Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis of Athens is a limestone rock rising about 150 metres above the Greek capital, crowned by the monuments of the Classical age. Although the hill was inhabited from the Neolithic period and fortified in the Mycenaean era, the buildings that visitors see today belong largely to the Periclean building programme of 447-406 BC, which followed the Persian sack of 480 BC. The sanctuary is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most visited cultural monument in Greece.

The visit begins at the Propylaea, the monumental gateway completed in 432 BC to designs by the architect Mnesikles, beside the small Ionic Temple of Athena Nike. Beyond it stands the Parthenon, the Doric temple of Athena Parthenos built between 447 and 432 BC by Iktinos and Kallikrates, with sculptural work supervised by Pheidias. Its optical refinements, including slightly curved horizontal lines and inclined columns, are a defining feature of the architecture. To the north is the Erechtheion, an asymmetrical Ionic temple of about 421-406 BC famous for the Caryatid porch, where six maidens serve as columns. The originals of the Caryatids are kept in the Acropolis Museum, and replicas stand on the building.

The site later served as a Byzantine church, a Frankish and Ottoman fortress and a gunpowder store. In 1687 a Venetian shell struck the Parthenon, then used as a powder magazine, and caused the explosion that destroyed much of its roof and interior. In the early 19th century Lord Elgin removed a large part of the sculptures, which are now mostly in the British Museum. Since the 1975 restoration programme, carried out by the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments, teams have dismantled, repaired and reassembled stonework using Pentelic marble and titanium fixings, replacing earlier iron clamps that corroded and cracked the stone. Scaffolding and cranes are a regular part of the landscape because the work is ongoing.

The approach is chronological in spirit rather than curated, with signage in Greek and English explaining each monument. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a Roman theatre of 161 AD on the south slope, and the Theatre of Dionysus, where Greek drama was first staged, are reached along the same path. Visitors should expect steep marble surfaces that are polished slippery by centuries of foot traffic and limited shade.