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Acropolis of Athens

seen from the west.

The Acropolis of Athens is the best known acropolis (high city, The "Sacred Rock) in Greece. Although there are many other acropolises in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock which rises 150 m (512 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, Greece. It was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Kekrops or Cecrops, the first Athenian king.

Geology of the rock

seen from the north.

The Acropolis rises sharply from the plain of Attica with steep cliffs on three sides. It is accessible by foot only to the west, where it is linked by a low ridge to the hill of the Areopagus. It is formed by a layer of blue-grey limestone, which is very hard but water-permeable. This rests on a layer of schist-sandstone marl, softer than the limestone but water-impermeable. This arrangement leads to the ready formation of artesian springs, as well as sheltered caves at the hill's feet, which was also a factor that attracted human habitation on and around the rock.

Early human presence
The south wall of the Acropolis of Athens, seen from the Theatre of Dionysus.

The earliest artifacts from the area point to the Middle Neolithic era, although there have been documented habitations in Attica from the Early Neolithic (6th millennium BCE). Once into the Bronze Age, there is little doubt that a Mycenaean megaron must have stood on top of the hill, housing the local potentate and his household, guards, the local cult facilities and a number of workshops and ordinary habitations. The compound was surrounded by a thick Cyclopean circuit wall, possibly between 4.5 m and 6 m in height, consisting of two parapets built with large stone blocks and cemented with an earth mortar called emplekton. The wall follows typical Mycenaean convention in that its gate 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 must refer to this state of affairs when he mentions the "strong-built House of Erechtheus". It was during that time that an earthquake caused a fissure near the northeastern edge, one that ran all the way down to the marl layer and in which water duly collected. An elaborate set of stairs was built and the well was used as a protected source of drinking water during some portion of the Mycenaean period, as it was invaluable in times of siege.

The Dark Ages
seen from the Temple of Olympian Zeus to the south-east.

It seems that the Acropolis might have been spared the violent destruction of other Mycenaean palaces, as there are no signs of fire or other large-scale destruction in what few artifacts of that time survive. This agrees with the standard Athenian folklore that the area resisted the Dorians successfully. Not much is known as to the precise state of building on the rock leading up to the archaic era, except that the Acropolis was taken over by Kylon in the 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. It was Pisistratus who initially established a precinct for Artemis Brauronia, the cult of his home town, Brauron, on the southwestern side of the rock, next to the circuit wall.

Archaic Acropolis

It is known with some certainty that a sizeable temple sacred to Athena Polias (Protectress of the City) was erected by mid-6th century BC. This Doric limestone building, from which many relics survive, is referred to as the "Bluebeard" temple, named after the pedimental three-bodied man-serpent sculpture, whose beards were painted dark blue. Whether this temple replaced an older one, or a mere sacred precinct or altar, is not known. In the late 6th century BC yet another temple was built, usually referred to as the Archaios Naos (Old Temple). It is thought that the so-called Doerpfeld foundations might have belonged to this temple, which may have been sacred not to Polias but to Athena Parthenos (Virgin), at least for as long as the Polias "Bluebeard" temple stood. It is not known how long these temples coexisted.

Stairs leading up to the Propylaea.

To confuse matters further, by the time the "Bluebeard" Temple had been dismantled, a newer and grander marble building, the "Older Parthenon", was started following the victory at Marathon in 490 BC. To accommodate it, the south part of the summit was cleared of older remnants, made level by adding some 8,000 two-ton blocks of Piraeus limestone, a foundation 11 m deep at some points, and the rest filled with earth kept in place by the retaining wall. The Mycenaean gate was demolished and replaced with the Old Propylon, a monumental colonnaded structure whose purpose was strictly ceremonial, rather than defensive. The Older Parthenon was caught unfinished by the invading Persians in 480 BC, and was razed to the ground burnt and looted, along with the Archaios Neos and practically everything else on the rock. Once the Persian Wars were over, the Athenians brought some order to the location, firstly by ceremonially burying objects of worship and art that were rendered unsuitable for further use. This "Persian debris" is the richest archaeological treasure excavated on the Acropolis, as its burial had protected it from further destruction through the ages.

The Periclean building program
western side of the Parthenon.
The Acropolis and the Propylaea in an 1846 painting by Leo von Klenze.

During the 5th century BCE, the Acropolis gained its final shape. After winning at Eurymedon in 468 BCE, Cimon and Themistocles ordered the reconstruction of southern and northern walls, and Pericles entrusted the building of the Parthenon to Ictinus and Phidias.

In 437 BCE Mnesicles started building the Propylaea, monumental gates with columns of Penteli marble, partly built upon the old propylaea of Pisistratus. These colonnades were almost finished in the year 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 BCE and 415 BCE.

Propylaea, the gateway
to the Acropolis
Propylaea, the first gateway at the
top of the daunting marble stairs.

During the same period the building of Erechtheum, a combination of sacred precincts including the temples of Athena Polias, Poseidon, Erechtheus, Cecrops, Erse, Pandrosos and Aglauros, with its so-called the Kore Porch (or Caryatids' balcony), was begun. Between the temple of Athena Nike and the Parthenon there was the temenos of Artemis Brauronia, 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 BCE were both in the sanctuary. Behind the Propylaea, Phidias' gigantic bronze statue of Athena Promachos ("she who fights in the front line"), built between 450 BCE and 448 BCE, dominated the ensemble. The base was 1.50 m high, while the total height of the statue was 9 m. The goddess held a lance whose gilt tip could be seen as a reflection by crews on ships rounding Cape Sounion, and a giant shield on the left side, decorated by Mys with images of the fight between the Centaurs and the Lapiths. Other monuments that have left almost nothing visible to the present day are the Chalkotheke, the Pandroseion, Pandion's monkey sanctuary, Athena's altar, Zeus Polieus's sanctuary and, from Roman times, the circular temple of Augustus and Rome.

Cultural significance
The Erechtheum and caryatids guarding the tomb
The Erechtheum and Athena's olive tree.


Art and architecture
Remains of the Theatre of Dionysos.
Odeum of Herodes Atticus partially reconstructed.

The entrance to the Acropolis was a monumental gateway called the Propylaea. At the near right of the Propylaea is the tiny Temple of Athena Nike. A bronze statue of Athena, sculpted by Phidias, originally stood at its center. At the center of the Acropolis is the Parthenon or Temple of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). To the left of the Propylaea is the Erechtheum with columns known as caryatids sculpted as figures of women.There are also the remains of an outdoor theatre called Theatre of Dionysus in which all the extraordinary plays of the Greek dramatists were first performed. A few hundred metres away, there is the partially reconstructed Theatre of Herodes Atticus, giving a clear picture of how the Theatre of Dionysos must have looked, although both would have had roofs and very elaborate and substantial backdrops to their stages; the Odeum (theatre) of Herodes has a majestic and towering set of arches and pillars with a huge marbled walk-way leading to the stage and the arches would probably have been higher still. This theatre is used every summer for modern productions of the early plays. Seating an audience of several thousand, the acoustics were, and are, perfect, allowing the Greek audiences to marvel at the early plays of such inspiring playwrights and Athenian tragedians as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Acropolis of Ahtens"