TheAcropolis of Athens (Ancient Greek:ἡ Ἀκρόπολις τῶν Ἀθηνῶν,romanized: hē Akropolis tōn Athēnōn;Modern Greek:Ακρόπολη Αθηνών,romanized: Akrópoli Athinón) is an ancientcitadel located on a rockyoutcrop above the city ofAthens, Greece, and contains the remains of severalancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being theParthenon. The wordAcropolis is from Greek ἄκρον (akron)'highest point, extremity' and πόλις (polis)'city'.[1] The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis inGreece. During ancient times the Acropolis of Athens was also more properly known asCecropia, after the legendary serpent-manCecrops, the supposed first Athenian king.
The Acropolis is located on a flattish-topped rock that rises 150 m (490 ft) above sea level in the city ofAthens, with a surface area of about 3 ha (7.4 acres). While the earliest artifacts date to the MiddleNeolithic era, there have been documented habitations inAttica from the Early Neolithic period (6th millennium BC).
There can be little doubt that aMycenaeanmegaron palace stood upon the hill during the lateBronze Age. Nothing of this structure survives except, probably, a single limestone column base and pieces of several sandstone steps.[5] Soon after the palace was constructed, a massiveCyclopean circuit wall was built, 760 m (2,490 ft) long, up to 10 m (32 ft 10 in) high, and ranging 3.5 m (11 ft 6 in) to 6 m (19 ft 8 in) thick. From the end of theLate Helladic IIIB (1300–1200 BC) on,[6] this wall would serve as the main defense for the acropolis until the 5th century.[7] The wall consisted of twoparapets built with large stone blocks and cemented with an earth mortar calledemplekton (Greek: ἔμπλεκτον).[8] The wall uses typical Mycenaean conventions in that it followed the natural contour of the terrain and its gate, which was towards the south, was arranged obliquely, with a parapet and tower overhanging the incomers' right-hand side, thus facilitating defense. There were two lesser approaches up the hill on its north side, consisting of steep, narrow flights of steps cut in the rock.Homer is assumed to refer to this fortification when he mentions the "strong-built house ofErechtheus" (Odyssey 7.81). At some time before the 13th century BC, an earthquake caused a fissure near the northeastern edge of the Acropolis. This fissure extended some 35 m (115 ft) to a bed of soft marl in which a well was dug.[9] An elaborate set of stairs was built and the well served as an invaluable, protected source of drinking water during times of siege for some portion of the Mycenaean period.[10]
Primitive Acropolis with the Pelargicon and the Old Temple of Athena.Elevation view of a proposed reconstruction of the Old Temple of Athena. Built around 525 BC, it stood between the Parthenon and theErechtheum. Fragments of the sculptures in its pediments are in the Acropolis Museum.
Not much is known about the architectural appearance of the Acropolis until theArchaic era. During the 7th and the 6th centuries BC, the site was controlled byKylon during the failed Kylonian revolt,[11] and twice byPeisistratos; each of these was an attempt directed at seizing political power bycoups d'état. Apart from theHekatompedon mentioned later, Peisistratos also built an entry gate orpropylaea.[12] Nevertheless, it seems that a nine-gate wall, theEnneapylon,[13] had been built around the acropolis hill and incorporated the biggest water spring, theClepsydra, at the northwestern foot.
A temple toAthena Polias, thetutelary deity of the city, was erected between 570 and 550 BC. ThisDoric limestone building, from which many relics survive, is referred to as the Hekatompedon (Greek for "hundred–footed"), Ur-Parthenon (German for "original Parthenon" or "primitive Parthenon"), H–Architecture or Bluebeard temple, after the pedimental three-bodied man-serpent sculpture, whose beards were painted dark blue. Whether this temple replaced an older one or just a sacred precinct or altar is not known. Probably, the Hekatompedon was built where the Parthenon now stands.[14]
Between 529 and 520 BC yet another temple was built by thePisistratids, theOld Temple of Athena, usually referred to as the Arkhaios Neōs (ἀρχαῖος νεώς, "ancient temple"). This temple of Athena Polias was built upon theDörpfeld foundations,[15] between theErechtheion and the still-standing Parthenon. The Arkhaios Neōs was destroyed as part of theAchaemenid destruction of Athens during theSecond Persian invasion of Greece during 480–479 BC; however, the temple was probably reconstructed during 454 BC, since the treasury of theDelian League was transferred in itsopisthodomos. The temple may have been burnt down during 406/405 BC asXenophon mentions that the old temple of Athena was set afire.Pausanias does not mention it in his 2nd century ADDescription of Greece.[16]
Around 500 BC the Hekatompedon was dismantled to make place for a new grander building, theOlder Parthenon (often referred to as the Pre-Parthenon or Early Parthenon). For this reason, Athenians decided to stop the construction of theOlympieion temple which was connoted with the tyrant Peisistratos and his sons, and, instead, used thePiraeus limestone destined for the Olympieion to build the Older Parthenon. To accommodate the new temple, the south part of the summit was cleared, made level by adding some 8,000 two-ton blocks of limestone, a foundation 11 m (36 ft) deep at some points, and the rest was filled with soil kept in place by the retaining wall. However, after the victoriousBattle of Marathon in 490 BC, the plan was revised and marble was used instead. The limestone phase of the building is referred to as Pre-Parthenon I and the marble phase as Pre-Parthenon II. In 485 BC, construction stalled to save resources asXerxes became king of Persia, and war seemed imminent.[17]The Older Parthenon was still under construction when the Persians invaded and sacked the city in 480 BC. The building was burned and looted, along with the Ancient Temple and practically everything else on the rock.[18][19] After the Persian crisis had subsided, the Athenians incorporated many architectural parts of the unfinished temple (unfluted column drums, triglyphs, metopes, etc.) into the newly built northerncurtain wall of the Acropolis, where they served as a prominent "war memorial" and can still be seen today. The devastated site was cleared of debris. Statuary, cult objects, religious offerings, and unsalvageable architectural members were buried ceremoniously in several deeply dug pits on the hill, serving conveniently as a fill for the artificial plateau created around the Classical Parthenon. This "Persian debris" was the richest archaeological deposit excavated on the Acropolis by 1890.[20]
After winning atEurymedon during 468 BC,Cimon andThemistocles ordered the reconstruction of the southern and northern walls of the Acropolis. Most of the major temples, including theParthenon, were rebuilt by order ofPericles during the so-calledGolden Age of Athens (460–430 BC).Phidias, an Athenian sculptor, andIctinus andCallicrates, two famous architects, were responsible for the reconstruction.[21]
During 437 BC,Mnesicles started building thePropylaea, a monumental gate at the western end of the Acropolis withDoric columns ofPentelic marble, built partly upon the old Propylaea of Peisistratos.[22] These colonnades were almost finished during 432 BC and had two wings, the northern one decorated with paintings byPolygnotus.[23] About the same time, south of the Propylaea, building started on the small IonicTemple of Athena Nike in Pentelicmarble withtetrastyle porches, preserving the essentials of Greek temple design. After an interruption caused by thePeloponnesian War, the temple was finished during the time ofNicias' peace, between 421 BC and 409 BC.[24]
TheErechtheion, viewed from the south-west, looking across the remains of the Old Temple in 2015
Construction of the elegant temple ofErechtheion in Pentelic marble (421–406 BC) was by a complex plan which took account of the extremely uneven ground and the need to circumvent several shrines in the area. The entrance, facing east, is lined with six Ionic columns. Unusually, the temple has two porches, one on the northwest corner borne by Ionic columns, the other, to the southwest, supported by huge female figures orcaryatids. The eastern part of the temple was dedicated toAthena Polias, while the western part, serving the cult of the archaic kingPoseidon-Erechtheus, housed the altars ofHephaestus and Voutos, brother of Erechtheus. Little is known about the original plan of the interior, which was destroyed by fire during the first century BC and has been rebuilt several times.[25][26]
During the same period, a combination of sacred precincts including the temples of Athena Polias,Poseidon,Erechtheus,Cecrops,Herse,Pandrosos andAglauros, with its Kore Porch (Porch of the Maidens) or Caryatids' Balcony was begun.[27] Between the temple of Athena Nike and the Parthenon, there was theSanctuary of Artemis Brauronia (or the Brauroneion), the goddess represented as a bear and worshipped in thedeme of Brauron. According to Pausanias, a wooden statue orxoanon of the goddess and a statue ofArtemis made byPraxiteles during the 4th century BC were both in the sanctuary.[28]
Behind the Propylaea, Phidias' gigantic bronze statue ofAthena Promachos ("Athena who fights in the front line"), built between 450 BC and 448 BC, dominated. The base was 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) high, while the total height of the statue was 9 m (30 ft). The goddess held a lance, the gilt tip of which could be seen as a reflection by crews on ships rounding CapeSounion, and a giant shield on the left side, decorated byMys with images of the fight between theCentaurs and theLapiths.[29] Other monuments that have left almost nothing visible to the present day are theChalkotheke, thePandroseion,Pandion's sanctuary, Athena's altar, Zeus Polieus's sanctuary and, from Roman times, the circularTemple of Roma and Augustus.[30]
3-D model of the Acropolis in 165 AD (click to rotate)
During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, many of the existing buildings in the area of the Acropolis were repaired to remedy damage from age and occasionally war.[31] Monuments to foreign kings were erected, notably those of theAttalid kings of Pergamon Attalos II (in front of the NW corner of the Parthenon), and Eumenes II, in front of the Propylaea. These were rededicated during the early Roman Empire to Augustus or Claudius (uncertain) andAgrippa, respectively.[32] Eumenes was also responsible for constructing astoa on the south slope, similar to that ofAttalos in theagora below.[33]
During theJulio-Claudian period, the Temple of Roma and Augustus, a small, round edifice about 23 meters from the Parthenon, was to be the last significant ancient construction on the summit of the rock.[34] Around the same time, on the north slope, in acave next to the one dedicated toPan since the Classical period, a sanctuary was founded where thearchons dedicated toApollo on assuming office.[35] During 161 AD, on the south slope, the RomanHerodes Atticus built his grand amphitheater orodeon. It was destroyed by the invadingHerulians a century later but was reconstructed during the 1950s.[36]
During the 3rd century, under threat from a Herulian invasion, repairs were made to the Acropolis walls, and theBeulé Gate was constructed to restrict entrance in front of the Propylaea, thus returning the Acropolis to use as a fortress.[31]
Depiction of the Venetian siege of the Acropolis of Athens during 1687.
During theByzantine period, the Parthenon was used as a church dedicated to theVirgin Mary.[37] During the LatinDuchy of Athens, the Acropolis functioned as the city's administrative center, with the Parthenon as its cathedral, and the Propylaea as part of the ducal palace.[38] A large tower was added, theFrankopyrgos (Frankish Tower), demolished during the 19th century.[39]
After theOttoman conquest of Greece, the Propylaea were used as the garrison headquarters of the Turkish army,[40] the Parthenon was converted into amosque and theErechtheum was turned into thegovernor's privateharem. The buildings of the Acropolis suffered significant damage during the 1687 siege by the Venetians in theMorean War. The Parthenon, which was being used as a gunpowdermagazine, was hit byartillery and damaged severely.[41]
During subsequent years, the Acropolis was a site of bustling human activity with many Byzantine, Frankish, and Ottoman structures. The dominant feature during the Ottoman period was amosque inside the Parthenon, complete with a minaret.
The Acropolis was besieged thrice during theGreek War of Independence—two sieges from the Greeksin 1821–1822 and one from the Ottomansin 1826–1827. A new bulwark named afterOdysseas Androutsos was built by the Greeks between 1822 and 1825 to protect the recently rediscoveredKlepsydra spring, which became the sole fresh water supply of the fortress.
The Acropolis (photo using albumen silver print) by 19th century photographerFrancis Frith
After independence, most features that dated from the Byzantine, Frankish, and Ottoman periods were cleared from the site in an attempt to restore the monument to its original form, "cleansed" of all later additions.[42] TheParthenon mosque was demolished in 1843, and theFrankish Tower in 1875. GermanNeoclassicist architectLeo von Klenze was responsible for the restoration of the Acropolis in the 19th century, according to German historian Wolf Seidl, as described in his bookBavarians in Greece.[43][44]
Some antiquities from the Acropolis were exhibited in theold Acropolis Museum, which was built in the second half of the 19th century.[45]
The entrance to the Acropolis was a monumental gateway termed the Propylaea. To the south of the entrance is the tiny Temple of Athena Nike. At the centre of the Acropolis is the Parthenon or Temple of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). East of the entrance and north of the Parthenon is the temple known as the Erechtheum. South of the platform that forms the top of the Acropolis there are also the remains of the ancient, though often remodelled,Theatre of Dionysus. A few hundred metres away, there is the now partially reconstructedOdeon of Herodes Atticus.[46]
Many of the valuable ancient artifacts are situated in theAcropolis Museum, which resides on the southern slope of the same rock, 280 metres from the Parthenon.[47]
Map of Acropolis of Athens (c. 1928 and 1940 CE.)View east toward the Acropolis under construction during summer 2014.
The Acropolis Restoration Project began in 1975 to reverse the decay of centuries of attrition, pollution, destruction from military actions, and misguided past restorations. The project included the collection and identification of all stone fragments, even small ones, from the Acropolis and its slopes, and the attempt was made to restore as much as possible using reassembled original material (anastylosis), with new marble fromMount Pentelicus used sparingly. All restoration was made usingtitanium dowels and is designed to be completely reversible, in case future experts decide to change things. A combination of cutting-edge modern technology and extensive research and reinvention of ancient techniques were used.[48][49][50]
The Parthenon colonnades, largely destroyed by Venetian bombardment during the 17th century, were restored, with many wrongly assembled columns now properly placed. The roof and floor of the Propylaea were partly restored, with sections of the roof made of new marble and decorated with blue and gold inserts, as in the original.[48] Restoration of the Temple of Athena Nike was completed in 2010.[51]
A total of 2,675 tons of architectural members were restored, with 686 stones reassembled from fragments of the originals, 905 patched with new marble, and 186 parts made entirely of new marble. A total of 530 cubic meters of new Pentelic marble were used.[52]
In 2021, the addition of newreinforced concrete paths to the site to improve accessibility caused controversy among archaeologists.[53]
View of the Acropolis at dusk from Mount Lycabettus in 2023
Every four years, the Athenians had a festival called the GreatPanathenaea that rivaled theOlympic Games in popularity. During the festival, a procession (believed to be depicted on the Parthenon frieze) traveled through the city via the Panathenaic Way and culminated on the Acropolis. There, a new robe of woven wool (peplos) was placed on either the statue of Athena Polias in the Erechtheum (during the annual Lesser Panathenaea) or the statue ofAthena Parthenos in the Parthenon (during the Great Panathenaea, held every four years).[54]
Within the later tradition ofWestern civilization andClassical revival, the Acropolis, from at least the mid-18th century on, has often been invoked as a critical symbol of the Greek legacy and of the glories ofClassical Greece.
Most of the artifacts from the temple are housed today in the Acropolis Museum at the foot of the ancient rock.
Apart from their cultural and historical significance, the Acropolis monuments also embody educational value, as they reflect the ideas, art, and culture of the society that created them, these monuments serve as a bridge connecting the past with the present and the future. Therefore, we must make them accessible and understandable to the general public, especially to the youth![55][56]
The Acropolis is aklippe consisting of two lithostratigraphic units: the Athensschist and the overlying Acropolislimestone.[57][58] The Athens schist is a soft reddish rock dating from the lateCretaceous period. The original sediments were deposited in a river delta approximately 72 million years ago. The Acropolis limestone dates from the lateJurassic period, predating the underlying Athens schist by about 30 million years. The Acropolis limestone was thrust over the Athens schist by compressionaltectonic forces, forming anappe or overthrust sheet. Erosion of the limestone nappe led to the eventual detachment of the Acropolis, forming the present-day feature. Where the Athens schist and the limestone meet there are springs and karstic caves.
Many of the hills in the Athens region were formed by the erosion of the same nappe as the Acropolis. These include the hills ofLykabettos,Areopagus, andMouseion.
The marble used for the buildings of the Acropolis was sourced from the quarries ofMount Pentelicus, a mountain to the northeast of the city.
The limestone that the Acropolis is built upon is unstable because of the erosion and tectonic shifts that the region is prone to. This instability may cause rock slides that cause damage to the historic site. Various measures have been implemented to protect the site, including retaining walls, drainage systems, and rock bolts. These measures work to counter the natural processes that threaten the historic site.[59]
Cohen, Beth. (2010). "Deconstructing the Acropolis: The Acropolis Museum, Athens, opened 20 June 2009 by Bernard Tschumi Architects."American Journal of Archaeology 114: 745–753.
Economakis, Richard; Bettella, Mario (2010).Acropolis: Ancient Cities. Artmedia Press.ISBN978-1-902889-06-1.
Goette, Hans Rupprecht. (2001).Athens, Attica, and the Megarid: An Archaeological Guide. London and New York: Routledge.
Harris, Diane. (1995).The Treasures of the Parthenon and Erechtheion. New York: Oxford University Press.
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