Acropolis, Athens, Greece
TEXT Beneath Illustrations
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On the right, Temple of Nike Athena |
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Near the Theater of Dionysos are two large Corinthian columns |
Parthenon, Propylaia, and Erectheion |
Propylaia, and Erectheion |
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Parthenon and Erectheion |
Missing column |
Ionic column |
In the mid-5th Century BC, Pericles persuaded the Athenians to begin a grand program of new building work in Athens that has come to represent the political and cultural achievements of Greece. The work transformed the Acropolis with three contrasting temples and a monumental gateway. The theater of Dionysos on the south slope as developed further in the 4th century BC, and the Theater of Herode Atticus was added in the 2nd century AD.
A century earlier, there were mosques and churches and Frankish bell tower (Schliemann paid to have it torn down.)Around the Acropolis
The area around the acropolis was the center of public life in Athens. In addition to the Agora in the north, there were the two theaters on the south slope, used for drama festivals in honor of the god Dionysos. Political life was largely centered on the Pnyx and the Areopagos, the hills lying to the west of the Acropolis: the Assembly met on the former and murder trials were heard by a council of ex-magistrates on the latter. Other ancient remains and the Acropolis Study Center provide a fascinating insight into daily life in ancient Athens.
See also:
