GREECE: Athens' Acropolis and Parthenon

The names Acropolis and Parthenon are often linked together and sometimes used interchangeably. 

As a Closet History Geek, I have newly discovered that in ancient Greek cities, the Acropolis literally means "upper city", the name for a fortress, containing the chief municipal and religious buildings.

The Parthenon is the most famous building in the Acropolis in Athens. It is a religious temple that the Athenians built for the Greek Goddess Athena. 

The Acropolis is a UNESCO world heritage site. 

On our trek up to the top of the Acropolis we passed the ancient Greek Theatre of Dionysus.

It was built in the 5th century BC and is the world's oldest theatre. The shape of the theatre and the position against the face of the Acropolis made it ideal for acoustics. Over the centuries there were additions and renovations, including tiered stone seats in the 4th century BC. 

It is estimated the theatre could hold 17,000 people over 64 rows divided into 3 tiers (only 25 rows remain.) Apparently spectators brough their own cushions for the stone seats. 

Take a good look at the seats in the front rows, closest to the stage. 

They are shaped like thrones, with carved legs and armrests. The name of the sponsor that it was reserved for was engraved in the back. When you think about it, it is not that much different than now-a-days in our theatres where the seats in the front have plaques with the names of donors or sponsors.  

Continuing on our hike up to the top of the Acropolis is another theatre, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. It was built in 160 AD by Herodes Atticus as an ode to his late wife, Rigilla. 

Built during the Roman occupation, the theatre is of Roman architecture and consisted of a 3 story stage and Roman arches containing statues. It was built into the acropolis rock and seated up to 5,000 spectators. Originally it had a partial wood and tile roof. 

About 100 years later, with turmoil and wars, it was destroyed. Some restoration and rebuilding occurred in the later 1800's and early 1900's.

Today the theatre is still being used for special concerts and the Athens Festival from May to October. Famous "modern" day performers have been Nana Mouskouri, Luciano Pavarotti, Liza Minelli, Frank Sinatra, Diane Krall and famous Greek artists.

Getting closer to the top of the Acropolis is the Propylaea (built in 437 to 432 BC), which is the ceremonial gateway to the Acropolis. The entrance served as the partition between the secular and religious parts of the city.

We must have just arrived with a cruise ship because there was a horde of tourists and we had to go fast to keep ahead of them.

Once on the top of the Acropolis the Erechtheion caught my eye. I was drawn to the Porch of the Caryatids. They are 6 maidens that support the roof (instead of it being supported by the usual pillars.)

The 2 meter (6.5ft) statues on site are now actually replacement statues. 

The new Acropolis Museum in Athens houses 5 of the original statues, while the 6th original statue is in the British Museum. 

The showstopper on the Acropolis is the Parthenon, built between 447 and 438 BC as a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. 

I am not an architect, and make no pretensions to understand the architecture of the building, but it is pretty interesting. 

It may look like there is geometric symmetry, but, in fact, there are no straight lines. The columns are actually tilted inwards to give the optical illusion of being bigger. 

Also, look at the distance at the top between the columns. The spaces are not equal. The two outside columns are not equally spaced as the others columns are. 

Adding to the optical illusion are tilted steps, giving the appearance of being bigger than it actually is. 

At one time there was a 12m (40ft) statue of Athena adorned with gold and ivory, armed with a spear, shield and helmet and accompanied by a serpent. Her right arm was extended and she was holding a statue of victory. 

In the 5th century AD it was moved to Constantinople (now called Istanbul) and then disappeared.

In its day the Parthenon was adorned with beautiful artwork both internally and externally. Inside there were friezes depicting festivals and other gods. Outside on all 4 walls there had been friezes depicting battles.

But, between battles, occupations, religious conversions and explosions it is now very plain. 

Part of the plainness is also due to the removal of artifacts over the centuries. Currently, there is huge controversy over the Parthenon friezes that are displayed in the Louvre in Paris and the British Museum in London. Which is another huge story in itself. 

The Acropolis, including the Parthenon, is still impressive because of its  location overlooking the area and the incredible history played out high on the imposing cliff.

I am pretty thrilled if you have got this far in this long post, and there is still so much more to say about the thousands of years of history and architecture of the Acropolis. But, I am not going to continue and truly put you to sleep. Hopefully I've piqued your interest you'll google for more info.

 

GOOGLE HINT: Lord Elgin, British Museum, Parthenon Marbles, Venetian Army, Turks, gunpowder, explosion, restoring the Parthenon. If you are anything like me you will go down a plethora of research rabbit holes.