The
Acropolis of Athens is the best known
acropolis (Gr.
akros, akron, edge, extremity +
polis, city, pl. acropoleis) in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in
Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as
The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list of monuments on 26 March 2007. The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock that rises above sea level in the city of
Athens, with a surface area of about 3
hectares. It was also known as
Cecropia, after the legendary
serpent-man,
Cecrops, the first Athenian king.
History
Early settlement
While the earliest artifacts date to the Middle
Neolithic era, there have been documented habitations in
Attica from the Early Neolithic (6th millennium BC). There is little doubt 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. Soon after the palace was built a
Cyclopean massive circuit wall was built, 760 meters long, up to 10 meters high, and ranging from 3.5 to 6 meters thick. This wall would serve as the main defense for the acropolis until the fifth century.. The wall consisted of two
parapets built with large stone blocks and cemented with an earth mortar called
emplekton. The wall follows typical Mycenaean convention in that it followed the natural contour of the terrain and 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 is assumed to refer to this fortification when he mentions the "strong-built House of
Erechtheus" (
Odyssey 7.81). At some point before the thirteenth 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 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
The western side of the
Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens.
There is no conclusive evidence for the existence of a Mycenean palace on top of the Athenian Acropolis. However, if there was such a palace, it seems to have been transplanted by later building activity on the Acropolis. Not much is known as to the arcitectural appearance of the Acropolis until the archaic era. 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 north-western foot. It was
Pisistratus who initially established a precinct for
Artemis on the site.
Archaic Acropolis
A temple sacred to "Athena Polias" (Protectress of the City) was quickly 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). This temple of Athena Polias was built upon the
Doerpfeld foundations. It is unknown where the "Bluebeard" temple was built. There are two popular theories (1) the "Bluebeard" temple was built upon the Doerpfeld foundations, (2) the "Bluebeard" temple was built where the Parthenon now stands. That being said it is unknown if the "Bluebeard" temple and the Archaios Naos coexisted.
To confuse matters, by the time the "Bluebeard" Temple had been dismantled, a newer and grander marble building, the "
Older Parthenon" (often called the Ur-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 deep at some points, and the rest filled with earth kept in place by the retaining wall.
The Older Parthenon was still under construction when the Persians sacked the city in 480 BC. The building was burnt and looted along with the Archaios Naos and practically everything else on the rock. After the Persian crisis had subsided the Athenians incorporated many of the unfinished temple's architectural members (still unflutted column drums, triglyphs, metopes, etc.) to the newly built northern curtain wall of the Acropolis, where they can still be seen today. The devastated site was cleared from debris. Statuary, cult objects, religious offerings and unsalvable 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 classic Parthenon. This "Persian debris" is the richest archaeological deposit excavated on the Acropolis.
The Periclean building program
Most 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. After winning at
Eurymedon in 468 BC,
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 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 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 BC and 415 BC.
During the same period the building of the
Erechtheum, 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 (or
Caryatids' balcony), 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 ("she who fights in the front line"), built between 450 BC and 448 BC, dominated. The base was high, while the total height of the statue was . 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 sanctuary, Athena's altar, Zeus Polieus's sanctuary and, from Roman times, the circular temple of
Augustus and
Rome.
Hellenistic and Roman period
Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman period
In the
Byzantine period, the Parthenon was turned into a church, dedicated to Holy Wisdom (
Hagia Sophia). Under the Latin
Duchy of Athens, the Acropolis functioned as the city's administrative center, with the Parthenon as its cathedral. A large tower was added, which was demolished in the 19th century. After the Ottoman conquest, the Parthenon was used as the garrison headquarters of the Turkish army. The buildings of the Acropolis suffered significant damage during the 1687 siege by the Venetians in the
Morean War.
Archaeological remains
The entrance to the Acropolis was a monumental gateway called the
Propylaea. 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 (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 an outdoor theatre called
Theatre of Dionysus. A few hundred metres away, there is the now partially reconstructed
Theatre of Herodes Atticus.
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.
Site plan of the Acropolis at Athens showing the major archaeological remains
Acropolis of Athens at dawn, view from St. George Lycabettus Hotel
Site plan
Cultural significance
Every four years the Athenians held a festival called the
Panathenaea that rivalled the
Olympic Games in popularity. During the festival, a procession moved through Athens up to the Acropolis and into the
Parthenon (as depicted in the frieze on the inside of the Parthenon). There, a vast robe of woven wool (
peplos) was ceremoniously placed on Phidias' massive ivory and gold statue of
Athena.
The Acropolis was recently selected as main motif for a high value euro collectors' coins; the €100 Greek
The Acropolis of Athens commemorative coin, minted in 2004 to commemorate the
2004 Summer Olympics. In the obverse of the coin, a close view of the building is depicted.
