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The Acropolis and the surrounding area today
The Acropolis hill, so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens,
is the most important site of the city. During Perikles' Golden Age,
ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the
hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were
erected on its ground.
The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic
period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either
as a cult place or as a residential area or both. The inscriptions
on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena
(marble korai, bronze and clay statuettes and vases) indicate that
the cult of the city's patron goddess was established as early as
the Archaic period (650-480 B.C.).
During the Classical period (450-330 B.C.) three important temples
were erected on the ruins of earlier ones: the Parthenon, the Erechtheion,
and the Temple of Nike, dedicated to Athena Parthenos, Athena Polias,
and Athena-Apteros Nike, respectively. The Propylaea, the monumental
entrance to the sacred area was also constructed in the same period.
The monuments on the Acropolis reflect the successive phases of the
city's history. Some of them were converted into Christian churches,
houses of the Franks and later on, of the Turks. After the liberation
of Athens from the Turks, the protection, restoration and conservation
of the monuments was one of the first tasks of the newly-founded Greek
state. This major effort is continued until today, with the large-scale
restoration and supporting of the monuments, which started in the
1970's and is still in progress.
The first excavations on the hill were conducted between 1835 and
1837. More systematic work was carried out in 1885-1890 by Panagiotis
Kavvadias.
The most important monuments on the Acropolis are:
The Parthenon
Parthenon: the perfection of architecture
It is the most important and characteristic monument of the ancient
Greek civilization and still remains its international symbol. It
was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of Athens. It
was built between 447 and 438 B.C. and its sculptural decoration was
completed in 432 B.C. The construction of the monument was initiated
by Perikles, the supervisor of the whole work was Pheidias, the famous
Athenian sculptor, while Iktinos and Kallikrates were the architects
of the building. The temple is built in the Doric order and almost
exclusively of Pentelic marble. It is peripteral, with eight columns
on each of the narrow sides and seventeen columns on each of the long
ones. The central part of the temple, called the cella, sheltered
the famous chryselephantine cult statue of Athena, made by Pheidias.
The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon is a unique combination
of the Doric metopes and triglyphs on the entablature, and the Ionic
frieze on the walls of the cella. The metopes depict the Gigantomachy
on the east side, the Amazonomachy on the west, the Centauromachy
on the south, and scenes from the Trojan War on the north.
The relief frieze depicts the Procession of the Panathenaea, the most
formal religious festival of ancient Athens. The scene runs along
all the four sides of the building and includes the figures of gods,
beasts and of some 360 humans.
The two pediments of the temple are decorated with mythological scenes:
the east, above the building's main entrance, shows the birth of Athena,
and the west, the fight between Athena and Poseidon for the name of
the city of Athens. The Parthenon retained its religious character
in the following centuries and was converted into a Byzantine church,
a Latin church and a Muslim mosque.
The Turks used the Parthenon as a powder magazine when the Venetians,
under Admiral Morosini, sieged the Acropolis in 1687. One of the Venetian
bombs fell on the Parthenon and caused a tremendous explosion that
destroyed a great part of the monument which had been preserved in
a good condition until then.
The disaster was completed in the beginning of the 19th century, when
the British ambassador in Constantinople, Lord Elgin, stole the greatest
part of the sculptural decoration of the monument (frieze, metopes,
pediments), transferred them to England and sold them to the British
Museum, where they are still exhibited, being one of the most significant
collections of the museum.
The Erechtheion 
The Erechtheion with the famous Caryatids
The Erechtheion was built in ca. 420 B.C. in the Ionic order. It has
a prostasis on the east side, a monumental propylon on the north,
and the famous porch of the Caryatids on the south. The main temple
was divided into two sections, dedicated to the worship of the two
principal gods of Attica, Athena and Poseidon-Erechtheus. A relief
frieze, bearing a representation possibly of the birth of Erechtheus,
decorated the exterior of the building.
The temple of Athena Nike
The Temple of Athena Nike was constructed in ca. 420 B.C. by
the architect Kallikrates. It is built in the Ionic order, and
it is amphiprostyle with a row of four columns in front of each
of its narrow sides. The relief frieze on the upper section
of the walls depicts the conference of gods on the east side,
and scenes from battles on the other three. A marble parapet
decorated with the relief representation of Nikae (Victories),
protected the edge of the Bastion on which the temple was erected.
The Propylaea
The Propylaea. The monumental gateway of the Acropolis was designed
by the architect Mnesikles and constructed in 437-432 B.C. It
comprises a central building and two lateral wings. The colonnades
along the west and east sides had a row of Doric columns while
two rows of Ionic columns divided the central corridor into
three parts. The walls of the north wing were decorated with
painted panels or wall paintings and that is why it was called
the "Pinakotheke". The ceiling of the Propylaea had
coffers with painted decoration and a perforated sima around
the roof. |
Temple of Athena Nike
(A temple with Ionian order) |
The Propylaea
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