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.
A View of the Acropolis
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 Parthenon
The Parthenon.
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 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 Odeon of Herodes Attikos
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 Erechtheion
The Temple of Athena Nike
The Propylaea
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 museumThe 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 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 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.
