June 27: Bob Dylan & Van Morrison – Philopappos (The Hill Of The Muses), Athens, Greece 1989 (Videos)

bob dylan van morrison 1989

Bob Dylan’s 1989 summer European tour wrapped up with a pair of shows in Greece. During an off-day, Dylan and Van Morrison climbed onto the picturesque Hill of the Muses in Athens for a stunning four-song acoustic set that thankfully was captured by cameras for the BBC documentary Arena: One Irish Rover – Van Morrison in Performances. They began with Morrison classics “Crazy Love” and “And It Stoned Me,” but the clear highlight was the 1986 Morrison obscurity “Foreign Window,” featuring Dylan on harmonica and Van on guitar and vocals. They wrapped up the set with a duet on “One Irish Rover.”
-Andy Greene (rollingstone.com)

Philopappos (The Hill Of The Muses)
Athens, Greece
27 June 1989

  1. Crazy Love (Van Morrison)
  2. And It Stoned Me (Van Morrison) – incomplete
  3. And It Stoned Me (Van Morrison)
  4. Foreign Window (Van Morrison)
    This resulted in one of Dylan’s finest spring 1989 performances: his harmonica accompaniment to Morrison’s Philopappos rendition of “Foreign Window”..
    ~Paul Williams (BD Performing Artist 1986 * 1990)



  5. One Irish Rover (Van Morrison)

bob dylan greece 1989

The Philopappos Monument (Greek: Μνημείο Φιλοπάππου) is an ancient Greek mausoleum and monument dedicated to Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos or Philopappus, a prince from the Kingdom of Commagene. It is located on Mouseion Hill in Athens, Greece, southwest of the Acropolis.Monument de PhilopapposPhilopappos died in 116, and his death caused great grief to his sister Julia Balbilla, citizens of Athens and possibly to the imperial family. As a dedication to honor the memory of Philopappos, Balbilla with the citizens of Athens erected a tomb structure on Mouseion Hill near the Acropolis of Athens. His marble tomb monument is still known as the Philopappos Monument, and the hill is today known as Philopappos Hill (Λόφος Φιλοπάππου).The Greek geographer Pausanias (Description of Greece, I.25.8), describes Philopappos’ grand tomb as a monument built for a Syrian man. The monument was built on the same site where Musaios or Musaeus, a 6th century BC priestly poet and mystical seer, was held to have been buried. The location of this tomb, opposite the Acropolis and within formal boundaries of the city, shows the high position Philopappos had within Athenian society.
Wikipedia

10 thoughts on “June 27: Bob Dylan & Van Morrison – Philopappos (The Hill Of The Muses), Athens, Greece 1989 (Videos)”

  1. Amazing how Dylan compliments Evan’s east Belfast twang. Making beautiful music together in a shared appreciation of each other’s talents. That said thought Van was poor at Botanic way back. Dylan rocked though.

  2. Why is Dylan’s DIRGE so underplayed ? To my mind, it is one of his best under Top 10, perhaps to replace your no.5 ! Otherwise I am more or less in accord with your list, and love your site for many reasons.

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