It's hard to know where to start when writing about Athens - it was another 300+ picture day! Our bus dropped us off in the Plaka shopping area. It was an easy half mile walk from there to the Acropolis.
The first fortification wall was built during the 13th century B.C., and surrounded the residence of the local Mycenaean ruler. In the 8th century B.C., the Acropolis gradually acquired a religious character with the establishment of the cult of Athena, the city’s patron goddess. The sanctuary reached its peak in the archaic period (mid-6th century to early 5th century B.C.) As a Biblical point of reference - the life of Moses was around 1500 B.C., David was around 1000 B.C. and Daniel was around 500 B.C.
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| Click to enlarge this image - color code by time period |
After paying the entrance fee, we walked in near the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (blue fan shaped on the image above.) I believe it is the newest structure in the Acropolis, built in 161 A.D. by the Athenian magnate Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla. It was originally a steep-sloped theater with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof made of expensive, cedar of Lebanon timber.
It was used as a venue for music concerts with a capacity of 5,000. It lasted intact until it was destroyed and turned into a ruin by the Heruli in 267 A.D. It was restored in the 1950s and is used today during the Athens Festival which runs from May through October each year, featuring a variety of acclaimed Greek as well as International performances.
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. At the center 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.
I have to confess I was a bit confused as I started working on this post. The Parthenon is huge - approximately 100 feet by 228 feet - so it takes up a large chunk of the Acropolis. We would walk on one side of the Parthenon to take pictures, see another monument to take pictures of, then walk on another side, which meant there were different pictures of the Parthenon mixed throughout this part of our day. I think I've got it straight now!
Construction of the Parthenon began in 447 B.C. when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438 B.C. although decoration of the building continued until 432 B.C. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece.
In 1975, the Greek government began a concerted effort to restore the Parthenon and other Acropolis structures. After some delay, a Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments was established in 1983. The project later attracted funding and technical assistance from the European Union. An archaeological committee thoroughly documented every artifact remaining on the site, and architects assisted with computer models to determine their original locations. Particularly important and fragile sculptures were transferred to the Acropolis Museum.
Are you ready for some Greek mythology? This is a good one! At the top of the east end of the Parthenon is what is called the east pediment that depicted the birth of Athena. Only the ends remain today:
According to Greek mythology Zeus gave birth to Athena after a terrible headache prompted him (yes, him!) to summon Hephaestus’ (the god of fire and the forge) assistance. To alleviate the pain he ordered Hephaestus to strike him with his forging hammer, and when he did, Zeus’ head split open and out popped the goddess Athena in full armor. Below is an artist's rendition:
Below is a picture of the east pediment from the full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Nashville, TN. It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.
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| Zeus and Athena in full armor |
The Erechtheion is an ancient Greek temple constructed between 421 and 406 B.C. It is believed to be a replacement for an older temple, since it is on the site of some of the most ancient and holy relics of the Athenians. The main structure consists of four compartments, the largest being the east cella, with an ionic portico on its east end.
On the north side, there is another large porch with columns, and on the south, the famous Caryatid Porch, or "porch of the maidens," with six draped female figures (Caryatids) as supporting columns. One of the Caryatids was removed by Lord Elgin in order to decorate his Scottish mansion and was later sold to the British Museum (along with the pedimental and frieze sculpture plundered from the Parthenon). Local legend had it that at night the remaining five Caryatids could be heard wailing for their lost sister. Nowadays the five original Caryatids are displayed in helium-filled glass cases in the Acropolis Museum and are replaced in situ by exact replicas. The entire temple is on a slope, so the west and north sides are about 3 meters (9 feet) lower than the south and east sides.
There were the ruins of the Temple of Rome and Augustus. The only Roman temple on the Acropolis and the only Athenian temple dedicated to the cult of the Emperor. It was built around 27 B.C.
From a distance we saw the Theater of Dionysus a major theater in Athens, built at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis. Dedicated to Dionysus, the god of plays and wine (among other things), it could seat as many as 17,000 people with excellent acoustics. It was the first stone theater ever built, cut into the southern cliff face of the Acropolis, and supposedly the birthplace of Greek tragedy. The site was used as a theater since the sixth century B.C.
More views from the Acropolis included the Ancient Agora, which we would visit later in the day...
The Temple of Hephaestus, which we did not visit...
We also spotted this large hill and thought it might be Mars Hill, but it was actually the Philopappou Hill.
We did not visit it either, but we did stumble upon Mars Hill. And I'll tell you all about it my next post! More pictures HERE!
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