage and audience benches were restored. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus then opened its doors and hosted countless artists of worldwide acclaim. But in March 2014, the odeon became host to something else extraordinary—cache owner papalia hid an elusive Traditional Cache mere feet from the structure, enabling geocachers to earn a smiley in historical fashion.
As one might expect, navigating the Athenian Acropolis and finding GC50NAA will involve some climbing. To reach the summit, it’s about a twenty minute climb up the stairs from either side. It’s worth noting that GZ (the odeon) sits outside the citadel walls at a lower elevation. However you choose to cache, sensational views await you.
As you ascend, the entire metropolitan area, the expansive Mediterranean Sea, and the craggy mountains and hills that surround the city all come into your field of vision. Enormous dilapidated columns of marble, with their intricate chiseled designs, are in constant view as they tower over you.
The longer you climb and snake your way around the Acropolis, the further you can feel yourself being immersed in the past. Deep in thought, you hardly notice the Geocaching® app send your phone a vibration, signifying your proximity to the cache. Indeed, you round a corner, and the magnificent odeon sits before you! After taking in the stunning sight, it’s time to begin the search.
To claim the smiley for this Geocache of the Week, you need to find a small plastic container with the cache’s GC code written on it. Hiding a geocache at a destination as popular as the Acropolis requires some ingenuity, so to locate the cache, try thinking like a cache owner. After you do some careful sleuthing, double-check your coordinates, and wait for the perfect moment, you finally can go in for the find. Aha, you got it!
You crack open the cache container, sift through the abundance of trading items, and ink your name in the logbook. Before replacing the cache as found, you find yourself grinning ear-to-ear. But who could blame you? There’s something special about this moment; you just used multi-million dollar satellites to help locate treasure in the ruins of an ancient civilization. The contrast is a profound reminder of how far we have come… or depending on how you look at it, how far we have to go.
Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world. Check out all of the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, fill out this form.
