Acropolis of Athens

Coordinates: 37°58′18″N 23°43′34″E / 37.97167°N 23.72611°E / 37.97167; 23.72611
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Acropolis, Athens
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Acropolis of Athens, seen from the Hill of the Muses
LocationAthens, Attica, Greece
CriteriaCultural: i, ii, iii, iv, vi
Reference404
Area3.04 ha
Buffer zone116.71 ha
Coordinates37°58′18″N 23°43′34″E / 37.97167°N 23.72611°E / 37.97167; 23.72611
Acropolis of Athens is located in Greece
Acropolis of Athens
Location in Greece

The Acropolis of Athens (

romanized: hē Akropolis tōn Athēnōn; Modern Greek: Ακρόπολη Αθηνών, romanizedAkrópoli Athinón) is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word Acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, "highest point, extremity") and πόλις (polis, "city").[1] The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. During ancient times the Acropolis of Athens was also more properly known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man Cecrops
, the supposed first Athenian king.

While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as early as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495–429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the buildings whose present remains are the site's most important ones, including the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike.[2][3] The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored by the then Turkish rulers in the Parthenon was hit by a Venetian bombardment and exploded.[4]

History

The Acropolis of Athens as seen from Mount Lycabettus
The wooded Hill of the Nymphs is half-visible on its right, and Philopappos Hill on the left, immediately behind. The Philopappos Monument is seen here where, in the distant background, the coast of Peloponnese meets the waters of the Saronic Gulf.

Early settlement

The Acropolis is located on a flattish-topped rock that rises 150 m (490 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, with a surface area of about 3 ha (7.4 acres). While the earliest artifacts date to the Middle Neolithic era, there have been documented habitations in Attica from the Early Neolithic period (6th millennium BC).

There is little doubt that a

Cyclopean massive circuit wall was built, 760 meters long, up to 10 meters high, and ranging from 3.5 to 6 meters thick. From the end of the 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 two parapets built with large stone blocks and cemented with an earth mortar called emplekton (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 of Erechtheus" (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 meters 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]

Archaic Acropolis

Primitive Acropolis with the Pelargicon and the Old Temple of Athena.
Erechtheum
. Fragments of the sculptures in its pediments are in the Acropolis Museum.

Not much is known about the architectural appearance of the Acropolis until the

Clepsydra
, at the northwestern foot.

A temple to Athena Polias, the tutelary deity of the city, was erected between 570 and 550 BC. This Doric 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]

Destruction of the Acropolis by the armies of Xerxes I, during the Second Persian invasion of Greece, 480–479 BC

Between 529 and 520 BC yet another temple was built by the Pisistratids, the Old Temple of Athena, usually referred to as the Arkhaios Neōs (ἀρχαῖος νεώς, "ancient temple"). This temple of Athena Polias was built upon the Dörpfeld foundations,[15] between the Erechtheion and the still-standing Parthenon. The Arkhaios Neōs was destroyed as part of the Achaemenid destruction of Athens during the Second Persian invasion of Greece during 480–479 BC; however, the temple was probably reconstructed during 454 BC, since the treasury of the Delian League was transferred in its opisthodomos. The temple may have been burnt down during 406/405 BC as Xenophon mentions that the old temple of Athena was set afire. Pausanias does not mention it in his 2nd century AD Description of Greece.[16]

Around 500 BC the Hekatompedon was dismantled to make place for a new grander building, the

Xerxes 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 northern curtain 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]

The Periclean building program

The Parthenon, as seen from the north-west.

After winning at

Golden Age of Athens (460–430 BC). Phidias, an Athenian sculptor, and Ictinus and Callicrates, two famous architects, were responsible for the reconstruction.[21]

During 437 BC,

tetrastyle porches, preserving the essentials of Greek temple design. After an interruption caused by the Peloponnesian War, the temple was finished during the time of Nicias' peace, between 421 BC and 409 BC.[24]

The Erechtheion, view from the south-west, looking across the remains of the Old Temple.

Construction of the elegant temple of

Athena Polias, while the western part, serving the cult of the archaic king Poseidon-Erechtheus, housed the altars of Hephaestus 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,

Aglauros, 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 the Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia (or the Brauroneion), the goddess represented as a bear and worshipped in the deme of Brauron. According to Pausanias, a wooden statue or xoanon of the goddess and a statue of Artemis made by Praxiteles during the 4th century BC were both in the sanctuary.[28]

Propylaea

Behind the Propylaea, Phidias' gigantic bronze statue of

Pandion's sanctuary, Athena's altar, Zeus Polieus's sanctuary and, from Roman times, the circular Temple of Roma and Augustus.[30]

Hellenistic and Roman Period

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.

agora below.[33]

During the

Herulians 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 the Beulé Gate was constructed to restrict entrance in front of the Propylaea, thus returning the Acropolis to use as a fortress.[31]

Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Period

Depiction of the Venetian siege of the Acropolis of Athens during 1687.

During the

Virgin Mary.[37] During the Latin Duchy 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, the Frankopyrgos (Frankish Tower), demolished during the 19th century.[39]

After the

Erechtheum was turned into the governor's private harem. The buildings of the Acropolis suffered significant damage during the 1687 siege by the Venetians in the Morean War. The Parthenon, which was being used as a gunpowder magazine, was hit by artillery and damaged severely.[41]

1842 daguerreotype by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (the earliest known photography of the site)
Areios Pagos in Athens, Leo von Klenze
, 1846.

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 a mosque inside the Parthenon, complete with a minaret.

The Acropolis was besieged thrice during the

Klepsydra
spring, which became the sole fresh water supply of the fortress.

Independent Greece

The Acropolis (photo using albumen silver print) by 19th century photographer Francis 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] The Parthenon mosque was demolished in 1843, and the Frankish Tower in 1875. German Neoclassicist architect Leo von Klenze was responsible for the restoration of the Acropolis in the 19th century, according to German historian Wolf Seidl, as described in his book Bavarians in Greece.[43]

Some antiquities from the Acropolis were exhibited in the old Acropolis Museum, which was built in the second half of the 19th century.[44]

At the beginning of the Axis occupation of Greece in 1941, German soldiers raised the Nazi German War Flag over the Acropolis. It would be taken down by Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas in one of the first acts of resistance. In 1944 Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou arrived on the Acropolis to celebrate liberation from the Nazis.

Archaeological remains

Remains of the Theatre of Dionysus as of 2007. View from the west.

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 reconstructed Odeon of Herodes Atticus.[45]

All the valuable ancient artifacts are situated in the Acropolis Museum, which resides on the southern slope of the same rock, 280 metres from the Parthenon.[46]

Site plan

Site plan of the Acropolis at Athens showing the major archaeological remains.

Site plan of the Acropolis at AthensParthenonOld Temple of AthenaErechtheumStatue of Athena PromachosPropylaea (Acropolis of Athens)Temple of Athena NikeEleusinionSanctuary of Artemis Brauronia or BrauroneionChalkothekePandroseionArrephorionAltar of Athena PoliasSanctuary of Zeus PolieusSanctuary of PandionOdeon of Herodes AtticusStoa of EumenesSanctuary of Asclepius or AsclepieionTheatre of Dionysus EleuthereusOdeon of PericlesTemenos of Dionysus EleuthereusAglaureion
Map of Acropolis of Athens (c. 1928 and 1940 CE.)
  1. Parthenon
  2. Old Temple of Athena
  3. Erechtheum
  4. Statue of Athena Promachos
  5. Propylaea
  6. Temple of Athena Nike
  7. Eleusinion
  8. Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia or Brauroneion
  9. Chalkotheke
  10. Pandroseion
  11. Arrephorion
  12. Altar of Athena
  13. Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus
  14. Sanctuary of Pandion
  15. Odeon of Herodes Atticus
  16. Stoa of Eumenes
  17. Sanctuary of Asclepius or Asclepieion
  18. Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus
  19. Odeon of Pericles
  20. Temenos of Dionysus Eleuthereus
  21. Mycenaean fountain

The Acropolis Restoration Project

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 from Mount Pentelicus used sparingly. All restoration was made using titanium 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.[47]

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.[47] Restoration of the Temple of Athena Nike was completed in 2010.[48]

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.[49]

In 2021, the addition of new reinforced concrete paths to the site to improve accessibility caused controversy among archaeologists.[50]

Cultural significance

View of the Acropolis at dusk from Mount Lycabettus

Every four years, the Athenians had a festival called the Great Panathenaea that rivaled the Olympic 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 of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon (during the Great Panathenaea, held every four years).[51]

Within the later tradition of

Western civilization and Classical 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 of Classical Greece
.

Most of the artifacts from the temple are housed today in the Acropolis Museum at the foot of the ancient rock.

Geology

The Acropolis is a

tectonic forces, forming a nappe
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 of

Mouseion
.

The marble used for the buildings of the Acropolis was sourced from the quarries of Mount Pentelicus, a mountain to the northeast of the city.

Geological instability

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 can 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.

Gallery

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ acro-. (n.d.). In Greek, Acropolis means "Highest City". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved September 29, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Quote: "[From Greek akros, extreme; see ak- in Indo-European roots.]"
  2. ^ Hurwit 2000, p. 87
  3. ^ "History" Archived 2019-10-24 at the Wayback Machine, Odysseus. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  4. ^ Nicholas Reeves and Dyfri Williams, "The Parthenon in Ruins" Archived 2009-08-06 at the Wayback Machine, British Museum Magazine 57 (spring/summer 2007), pp. 36–38. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  5. .
  6. ^ Iakovidis, Spyros (2006). The Mycenaean Acropolis of Athens. Athens: The Archaeological Society at Athens. pp. 197–221.
  7. ^ Hurwit 2000, pp. 74–75.
  8. ^ ἔμπλεκτος Archived 2021-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
  9. ^ Hurwit 2000, p. 78.
  10. ^ "The springs and fountains of the Acropolis hill" Archived 2013-07-28 at the Wayback Machine, Hydria Project. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  11. .
  12. ^ Starr, Chester G. "Peisistratos". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  13. ^ "Acropolis fortification wall" Archived 2012-11-28 at the Wayback Machine, Odysseus. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
  14. ^ Hurwit 2000, p. 111.
  15. ^ Hurwit 2000, p. 121.
  16. ^ (in Greek) [1] Archived 2011-12-30 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 5 June 2012
  17. ^ Manolis Korres, Topographic Issues of the Acropolis Archived 2020-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, Archaeology of the City of Athens; Retrieved 7 June 2012
  18. ^ "Athens, Pre-Parthenon (Building)" Archived 2020-08-21 at the Wayback Machine, Perseus Digital Library. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  19. ^ Dörpfeld, W: Der aeltere Parthenon, Ath. Mitt, XVII, 1892, pp. 158–189. (in German)
  20. ^ Kavvadias, Panagiotis, Kawerau, Georg: Die Ausgrabung der Akropolis vom Jahre 1885 bis zum Jahre 1890, Athens, 1906 (in German)
  21. ^ "Ictinus and Callicrates with Phidias" Archived 2013-01-04 at the Wayback Machine, Architecture Week. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  22. ^ "Mnesicles". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 20 December 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  23. ^ McCulloch, John Ramsay (1841). A Dictionary, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical: Of the Various Countries, Places and Principal Natural Objects in the World. Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans. pp. 205–.
  24. from the original on 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
  25. ^ Thomas Sakoulas, "Erechtheion" Archived 2013-01-31 at the Wayback Machine, Ancient-Greece.org. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  26. ^ Venieri, "Erechtheion" Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine, Odysseus. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  27. ^ "The Acropolis of Athens" Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  28. ^ "The Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia" Archived 2020-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, Acropolis Museum. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  29. . Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  30. . Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  31. ^ a b Travlos, John, Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Athens, London: Thames and Hudson, 1971. p. 54.
  32. ^ Hurwit 2000 p. 278
  33. ^ "The Stoa of Eumenes" Archived 2012-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, The Acropolis of Athens. Greek Thesaurus. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  34. ^ Hurwit 2000, p. 279.
  35. ^ Nulton, Peter, The Sanctuary of Apollo Hypoakraios and Imperial Athens, Archaeologia Transatlantica XXI, 2003.
  36. . Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  37. ^ "The Partenon" Archived 2017-07-02 at the Wayback Machine, Ancient Greece. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  38. .
  39. .
  40. ^ Hellenistic ministry of culture History of the Acropolis of Athens Archived 2019-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ "Acropolis, Athens: Long description" Archived 2020-12-16 at the Wayback Machine, UNESCO. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  42. ^ Nicholas Reeves and Dyfri Williams, "The Parthenon in Ruins" Archived 2009-08-06 at the Wayback Machine, British Museum Magazine, No. 57, 2007, pp. 36–38. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  43. ^ "Handelsblatt". www.handelsblatt.com.
  44. .
  45. ^ Hadingham, Evan (February 2008). "Unlocking Mysteries of the Parthenon". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  46. ^ "The Acropolis Museum" Archived 2022-12-29 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  47. ^ a b Fani Mallouchou-Tufano, "The Restoration of the Athenian Acropolis" Archived 2012-12-02 at the Wayback Machine, University of Michigan. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  48. ^ "2010–2011, The progress of restoration on the Acropolis" Archived 2018-08-20 at the Wayback Machine, The Acropolis Restoration News, July 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  49. ^ "Acropolis Restoration Project-Lecture by Maria Ioannidou, Director, Acropolis Restoration Service" Archived 2013-01-23 at the Wayback Machine, Columbia University. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  50. ^ Stamouli, Nektaria (17 June 2021). "Restoration of Greece's Acropolis causes uproar". Politico Europe. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  51. ^ "Panathenaic Festival". Archived from the original on 2012-04-27.

Bibliography

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