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The Acropolis
the jewel of Athens
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The term Acropolis comes from the words “akra” and “polis” which in Greek mean high town or the highest point of the town. The site of the Acropolis is situated in the present town of Athens at an altitude of 156 meters (compared to sea level). During the 13th Century BC, a gigantic rampart was built on top of the hill to protect the king’s residence. Indeed, at that time and in every large town in the country, the king always lived at the highest point of the town (a hill or mountain), his residence being surrounded by the dwellings of the people down below and by fortifications. This put him in a position to dominate his people and also offered him protection from invasion.
With the end of the monarchy in 683 BC, the city was governed democratically for the first time (obviously, it was not democracy as we know it today, but the first democratic ideas appeared at that time). The town centre developed lower down and the Acropolis became a place of adoration dedicated to the virgin Athena, goddess of fertility and wisdom, who protected the town.
In 490 BC, the building of the first temple began, only to be destroyed 10 years later with the rest of the town by the Persians. Some time later, Pericles became governor of Athens. He immediately undertook a huge town-planning project which completely changed the face of the town. The temples at the top of the Acropolis, the temple of Ephaïstos in the trading district (or agora which is today in the monastiraki and plaka quarters) and the temple of Poseidon in Sounion were all built at this time. Work on the Acropolis continued until after the death of Pericles the Great and was finished in 404 BC. The four edifices that can be seen on the Acropolis today – which are all built of the finest quality marble – have considerably influenced architecture throughout the western world.
During the Byzantine period, the Parthenon (also known as the temple of Minerva) became the orthodox church in which Saint Sofia was worshipped (sofia = wisdom), replacing Athena (who was nonetheless the goddess of wisdom in the past). In 1205 AD, Athens fell into the hands of the Christian Romans, the Acropolis became a fortress and the Parthenon a catholic church. In the 15th century when the Turks invaded Greece, the Parthenon became a mosque. In 1687, Athens was partly destroyed when the Venetians surrounded the town and bombarded the Parthenon which the Turks had filled with gunpowder.
From 1833 to the present day, the Acropolis has remained in Greek hands (except during the period of Nazi occupation). |
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