Also Known as the Citadel of Athens, this is so far world’s best acropolis and it is significant because it is an acropolis without a qualification. The Acropolis rises 150 m above sea level in the city of Athens as a flat-topped rock with a surface area of about 3 hectares. It was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent man Cecrops, the first Athenian king. The Propylaea is known as the entrance to the Acropolis and to the south of the entrance is the tiny Temple of Athena Nike. A bronze statue of Athena, sculpted by Phidias, originally stood at its centre. At the centre of the Acropolis is the Parthenon or Temple of Athena Parthenos. 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 an outdoor theatre called Theatre of Dionysus. A few hundred metres away, there is the now partially reconstructed Theatre of Herodes Atticus.
Historical evidances say that there have been documented habitations in Attica from the Early Neolithic which is in 6th millennium BC. However there are doubts that a Mycenaean megaron stood upon the hill during the late Bronze Age. Nothing of this megaron survives except, probably, a single limestone column-base and pieces of several sandstone steps. A Cyclopean massive circuit wall was built, 760 meters long, up to 10 meters high, and ranging from 3.5 to 6 meters thick followed by the final construction. The wall consisted of two parapets built with large stone blocks and cemented with an earth mortar called emplekton. There were two lesser approaches up the hill on its north side, consisting of steep, narrow flights of steps cut in the rock. Before the 13th century an earthquake caused a fissure near the northeastern edge of the acropolis. This fissure extended some thirty five meters to a bed of soft marl in which a well was dug. An elaborate set of stairs were built and the well served as an invaluable, protected source of drinking water during times of siege for some portion of the Mycenaean period.
We cannot exactly provide evidence for the existence of a Mycenean palace on top of the Athenian Acropolis. In the 7th and the 6th centuries BC, the site was taken over by Kylon during the failed Kylonian revolt, and twice by Pisistratus: all attempts directed at seizing political power by coups d' etat. Nevertheless, it seems that a nine-gate wall, the Enneapylon, had been built around the biggest water spring, the "Clepsydra", at the northwestern foot. In the late 6th century BC a temple; Archaios Naos was built. Many of the major temples were rebuilt under the leadership of Pericles during the Golden Age of Athens (460–430 BC). Phidias, a great Athenian sculptor, and Ictinus and Callicrates, two famous architects, were responsible for the reconstruction. During the 5th century BC, the Acropolis gained its final shape.
In 437 BC, Mnesicles started building the Propylaea, monumental gates with columns of Pentelic marble, partly built upon the old propylaea of Pisistratus. These colonnades were almost finished in 432 BC and had two wings, the northern one serving as picture gallery. At the same time, south of the propylaea, building of the small Ionic Temple of Athena Nike commenced. After an interruption caused by the Peloponnesian War, the temple was finished in the time of Nicias' peace, between 421 BC and 415 BC. A combination of sacred precincts including the temples of Athena Polias,Poseidon, Erechtheus, Cecrops, Herse, Pandrosos and Aglauros, with its so-called the Kore Porch was begun. Between the temple of Athena Nike and the Parthenon, there was the temenos of Artemis Brauronia or Brauroneion, the goddess represented as a bear and worshipped in the deme of Brauron. The archaic xoanon of the goddess and a statue made by Praxiteles in the 4th century BC were both in the sanctuary.
Behind the Propylaea, Phidias' gigantic bronze statue of Athena Promachos built between 450 BC and 448 BC, dominated. The base was 1.50 m high, while the total height of the statue was 9 m. Other monuments that have left almost nothing visible to the present day are the Chalkotheke, the Pandroseion, Pandion's sanctuary, Athena's altar, Zeus Polieus's sanctuary and, from Roman times, the circular temple of Augustus and Rome. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods monuments to foreign kings were erected, notably those of the Attalid kings of Pergamon Attalos II and Eumenes II, in front of the Propylaia. During the 3rd century, under threat from a Herulian invasion, repairs were made to the Acropolis walls, and the "Beule Gate" was constructed to restrict entrance in front of the Propylaia, thus returning the Acropolis to use as a fortress.
In the Byzantine period, the Parthenon was turned into a church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. After the Ottoman conquest of Greece, the Parthenon was used as the garrison headquarters of the Turkish army and the Erechtheum was turned into the Governor's private Harem. In 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.
Travellers' Guide
If you are planning to visit this Acropolis of Athens, it's open daily from 8 a.m. onwards. The Acropolis is off Theorias Street where you will find the main archaeological site situated surrounding a public area. Even though there is a canteen with food and drinks, you might want to backpack a drinking water bottle if it is summer.
Acropolis hotels and hostels include,
Athens Backpackers,
12 Makri Street - Makryanni, Athens
Hostel Dioskouros,
6 Pittakou street
Acropolis View Hotel Athens,
Webster street 10, Athens
Tony Hotel
26 Zaharitsa Str., Koukaki
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