*Ancient City of Athens in Greece

(*Creative Commons Text and Photos, Courtesy of Kevin T. Glowacki)

“The Ancient City of Athens is a photographic archive of the archaeological and architectural remains of ancient Athens (Greece). It is intended primarily as a resource for students and teachers of classical art & archaeology, civilization, languages, and history as a supplement to their class lectures and reading assignments and as a source of images for use in term papers, projects, and presentations. We also hope that this site will be useful to all who have an interest in archaeological exploration and the recovery, interpretation, and preservation of the past.”

Acropolis “The Acropolis was both the fortified citadel and state sanctuary of the ancient city of Athens. Although the great building programs of the 5th century B.C. have disturbed or covered many of the earlier remains, there is still a great deal of archaeological evidence attesting to the importance of the Acropolis in all periods of time. In the Late Bronze Age, the Acropolis was surrounded by a massive fortification wall like those at Mycenae and Tiryns in southern Greece. This wall remained in use long after the collapse of Mycenaean civilization, and functioned as the fortifications of the Acropolis for several centuries. By the middle of the 8th century B.C., if not earlier, at least part of the Acropolis had developed into the sanctuary of the goddess Athena, the patron divinity of the city. It is likely that the first temple of Athena Polias was constructed in this period in order to house a wooden cult statue of the goddess. In the 2nd quarter of the 6th century B.C., probably in association with the re-organization of the Panathenaic festival in 566 B.C., there was a burst of architectural and sculptural activity, and the first monumental, stone Doric temple of Athena was built on the Acropolis. Another monumental temple was built towards the end of the 6th century, and yet another was begun after the Athenian victory over the Persians at Marathon in 490 B.C. However, the Acropolis was captured and destroyed by the Persians 10 years later (in 480 B.C.). Although the Athenians and other Greeks were eventually victorious over their eastern enemies, the Acropolis lay in ruins. In the mid-5th century, the Athenians were persuaded by the statesman Perikles to rebuild the temples on the Acropolis on a grand scale, and it is during the second half of the 5th century B.C. that the most famous buildings on the Acropolis -- the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Propylaia, and the temple of Athena Nike, were constructed.”

Acropolis Images

BACK TO: Selected Topics

PROCEED TO: Ancient City of Athens, Part II

PROCEED TO: Ancient City of Athens, Part III

GO TO A RELATED ITEM: Germany, Luxembourg and Sweden

(*Creative commons text and photos by Kevin T. Glowacki who made the website entitled, “The Ancient City of Athens” found at this address http://www.stoa.org/athens/)