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The Acropolis Greece
The Acropolis hill (acro - edge, polis - city), so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most important site of the city and constitutes one of the most recognizable monuments of the world. It is the most significant reference point of ancient Greek culture, as well as the symbol of the city of Athens itself as it represent the apogee of artistic development in the 5th century BC. 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.
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The Acropolis is the one historical site you can't miss. You can take a tour or wander up there yourself but during the summer, whatever you do, unless it is overcast, go early or late in the day. It can get very hot up there and gasping for breath can take way from your ability to marvel at the greatest of all archaeological sites. Getting to the Acropolis is easy and more pleasant than ever because the large avenues which border the south and west of the site (Apostolou Pavlou in Thission and Dionissiou Areopagitou in Makrianni) have been turned into giant pedestrian streets with cafes and restaurants and the walk is quite pleasant. From the Plaka and Monastiraki side it has always been a car-less, enjoyable walk and all you have to do is walk uphill from wherever you are and when you get to the top and there are woods instead of buildings, and steps, take a right.
The Propylaea are the monumental entrances to the sacred area dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of the city. Built by the architect Mnesicles with Pentelic marble, their design was avant-garde. To the south-west of the Propylaea, on a rampart protecting the main entrance to the Acropolis, is the Ionian temple of Apteros Nike, which is now being restored.
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.). |
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| Acropolis Architechture |
The Acropolis rock is part of a Late Cretaceous limestone ridge (Higgins) that cuts through the Attica plateau in the northeast to the southwest axis and includes the Likavitos hill, the Philopappos (Museum) hill, the hill of the Nymphs, and the Pnyx.
The rock rises from the basin about 70 meters and levels to a flat top 300 meters long by 150 meters wide. Its flat top is due to the numerous landfills that have accommodated construction of fortifications and temples since the Mycenaean era. With its many shallow caves, the abundant percolating water springs and steep slopes, the Acropolis was a prime location for habitation and worship location for Neolithic man.
The Acropolis, whose summit is 156 m. above sea level (92 m. above the low city), constitutes with its about 3 hectares of surface (1 hectare=10,000 m), a real natural fortress. It is accessible only through the sloping ground to the west. All the other sides are overhanging or precipitous steep descends.
Thanks to the strategic importance of the Acropolis, it became the first residence of the Attica sovereigns and of its tutelary divinities (statues and sacred stones).
Surrounded by high walls, this space was considered to be inviolable. No dwellings were erected there. On the site of a first doric temple (1100 - 750 B.C.) the great Temple of Athena Polias was erected during the period of Solon, Pessestratus and Clisthenes. Another one was occupying the very site of the present Parthenon. Besides this Proparthenon, a Propylon was erected. All these edifices , as well as Athens, were almost entirely destroyed by the Persians in 479 B.C. But the Athenians, after their victory at Salamis and Plataea, returned to their city and they started almost right from the beggining to reconstruct the Acropolis. With the materials of the destroyed temples, Themistocles erected the North Wall. After his banishment, the works were conducted by Cimon, to whom we owe the East and South walls, the embellishment of the Propylon and undoubtedly the construction of the Chalkotheke and of the Vravronion.
But it is thanks to the illustrious Athenian general and statesman Pericles that we have the most important monuments of the Acropolis, which are still admired today. Pericles is surrounded by the best architects and sculptors of his time. On the foundations of the half completed great marble temple, which was destroyed by the Persians in 479, he undertakes the construction of the Parthenon in 447. He entrusts this task to the architects Callicrates and Ictinos and the sculptor Pheidias and his workshop, as well as to a great number of craftsmen. The temple is completed in 438. The construction of the admirable Propylaea begins immediately afterwards on the designs of the architect Mnesicles.
The Peloponnesian war (431) prevents its completion; and that is why no decorative sculpures are to be seen. Only after Pericles' death the Erectheum is erected and it is destined to shelter the most ancient places of worship. |
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Acropolis History
The chronicle of the Acropolis of Athens is lost in prehistory, to a time even before the plane of Attica began to be cultivated. In Mycenaean times small towns developed around a fortified citadel where the king resided and controlled the surrounding area.
Acropolis in Greek literally means "the highest point of the town". While virtually every city had an Acropolis, like Mycenae and Tyrins, the Athenian citadel became synonymous with the word in the minds of most people during the last two millennia. The Mycenaean civilization established many important centers, one of which was Athens. The first inhabitants we can trace to the Acropolis of Athens were Mycenaean Kings who fortified the rock with massive eight-meter tall walls, and built their palaces there in the 14th century BCE. Very little remains from these buildings today, but the most obvious evidence of this era is still visible at the southwest end of the Acropolis, right behind the later Temple of Athena Nike, next to the Propylaia, in the form of a cyclopean wall that was built as part of the fortifications. According to Dontas, Mycenaean kings built a palace at the north end of the rock "where the Archaic temple of Athena was later built, or a little further east on the summit of the hill" (The Acropolis and its Museum, 6). Besides a fort and a place of royal residence, the Acropolis functioned as a place of worship for the Goddess of fertility and nature, and for her companion male god Erechtheus.
Just like Mycenae and Tyrins, the Acropolis of Athens had its own underground water supply in the form of a deep well, dug at the north end of the rock, which could be used by the defenders during a siege.
The city of Athens
Athens was a thriving Mycenaean center that very early in its existence became the center of a "synoikismos", an alliance and peaceful coexistence of all the adjacent towns. According to legend, king Theseus united the towns into one administrative entity, and this synoikismos appears to be instrumental in the city's survival when all other Mycenaean centers were destroyed around 1200 BCE by invading hordes from mainland Greece, or due to a possible invasion of tribes from the North (what many refer to as the Doric invasion). While all other Mycenaean centers, including mighty Mycenae, were deserted during this period, Athens was the only town to remain inhabited and active. According to tradition, the city owes its survival to the heroic personal sacrifice of king Kordos.
In subsequent years Athens was ruled not by one king but by a group of men, the Aristocrats. Administrative functions moved away from the Acropolis towards other parts of the city where later the Agora developed. The Acropolis then became exclusively a place of worship and never hosted another ruler, partly because the new realities of city administration made it inconvenient, and partly because the Athenians wanted to eliminate all references to a monarchy.
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| Opening time |
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The Acropolis is open from 8am to 6:30 pm every day.They don't allow you to bring backpacks or day bags on the Acropolis. You have to check them so if you need to bring a bag with you be sure to have a spare pocket for your valuables. The cost of entrance to the Acropolis is about 12 euros and is good for the other sites in the area including the ancient agora, theatre of Dionysos, Kerameikos, Roman Agora, Tower of the Winds and the Temple of Olympian Zeus and is supposedly good for a week.
Summer: 8am-7pm daily Winter: 8am-sunset
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| Getting There
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The Acropolis is pretty much situated in the middle of the city and is hard to miss. Take a bus or a taxi or perhaps walk! There are also organised tours, and many of the islands in the Aegean offer daytrips to Athens, where a visit to the Acropolis is the main attraction.
Air: Athens is a busy European hub, well serviced by flights from most parts of the world.
Bus:There are two main intercity bus stations: Terminal A, about 7km (4.3mi) northwest of Omonia at Kifissou 100 and Terminal B, 5km (3mi) north Omonia off Liossion
Train:Trains to other parts of Greece leave from Larisis station and Peloponnese station, conveniently located near each other about 1km (0.6mi) northeast of Plateia Omonias |
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