Greece - Athens - Acropolis

The word "Acropolis" means city by the edge, and there are many acropolises all over Greece. They were always situated on a high spot, and were often used as a place for shelter and defence against various enemies. The one in Athens is the best known of them all, and is therefore often referred to as "The Acropolis".

The Acropolis is believed to have been inhabited since at least the 7th Millennium BC. During the Mycenaean civilization walls were built around it and there is evidence that there was a Mycenaean palace here as well. The tomb of Cecrops also lie here, and the Athenians might have kept a snake here - symbolizing their first king. There were also other tombs and temples here, all connected to kings, heroes and gods that had to do with Athens.

In the 6th century BC the Acropolis had changed quite significantly. It was no longer a place for palaces, but had turned more into a sanctuary that anything else. Every year a huge procession to the Acropolis took place, and the wooden statue of Athena was dressed and sacrificed to. The Panathenean games were also very important. The games included both athletic and musical competitions and the winner would receive an amphora filled with olive oil - the olive tree being the sacred tree of Athena.

During the Persian wars in the 5th century the Athenians started building the Parthenon, but the Persians burnt the Acropolis and all focus was put on the battles. It was during Pericles era, the so called Golden Age, when the Acropolis got the structure we see today. Starting in the middle of the 5th century, the Parthenon, the Propylaea and a huge bronze statue of Athena was made. It is said that Pericles used unemployed Athenians for workers, and that it was thanks to this initiative, every Athenian had food on his table. The Parthenon was made by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates, and the statue by Phidias.Towards the end of the 5th century the Erechteion was built, as well as the temple of Athena Nike.

When the Romans conquered Greece in the 2nd century BC, many of the sanctuaries were looted. Statues and other works of art were taken back to Rome from Olympia and Delphi for example, but the Acropolis was pretty much left alone. Some of the emperors did make a few additions, though. In the 2nd century AD Herodes Atticus had his great theatre built, and to this day, Athenians are enjoying concerts and ballets here.

During the Middle Ages several of the temples on the Acropolis were converted into Christian churches. Quite characteristic is the fact that the Parthenon, which had been a temple to the virgin goddess Athena, now became a church to the virgin saint Mary.

When the Turks came towards the end of the 16th century, they turned the Parthenon into a mosque. Until the 17th century the temple was relatively unharmed, but in 1687 the Venetians bombarded the Acropolis, and a projectile hit the Parthenon, which the Turks used as a storage room for gunpowder. The temple exploded and this is why the temple does not have a roof today.

In the beginning of the 19th century the Englishman lord Elgin was allowed by the sultan to take with him various objects from the Acropolis. It was now he took the famous Parthenon marbles, which until today is a matter of controversy since they are housed in the British Museum despite the Greeks plea to get them back.
Despite all that the Acropolis has been through, it is really the pollution in modern Athens that is its worst enemy. The problem has been known for many decades now, but still no real solution has been found.