Athens
2. The Acropolis

The ancient center of Athens was the Acropolis (a word meaning "Upper Town" in classical Greek). It is a large and steep but flat-topped hill, that provided a natural defense for the ancient inhabitants. At the height of Athens' power and influence in the fifth century B.C. the buildings on top of the Acropolis were rebuilt, and while not all of them have survived to the present-day or survive only in ruins, what has lasted is magnificent.

Here is a diagram showing the Acropolis as it looked in Antiquity and the different periods in which the monuments were built.

You approach the Acropolis through a wooded park and climb up the steep western side of the hill. We visited the site early in the morning when it first opened and were among the first to arrive--but within the hour it quickly became inundated with more and more tourists.

The glory of the Acropolis is the Parthenon, an ancient temple to the goddess Athena, patroness of Athens.

Even though it is covered partly in scaffolding--an attempt to undo nineteenth-century structural changes that have done more harm than good--the building is still remarkable from all sides. It was surrounded by two sets of colonnades, outer and inner, on all sides, 46 columns in total, each about 10 meters or 30 feet tall. In antiquity the entire structure was roofed and there was a large enclosed room at the center, where a giant statue of the goddess Athena stood. Sadly, the structure survived almost intact for more than 2000 years until 1687 A.D., when a canon fired at the building set off an explosion of gunpowder that was being stored inside, and the roof and most of the interior collapsed.

The top of the colonnades were covered in sculpture. Most of what survived into modern times was taken from Athens and transported to London by Lord Elgin in the early nineteenth century (and so called the Elgin Marbles; they are currently exhibited in the British Museum). The Greek government has been trying to get them returned to Athens. Only a few bits of ancient sculpture survive in place, like this horse's head and Greek soldier, above.
The Parthenon is only one of the several ancient buildings that survive on the Acropolis. At the western entrance to the Acropolis is a group of smaller temples called the Propylaea (below).

Another famous temple on the Acropolis is the Erechtheion, dedicated to the mythical founders of Athens.

The Erechtheion includes the famous Porch of the Maidens, where sculptures of women serve as columns.

Some of the sculpted decoration survives in the Erechtheion.

From the top of the Acropolis you can look down and see the new Acropolis Museum. It was not yet open when we visited. It includes an empty gallery where the Elgin Marbles will be exhibited, if and when they are returned to Greece.

On the southern slope of the Acropolis was built the Theater of Dionysos, where the ancient Greek plays were first performed. The Greek god Dionysos was the patron of artistic performance, and all plays were dedicated to him.

Some of the seats for important Athenian citizens still survive. Most of the people sat on benches.

Some of the ancient sculpture that decorated the stage of the theater also survives.

During the Roman era a second, smaller theater was built nearby (above). It is called the Theater of Herodes Atticus, named after the wealthy Roman who loved Athens and donated the money for its construction in about 170 A.D. It was restored in the last century and is used for outdoor concerts.

Click here to continue with the Agora and Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens.