Shipwrecked, naked and hungry, he comes ashore after 20 days at sea and sees a beautiful girl who provides him with clothing, food, a palatial shelter and, frankly, the will to keep going.
“Are you mortal or divine?” a stunned Odysseus asks Princess Nausicaa, as she heals him for the final leg of his 10-year journey home.
It’s no surprise that the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens has taken a leaf from Homer’s book and named the heart of its beachfront paradise after the feminine ideal of hospitality.
Because the Nafsika Suites, taken from the ancient Greek spelling of their name and at the center of this elegant yet energetic hotel, teeter on the edge of the sky.
The views of the Saronic Gulf from our spacious master bedroom and terrace are so captivating that it takes a few moments to register the luxury within.
Soft rugs, leather headboards, a spa-like bathroom, and the fluffiest pillows monogrammed with the initials “FH.”
‘Ah! “This must be my bed,” laughs my 12-year-old son Felix, moving towards the super king bed instead of the sofa bed that awaits him and his 17-year-old sister Evie in the next room.
It’s our first family vacation without our oldest daughter, Rose, 18, who left home to go to college, insisting she doesn’t mind our trip as long as we send her photos.
Fiona Hardcastle and her family are staying in one of the luxurious Nafsika suites at the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens, which has stunning views over the Saronic Gulf.
The hotel, Fiona explains, has inspired Homer’s book, The Odyssey, and has named the Nafsika suites after the feminine ideal of hospitality, Princess Nafsika.
A gift of water: Fiona and her family enjoy the hotel’s “perfect” pool surrounded by olive trees (above)
But it would take Olympic levels of magnanimity to resist the images of our new splendor, and as the starry-eyed emoji responses turn to tears, we realize it’s time to stop. Arrogance rarely has a happy ending.
It’s time for dinner at Mercato, one of the hotel’s six dazzling restaurants, a lively Italian brimming with Greek spirit.
Like a well-oiled army, phalanxes of waiters entwine around our table, each dedicated to their specific duties, which extend far beyond food delivery.
Felix just has to sneeze before a leather-bound tissue box appears.
Evie, who recently suffered a cough so violent that she broke a rib the day before our trip, tries and fails to suppress a bark when a smiling waiter appears with a steaming cup of lemon and honey.
We finish with a titanic tiramisu and I’m ready for Hypnos, despite my husband’s protests that, with the two-hour time difference, it’s only 8pm.
The promise of the next day at the Acropolis (embarrassingly the first) is reason enough for an ancient classicist to go to sleep early.
Fiona writes: “The views over the Saronic Gulf from our spacious master bedroom and terrace are so captivating that it takes a few moments to register the luxury within.” Above: an Arion suite with panoramic sea views
Fiona describes the rooms at the Four Seasons Athens as “on the edge of heaven”
Four Seasons Athens has a stylish bar, as well as six stunning restaurants, with Fiona and her family dining at Italian Mercato and Taverna 37, which serves traditional Greek food.
After a breakfast of Greek salad omelettes, we’re off: a 40-minute taxi ride to the 5th century BC
Our first pilgrimage point is the Acropolis Museum, a dazzling, light-filled construction located on the southeastern slope and home to the ancient A List.
The towering twin terracotta Nikes, softly lit on pedestals at the exhibition’s entrance, are the first chilling signs of the treasures within. Now without wings, but no less wonderful.
The sloping glass ground floor, through which you can see the excavations below, houses ceremonial wedding vases, spindles, marble dedications and masks, poignant symbols of life and death.
The top floor is even more spectacular, as you pass between towering marble figures as if walking through a crowd.
Suddenly, I find myself face to face with my favorites: Athena Nike tying her sandal, a beautiful bronze oil lamp shaped like an ancient vessel called a trireme, and five towering Caryatids (the sixth is in the British Museum).
The last stop will be the summit and friezes of the Parthenon gallery, gloriously bathed in sunlight and displayed against the majestic backdrop of its former home.
Creamy originals are mixed with bright white replicas and, it may be heresy, but I can’t help but wonder if Selene’s noble horsehead might be happier here.
The contours of the Peloponnese and the twinkling lights of luxury yachts bobbing on the sea at night kept Fiona and her family spellbound.
The Four Seasons has an indoor pool with ocean views, a great option for a rare day of bad weather.
Four Seasons Astir Palace is an “elegant but energetic hotel,” says Fiona
Fiona and her brood visit the Acropolis Museum, “a dazzling, light-filled building nestled on the southeastern slope and home to the ancient A-list”
But that has always been the problem, says Dimitrios, our charismatic guide who receives us afterwards and guides us to the Parthenon itself, entertaining and informing us with myths, legends and a summarized history of the invasions of Romans, Franks, Ottomans, Venetians and Nazis. .
The western end is framed by scaffolding (the reconstruction, he says, will take much longer than the original construction), but the awe is unmistakable.
Everyone wants this piece of Greece.
Back to the Four Seasons, and the piece of Greece we’re most interested in claiming is a table at Taverna 37, in its bougainvillea-lined waterside setting.
We are soon revived by a meze of local delicacies, spicy tzatziki, crumbly feta and chilli, followed by succulent slow-cooked lamb for the carnivores and cauliflower stifado for the vegetarians.
The prospect of a last day of relaxation awaits you next to the perfect pool surrounded by olive trees.
The wind blows, but the Ouzo soon warms up and as we retreat to our private terrace, mesmerized by the distant, darkening contours of the Peloponnese and the twinkling lights of the luxury yachts bobbing below, a tantalizing idea takes shape.
Does anyone fancy our own Odyssey, even one in which we don’t wash?