Parthenon—East End (and Entrance)
After the Golden Age: The Acropolis Through History
10 Greek Flag
ΑΚΡΟΠΟΛΗ
Rising above the sprawl of Athens, the Acropolis (“high city”) is a lasting testament to the glory of Greece’s Golden Age. Even now, it’s hard to overstate the historic and artistic importance of this place.
Its four major monuments—the Parthenon, Erechtheion, Propylaea, and Temple of Athena Nike—have survived remarkably well given the beating they’ve taken over the centuries. While the Persians, Ottomans, and Lord Elgin were cruel to the Acropolis in the past, it’s now battling acid rain and pollution. Ongoing restoration means that you might see some scaffolding—but even that can’t detract from the greatness of this sight.
Climbing Acropolis Hill and rambling its ruins, you’ll feel like you’ve journeyed back in time to the birthplace of Western civilization itself.
Cost: €20 for Acropolis ticket, €10 off-season, €30 Acropolis combo-ticket also covers other major ancient sites—see here. If you buy an Acropolis combo-ticket at a different sight, you can bypass the ticket booth.
Hours: Daily May-Sept 8:00-20:00, April and Oct 8:00-19:00, Nov-March 8:00-15:00. Be aware that open hours are subject to change; check locally before planning your day.
Crowd-Beating Tips: Arrive early or late to avoid the crowds and midday heat. The place is miserably packed with tour groups from 10:00 to about 12:30 (when you might have to wait up to 45 minutes to get a ticket). On some days, as many as 6,000 cruise passengers converge on the Acropolis in a single morning. Buying an Acropolis combo-ticket at another sight may save ticket-buying time, but doesn’t ensure a speedy entry: The worst lines are caused by the bottleneck of people trying to squeeze into the site through the Propylaea gate. Late in the day, as the sun goes down, the white Parthenon stone gleams a creamy golden brown, and what had been a tourist war zone is suddenly peaceful. On my last visit, I showed up late and had the place to myself in the cool of early evening.
Getting There: There’s no way to reach the Acropolis without a lot of climbing (though wheelchair users can take an elevator). Figure a 10- to 20-minute hike from the base of the Acropolis up to the hilltop archaeological site. There are multiple paths up to the Acropolis, but the only ticket office and site entrance are at the western end of the hill (to the right as you face the Acropolis from the Plaka).
If you’re touring the Ancient Agora, you can hike directly up to the Acropolis entrance along the Panathenaic Way. The approach from the Dionysiou Areopagitou pedestrian zone behind (south of) the Acropolis is slightly steeper. From this walkway, various well-marked paths funnel visitors up to the entrance; the least steep one climbs up from the parking lot at the western end of the pedestrian zone. You can reach this path either by taxi or by tourist train (the Athens Happy Train—see here), but note that it still involves quite a bit of uphill hiking.
If you use a wheelchair, you can take the elevator that ascends the Acropolis (from the ticket booth, go around the left side of the hilltop). However, once you are up top, the site is not particularly level or well-paved, so you may need help navigating the steep inclines and uneven terrain.
Information: Supplement this tour with the free information brochure (you may have to ask for it when you buy your ticket) and info plaques posted throughout; tel. 210-321-4172, www.culture.gr.
Tours: You can hire your own tour guide at the entrance, but I wouldn’t—the guides here tend to be rude, overpriced, and underqualified.
Download my free Acropolis audio tour. This sight is particularly suited to an audio tour, as it allows your eyes to enjoy the wonders of the Acropolis while your ears learn its story.
Length of This Tour: Allow two hours.
Baggage Check: Backpacks are allowed; baby strollers are not. There’s a checkroom just below the ticket booth near Mars Hill.
Services: There are WCs at the Acropolis ticket booth and more WCs and drinking fountains atop the Acropolis, in the former museum building (behind the Parthenon). Also inside the turnstiles are machines selling cheap, cold bottles of water. Picnicking is not allowed on the premises. Near the ticket booth are a juice/snack stand, a drinking fountain, a post office, and a museum shop.
Plan Ahead: Wear sensible shoes—Acropolis paths are steep and uneven. In summer, it gets very hot on top, so take a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, and a bottle of water.
Starring: The Parthenon and other monuments from the Golden Age, plus great views of Athens and beyond.
The Acropolis has been the heart of Athens since the beginning of recorded time (Neolithic era, 6800 B.C.). This limestone plateau, faced with sheer, 100-foot cliffs and fed by permanent springs, was a natural fortress. The Mycenaeans (c. 1400 B.C.) ruled the area from their palace on this hilltop, and Athena—the patron goddess of the city—has been worshipped here since around 800 B.C.
But everything changed in 480 B.C., when Persia invaded Greece for the second time. As the Persians approached, the Athenians evacuated the city, abandoning it to be looted and vandalized. All of the temples atop the Acropolis were burned to the ground. The Athenians fought back at sea, winning an improbable naval victory at the Battle of Salamis. The Persians were driven out of Greece, and Athens found itself suddenly victorious. Cash poured into Athens from the other Greek city-states, which were eager to be allied with the winning side.
The Acropolis’ sheer cliffs have made it a natural fortress since the beginning of time.
By 450 B.C., Athens was at the peak of its power and the treasury was flush with money...but in the city center, the Acropolis still lay empty, a vast blank canvas. Athens’ leader at the time, Pericles, was ambitious and farsighted. He funneled Athens’ newfound wealth into a massive rebuilding program. Led by the visionary architect/sculptor Pheidias (490-430 B.C.), the Athenians transformed the Acropolis into a complex of supersized, ornate temples worthy of the city’s protector, Athena.
The Parthenon, Erechtheion, Propylaea, and Temple of Athena Nike were built as a coherent ensemble (c. 450-400 B.C.). Unlike most ancient sites, which have layer upon layer of ruins from different periods, the Acropolis we see today was started and finished within two generations—a snapshot of the Golden Age set in stone.
The Acropolis Map Key
Climb up to the Acropolis ticket booth and the site entrance, located at the west end of the hill.
Near this entrance (below and toward the Ancient Agora) is the huge, craggy boulder of Mars Hill (a.k.a. Areopagus). Consider climbing this rock for great views of the Acropolis’ ancient entry gate, the Propylaea (described later) and the Ancient Agora. Mars Hill’s bare, polished rock is extremely slippery—a metal staircase to the left helps somewhat. (For more on Mars Hill and its role in Christian history, see here.)
Before you show your ticket and enter the Acropolis site, make sure you have everything you’ll need for your visit. Remember, after you enter the site, there are no services except WCs and water fountains.
Enter the site, and start climbing the paths that switchback up the hill, following signs on this one-way tourist route (bearing to the right). Before you reach the summit, peel off to the right for a bird’s-eye view of the...
Odeon theater, for ancients and moderns.
The grand Odeon huddles under the majestic Propylaea. Tourists call it a “theater,” but Greeks know it’s technically an odeon, as it was mainly used for musical rather than theatrical performances. (Odeon—like the English word “ode”—comes from the Greek word for “song.”).
A large 5,000-seat amphitheater built during Roman times, it’s still used for performances. From this perch you get a good look at the stage setup: a three-quarter-circle orchestra (where musicians and actors performed in Greek-style theater), the overgrown remnants of a raised stage (for actors in the Roman tradition), and an intact stage wall for the backdrop. Originally it had a wood-and-tile roof as well.
The Odeon is sometimes called the Herodion, after Herodes Atticus, a wealthy landowner who had the building erected in A.D. 161 in memory of his wife. Herodes Atticus was a Greek with Roman citizenship, a legendary orator, and a friend of Emperor Hadrian. This amphitheater is the most famous of the many impressive buildings he financed around the country.
Destroyed by the invading Herulians a century after it was built, the Odeon was reconstructed in the 1950s to the spectacular state it’s in today. It’s open to the public only during performances, such as the annual Athens & Epidavros Festival, when an international lineup of dance, music, and theater is performed beneath the stars. If there’s something on tonight, you may see a rehearsal from here. Athenians shudder when visitors—recalling the famous “Yanni Live at the Acropolis” concert—call this stately place “Yanni’s Theater.”
After climbing a few steps, you’ll see two gates: On the right, steps lead down to the Theater of Dionysus (described on here); on the left is the actual entry uphill into the Acropolis. Stay left and continue up to reach the grand entrance gate of the Acropolis: the Propylaea. Stand at the foot of the (very) steep marble staircase, facing up toward the big Doric columns.
As you face the Propylaea, to your left is a tall, gray stone pedestal with nothing on it: the Monument of Agrippa. On your right, atop the wall, is the Temple of Athena Nike. Behind you stands a doorway in a wall, known as the Beulé Gate.
The entrance to the Acropolis couldn’t be through just any old gate; it had to be the grandest gate ever built. Ancient visitors would stand here, catching their breath before the final push to the summit, and admire these gleaming columns and steep steps that almost fill your field of vision. Imagine the psychological impact this awe-inspiring, colonnaded entryway to the sacred rock must have had on ancient Athenians. The odd mix of stairs here shows how the way up looked in different eras. The original ascent, a ramp that allowed sacrificial animals to make the climb, was replaced with a grand marble staircase in Hellenistic times, and then with a zigzag road (partly still intact) in the Middle Ages. (A few original stairs survive under the wooden ramp.)
The Propylaea (pro-PEE-leh-ah) is U-shaped, with a large central hallway (the six Doric columns), flanked by side wings that reach out to embrace the visitor. The central building looked like a mini-Parthenon, with Doric columns topped by a triangular pediment. Originally, the Propylaea was painted bright colors.
The left wing of the Propylaea was the Pinakotheke, or “painting gallery.” In ancient times, this space contained artwork and housed visiting dignitaries and VIPs.
Temple of Nike, overlooking the Propylaea.
The buildings of the Acropolis were all built to complement one another. The Propylaea was constructed in five short years (437-432 B.C.), just after the Parthenon was finished. Its design (by Mnesicles) was meant to give the visitor a hint of the Parthenon to come. Both buildings are Doric (with Ionic touches) and are aligned east-west, with columns of similar width-to-height ratios.
Before ascending, notice the monuments flanking the entryway. To the right of the Propylaea, look up high atop the block wall to find the...
The Temple of Athena Nike (Greeks pronounce it “NEEK-ee”) was started as the Propylaea was being finished (c. 427-421/415 B.C.). It was designed by Callicrates, one of the architects of the Parthenon. This little temple—nearly square, 11 feet tall, with four columns at both ends—had delightful proportions. Where the Parthenon and Propylaea are sturdy Doric, this temple pioneered the Ionic style in Athens, with elegant scroll-topped columns.
The Acropolis was mainly dedicated to the goddess Athena, patron of the city. At this temple, she was worshipped for bringing the Athenians victory (“Nike”). A statue of Athena inside the temple celebrated the turning-point victory over the Persians at the Battle of Plataea in 479 B.C. It was also meant to help ensure future victory over the Spartans in the ongoing Peloponnesian War. The statue was never given wings because Athenians wanted Athena to stay and protect their city—hence the place became known as the Temple of Wingless Athena.
The Temple of Athena Nike has undergone extensive restoration. From 2001 to 2010, it was completely disassembled, then cleaned, shored up, and pieced back together. This was the third time in its 2,500-year history that the temple had been entirely taken apart. The Ottomans pulled it down at the end of the 17th century and used the stone elsewhere, but Greeks reassembled the temple after regaining their independence. In 1935, it was taken apart for renovation and put back together in 1939. Unfortunately, that shoddy work did more harm than good—prompting the most recent restoration. Now it’s been done the right way and should hold for another 2,500 years.
To the left (as you face the Propylaea) is the...
This 25-foot-high pedestal, made of big blocks of gray marble with yellow veins, reaches as high up as the Temple of Athena Nike. The (now-empty) pedestal once held a bronze statue of the four-horse chariot owned by Eumenes II, king of Pergamon—the winner of the race at the 178 B.C. Panathenaic Games.
Over the centuries, each ruler of Athens wanted to put his mark on the mighty Acropolis. When Rome occupied the city, Marc Antony placed a statue of himself and his girlfriend Cleopatra atop the pedestal. After their defeat, the Roman general Agrippa (son-in-law of Augustus) replaced it with a statue of himself (in 27 B.C.).
Before entering, look downhill. Behind you is the...
This ceremonial doorway was built by the Romans, who used the rubble from buildings that had recently been destroyed in the barbarian Herulian invasion of A.D. 267. (The gate’s French name comes from the archaeologist who discovered it in 1852.) During Roman times, this gate was the official entrance to the Acropolis, making the Propylaea entry even grander.
Climb the steps (or today’s switchback ramps for tourists) and go...
Imagine being part of the grand parade of the Panathenaic Festival, held every four years (see here). The procession started at Athens’ city gate (near the Keramikos Cemetery), passed through the Agora, then went around Mars Hill, through the central hall of the Propylaea, and up to the glorious buildings atop the summit of the Acropolis. Ancient Greeks approached the Propylaea by proceeding straight up a ramp in the middle, which narrowed as they ascended, funneling them into the central passageway. There were five doorways into the Propylaea, one between each of the six columns.
Roman-built Beulé Gate.
Stackable column drum, in the Propylaea.
The Propylaea’s central hall was once a roofed passageway. The marble-tile ceiling, now partially restored, was painted sky blue and studded with stars. Floral designs decorated other parts of the building. The interior columns are Ionic, a bit thinner than the Doric columns of the exterior. You’ll pass by some big column drums with square holes in the center, where iron pins once held the drums in place. (Greek columns were not usually made from a single piece of stone, but from sections—“column drums”—stacked on top of one another.)
Pass through the Propylaea. As you emerge out the other end, you’re on top of the Acropolis. There it is—the Parthenon! Just like in the books (except for the scaffolding). Stand and take it all in.
The “Acropolis rock” is a mostly flat limestone ridge covering seven acres, scattered with ruins. There’s the Parthenon ahead to the right. To the left of that, with the six lady pillars (Caryatids), is the Erechtheion. The Panathenaic Way ran between them. The processional street and the buildings were aligned east-west, like the hill.
Ancient visitors here would have come face-to-face with a welcoming 30-foot 6 Statue of Athena Promachos M, which stood between the Propylaea and the Erechtheion. (Today there’s just a field of rubble, the statue’s former location marked by three stones forming a low wall.) This was one of three statues of Athena on the Acropolis. The patron of the city was worshipped for her wisdom, purity, and strength; here she appeared in her role as “Frontline Soldier” (promachos), carrying a shield and spear. The statue was cast by Pheidias, the visionary sculptor/architect most responsible for the design of the Acropolis complex. The bronze statue was so tall that the shining tip of Athena’s spear was visible from ships at sea. The statue disappeared in ancient times, and no one knows its fate.
Two important buildings, now entirely gone, flanked this statue and the Panathenaic Way. On the right was the Chalkotheke, a practical storage area for the most precious gifts brought to the temple—those made of copper and bronze. On the left stood the Arrephorion, a house where young virgins called ergastinai worked at looms to weave the peplos, the sacred dress given to Athena on her birthday.
Move a little closer for the classic view of the 7 Parthenon. M
The Parthenon is the hill’s showstopper—the finest temple in the ancient world, standing on the highest point of the Acropolis, 490 feet above sea level. It’s now largely in ruins, partly from the ravages of time, but mostly from a direct mortar-shell hit sustained in 1687 (launched by a Venetian army aiming for the gunpowder stored inside by the Ottomans).
It’s impressive enough today, but imagine how awesome the Parthenon must have looked when it was completed nearly 2,500 years ago (much of the west end is behind scaffolding for now—if it’s still up during your visit, circle around to the east side). This is Greece’s largest Doric temple: 228 feet long and 101 feet wide. At each end were 8 outer and 6 inner fluted Doric columns, with 17 columns along each side, plus 23 inner columns in the Doric and 4 in the Ionic style. The outer columns are 34 feet high and 6 feet in diameter. In its heyday, the temple was decorated with statues and carved reliefs, all painted in vivid colors. It’s considered Greece’s greatest Doric temple—but not its purest example because it incorporates Ionic columns and sculpture.
For 2,000 years, the Parthenon’s west end has greeted visitors.
The Parthenon served the cult of Virgin Athena. It functioned as both a temple (with a cult statue inside) and as the treasury of Athens (safeguarding the city’s funds, which included the treasury of the Athenian League).
This large temple was completed in less than a decade (c. 447-438 B.C.), though the sculptural decoration took a few years more (finished c. 432). The project’s overall “look” was supervised by the master sculptor-architect Pheidias, built by well-known architects Ictinus and Callicrates, and decorated with carved scenes from Greek mythology by sculptors Agoracritos and Alcamenes.
It’s big, sure. But what makes the Parthenon truly exceptional is that the architects used a whole bagful of optical illusions to give the building an ever-so-subtle feeling of balance, strength, and harmonious beauty. Architects know that a long, flat baseline on a building looks to the human eye like it’s sagging, and that parallel columns appear to bend away from each other. To create a building that looked harmonious, the Parthenon’s ancient architects calculated bends in the construction. The base of the Parthenon actually arches several inches upward in the middle to counteract the “sagging” illusion. Its columns tilt ever so slightly inward (one of the reasons why the Parthenon has withstood earthquakes so well). If you extended all the columns upward several miles, they’d eventually touch. The corner columns are thicker to make them appear the same size as the rest; they’re also spaced more closely. And the columns bulge imperceptibly halfway up (an effect called “entasis”), giving the subconscious impression of stout, barrel-chested men bearing the weight of the roof. For a building that seems at first to be all about right angles, the Parthenon is amazingly short on straight, structural lines.
All these clever refinements form a powerful subconscious impression on the viewer that brings an otherwise boring architectural box to life. It’s amazing to think that all this was planned and implemented in stone so long ago.
The statues and carved reliefs that once decorated the outside of the Parthenon are now mostly faded or missing, but a few remain. Look up at the crossbeam atop the eight columns, decorated with panels of relief carvings called metopes, depicting Athenians battling Amazons. Originally there were 92 Doric-style metopes in high relief, mostly designed by Pheidias himself.
Pediment statues depict Athena’s triumph.
The crossbeams once supported a triangular pediment (now gone). This area was once filled in with statues, showing Athena with her olive tree competing with Poseidon and his trident to be Athens’ patron god. Today just one statue remains (and it’s a reconstruction).
Approach closer and look between the eight columns. Inside, there’s another row of eight columns, supporting a covered entrance porch. Look up above the inner eight columns. Decorating those crossbeams are more relief carvings—the “frieze.” Originally a 525-foot-long frieze of panels circled the entire building. It showed the Panathenaic parade—women, men on horseback, musicians, sacrificial animals being led to the slaughter—while the gods looked on. All of the sculptures—metopes, pediment, and frieze—were originally painted in bright colors.
Today, most of the originals are in museums across Europe. In the early 1800s, the cream of the crop, the famous Elgin Marbles (you’d better call them the Parthenon Marbles in Greece), were taken by Lord Elgin to England, where they now sit in the British Museum. The Acropolis Museum (which stands at the base of the hill—you’ll see it from a distance later on this tour) was built to house the fragments of the Parthenon sculpture that Athens still owns...and to try to entice the rest back from London.
Continue along the Panathenaic Way, walking along the long left (north) side of the Parthenon.
This view of the Parthenon gives you a glimpse into how the temple was constructed and how it is being reconstructed today by modern archaeologists.
Looking between the columns, you can see remnants of the interior walls, built with thousands of rectangular blocks. The columns formed an open-air porch around the main building, which had an entry hall and cella (inner sanctum). Large marble roof tiles were fitted together atop wooden beams. These tiles were carved so thin that the interior glowed with the light that shone through it.
The Parthenon’s columns are in the Doric style—stout, lightly fluted, with no base. The simple capital on top consists of a convex plate topped with a square slab. The capitals alone weigh eight to nine tons. The crossbeams consist of a lower half (“architrave”) and an upper half, its metopes interspersed with a pattern of grooves (called triglyphs).
The Parthenon (along with the other Acropolis buildings) was constructed from the very finest materials, including high-quality, white Pentelic marble from Penteliko Mountain, 16 miles away. Unlike the grand structures of the Egyptians (pyramids) and the Romans (Colosseum), the Parthenon was built not by slaves but by free men who drew a salary (though it’s possible that slaves worked at the quarries).
Imagine the engineering problems of quarrying and transporting more than 100,000 tons of marble. Most likely the column drums (five to ten tons each) were cut at the quarry and rolled here. To hoist the drums in place, the builders used four-poster cranes (and Greek mathematics), centering the drums with a cedar peg in the middle. The drums were held together by metal pins that were coated in lead to prevent corrosion, then fitted into a square hole cut in the center of the drum. (The Ottomans scavenged much of this lead to make bullets, contributing to the destruction of the temple over the ages.) Because the Parthenon’s dimensions are not mathematically precise (intentionally so), each piece had to be individually cut and sized to fit its exact place. The Parthenon’s stones are so well-crafted that they fit together within a thousandth of an inch. The total cost to build the Parthenon (in today’s dollars) has been estimated at over a billion dollars.
Devotees once entered at the east end.
Continue on to the...
This end was the original entrance to the temple. Over the doorway, the triangular pediment depicted the central event in Athenian history—the birth of Athena, their patron goddess. Today, the pediment barely survives, and the original statues of the gods are partly in the British Museum. Originally, the gods were gathered at a banquet (see a copy of the reclining Dionysus at the far left—looking so drunk he’s afraid to come down). Zeus got a headache and asked Hephaistos to relieve it. As the other gods looked on in astonishment, Hephaistos split Zeus’ head open, and—at the peak of the pediment—out rose Athena. The now-missing statues were surprisingly realistic and three-dimensional, with perfect anatomy and bulging muscles showing through transparent robes.
Imagine this spot during the age of Pericles and Socrates. Stand back far enough to take it all in, imagine the huge statue of Athena that once stood inside, and picture the place in all its glory on the day of the Panathenaic parade. The procession would have traveled through the Agora, ascended the Acropolis, passed through the Propylaea, and arrived here at the altar of Athena in front of the entrance of the Parthenon. People gathered on the surrounding grass (the hard stone you see today was once covered with plants). Musicians played flutes and harps, young women carried gifts, and men on horseback reined in their restless animals. On open-air altars, the priests offered a sacrifice of 100 oxen (a hecatomb—the ultimate sacrificial gift) to the goddess Athena.
Classical: The Parthenon and the rest of the Acropolis’ buildings survived through classical times largely intact, despite Herulian looting (A.D. 267). As the Roman Empire declined, precious items were carried off, including the 40-foot Athena statue.
Christian: After nearly a thousand years as Athena’s temple, the Parthenon became a Christian church (fifth century A.D.). Pagan sculptures and decorations were removed (or renamed), and the interior was decorated with colorful Christian frescoes. The west end of the building became the main entrance, and the interior was reconfigured with an apse at the east end.
Muslim: In 1456, the Turks arrived and converted the Parthenon into a mosque, adding a minaret. The Propylaea entry gate was used as a palace for the Turkish ruler of Athens. The Turks also used the Parthenon to store gunpowder, unfortunately leading to the greatest catastrophe in the Acropolis’ long history.
1687: A Venetian army laid siege to the Acropolis. The Venetians didn’t care about ancient architecture. As far as they were concerned, it was a lucky hit of mortar fire that triggered the massive explosion that ripped the center out of the Parthenon, rattled the Propylaea and the other buildings, and wiped out the Turkish defenders.
Lord Elgin: In 1801, Lord Elgin, the British Ambassador to the Ottomans in Constantinople, got “permission” from the sultan to gather sculptures from the Parthenon, buy them from locals, and even saw them off the building. He carted half of them to London. Although a few original frieze, metope, and pediment carvings still adorn the Parthenon, most of the sculptures are on display in museums, including the Acropolis Museum.
From Independence to the Present: In the 19th century, newly independent Greece tore down the Parthenon’s minaret and the other post-Classical buildings atop the Acropolis, turning it into an archaeological zone. Since then, the place has been excavated and there have been several renovation efforts.
Here at the Parthenon entrance, a select few celebrants were chosen to go inside. They proceeded up the steps, passed through the majestic columns into the foyer (pronaos), and entered the main hall, the cella—100 feet long, 60 feet wide, and 4 stories tall. At the far end of the room stood an enormous, 40-foot-tall statue of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). This was a chryselephantine statue, meaning “of gold and ivory”—from the Greek chrysos, “gold,” and elephantinos, “ivory.” Its wooden core was plated with ivory to represent her skin and a ton of pure gold to define her garments (or so say local guides). Dressed as a warrior, she wore a helmet and rested her shield at her side. Her image was reflected in a pool in the center of the room. (The pool also served a practical purpose—the humidity helped preserve the ivory treasures.) In Athena’s left hand was a spear propped on the ground. In her upturned right hand was a statuette of Nike—she literally held Victory in the palm of her hand.
The statue—the work of the master Pheidias—was either carried off in A.D. 426 to Constantinople, where it subsequently vanished, or was burned by the Herulians in A.D. 267. (A small-scale Roman copy is on display in Athens’ National Archaeological Museum; see here.) Another famous chryselephantine statue by Pheidias—of a seated Zeus—was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The culmination of the Great Panathenaic parade every four years was the presentation of a newly woven peplos to Athena. The dress was intended for the life-size wooden statue of Athena kept at the Erechtheion (described later). But during the Grand Panathenaia (every four years), the Athenians presented a huge robe—big enough to cover a basketball court—to the 40-foot Virgin Athena in the Parthenon.
The modern brown-brick building behind you once housed the former Acropolis museum—its collection has been painstakingly moved into the modern Acropolis Museum down the hill. The old museum building may reopen someday as a coffee shop, but for now, it has just WCs and a drinking fountain alongside.
Across the street from the Parthenon stands the Erechtheion, where the Panathenaic parade ended. There were three entrances to this building: the famous Porch of the Caryatids (the six ladies), the north porch (behind the Erechtheion), and the east end (to the right of the caryatids). Start by enjoying its famous...
An inspired piece of architecture, this balcony has six beautiful maidens functioning as columns that support the roof. Each of the lady-columns has a base beneath her feet, pleated robes as the fluting, and a fruit-basket hat as the capital. Both feminine and functional, they pose gracefully, exposing a hint of leg—a combination of architectural elements and sculpture.
These are faithful copies of the originals, five of which are on display in the Acropolis Museum. The sixth was removed (c. 1805) by the sticky-fingered Lord Elgin, who shipped it to London. The Caryatids were supposedly modeled on Karyatides—women from Karyai (modern Karyes, near Sparta on the Peloponnese), famous for their upright posture and noble character.
The Erechtheion (c. 421-406 B.C.) is sometimes ascribed to Mnesicles, the man who designed the Propylaea. Whereas the Propylaea and Parthenon are both sturdy Doric, the Erechtheion is elegant Ionic. In its day, it was a stunning white building (of Pentelic marble) with painted capitals and a frieze of white relief on a darker blue-gray background.
Near the porch (below, to the left) is an olive tree, a replacement for the one Athena planted here in her face-off with Poseidon (described later). Olive trees have been called “the gift of Athena to Athens.” Greece has more than 140 million of these trees.
Walk around to the right and view the Erechtheion from the east end, with its six Ionic columns in a row.
Though overshadowed by the more impressive Parthenon, the Erechtheion (a.k.a. Erechtheum) was perhaps more prestigious. It stood on one of the oldest sites on the hill, where the Mycenaeans had built their palace. (It lay mainly on the south side, facing the Parthenon, under the huge scattered stones—all that’s left of the seventh-century Athena Temple.) Inside the Erechtheion was a life-size, olive-wood statue of Athena in her role of Athena Polias (“Protector of the City”). Pericles took the statue with him when the Athenians evacuated their city to avoid the invading Persians. Dating from about 900 B.C., this statue, much older and more venerable than either of Pheidias’ colossal statues, supposedly dropped from the sky as a gift from Athena.
This unique, two-story structure fits nicely into the slope of the hill. The east end (with the six Ionic columns) was the upper-level entrance. The lower entrance was on the north side (on the right), 10 feet lower, where you see six more Ionic columns. (These columns are the “face of the Acropolis” that Athenians see from the Plaka.) The Porch of the Caryatids is attached to the south side of the building. Looking inside the temple, you can make out that the inner worship hall, the cella, is divided in two by walls.
This complex layout accommodated the worship of various gods who had been venerated here since the beginning of time. Legend says this was the spot where Athena and Poseidon fought for naming rights to the city. Poseidon threw his trident, which opened a gash in the earth to bring forth water. It left a diagonal crack that you can still see in the pavement of the entrance farthest from the Parthenon (although lightning is a more likely culprit). But Athena won the contest by stabbing a rock with her spear, sprouting an olive tree near the Porch of the Caryatids. The twin cellas of the Erechtheion allowed the worship of both gods—Athena and Poseidon—side by side to show that they were still friends.
The Erechtheion sits atop temple ruins.
Greece’s flag flies proudly above the city.
Look to the right (beyond the Plaka-facing porch). The modern elevator carries people with limited mobility up to the Acropolis. The north wall of the Acropolis has a retaining wall built from column drums. This is about all that remains of an earlier half-finished Parthenon that was destroyed after the Persian invasion of 480 B.C. The Persians razed the entire Acropolis, including an unfinished temple then under construction. The Athenians rebuilt as fast as they could with the scattered material to fortify the city against Sparta.
Walk to the far end of the Acropolis. There you’ll find an observation platform with a giant...
The blue-and-white Greek flag’s nine stripes symbolize the nine syllables of the Greek phrase for “Freedom or Death.” That phrase took on new meaning when the Nazis entered Athens in April of 1941. According to an oft-repeated (but unverified) story, the evzone (elite member of a select infantry unit) guarding the flag flying here was ordered by the Nazis to remove it. He calmly took it down, wrapped himself in it...and jumped to his death. About a month later, two heroic teenagers, Manolis Glezos and Apostolis Santas, scaled the wall, took down the Nazi flag, and raised the Greek flag. This was one of the first well-known acts of resistance against the Nazis, and the boys’ bravery is honored by a plaque near the base of the steps. To this day, Greeks can see this flag from just about anywhere in Athens and think of their hard-won independence.
Walk out to the end of the rectangular promontory to see the...
The Ancient Agora spreads below the Acropolis, and the sprawl of modern Athens whitewashes the surrounding hills. In 1830, the population of Athens’ core was about 5,000. By 1900, it was 600,000, and during the 1920s, with the influx of Greeks from Turkey, the population surged to 1.5 million. The city’s expansion could barely keep up with its exploding population. With the boom times in the 1950s and 1980s, the city grew to nearly four million. Pan around. From this perch, you’re looking at the homes of one out of every three Greeks.
View of Lykavittos Hill.
South view of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
Looking down on the Plaka, find (looking left to right) the Ancient Agora, with the Temple of Hephaistos. Next comes the Roman Forum (the four columns and palm trees) with its round, white, domed Temple of the Winds monument. The Anafiotika neighborhood clings to the Acropolis hillside directly below us. About eight blocks beyond that, find the dome of the cathedral.
Lykavittos Hill, Athens’ highest point, is crowned with the Chapel of St. George (and an expensive view restaurant; cable car up the hill). Looking farther in the distance, you’ll see lighter-colored bits on the mountains behind—these are Pentelic quarries, the source of the marble used to build (and now restore) the monuments of the Acropolis.
As you continue panning to the right, you’ll spot the beige Neoclassical Parliament building, marking Syntagma Square; the National Garden is behind and to the right of it. In the garden is the yellow Zappeion, an exhibition hall. The green area in the far distance contains the 60,000-seat, marble Panathenaic Stadium—an ancient venue (on the site where Golden Age Athens held its games), which was rehabbed in 1896 to help revive the modern Olympics.
Complete your visual tour of Athens at the south edge of the Acropolis. To reach the viewpoint, walk back toward the Parthenon, then circle along its left side, by the cliff-top wall. Belly up to that wall for...
Look to the left. In the near distance are the huge columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Begun in the sixth century B.C., it wasn’t finished until the time of the Roman emperor Hadrian, 700 years later. It was the biggest temple in all of Greece, with 104 Corinthian pillars, housing a 40-foot seated statue of Zeus, a replica of the famous one created by Pheidias in Olympia. This area was part of Hadrian’s “new Athens,” a planned community in his day, complete with the triumphal Arch of Hadrian near the temple.
The Theater of Dionysus—which hosted great productions (including works by Sophocles) during the Golden Age—lies in ruins at your feet. For more on the theater, see here.
Beyond the theater is the wonderful Acropolis Museum, a black-and-gray modern glass building, with three rectangular floors stacked at irregular angles atop each other. The top floor, which houses replicas and some originals of the Parthenon’s art, is angled to match the orientation of that great temple.
Looking right, you see Filopappos Hill—the green, tree-dotted hill topped with a marble funerary monument to a popular Roman senator, Philopappos, who died in the early second century. This hill is where the Venetians launched the infamous mortar attack of 1687 that destroyed the Parthenon. Today, a theater here hosts popular folk-dancing performances (see here).
Farther in the distance, you get a glimpse of the turquoise waters of the Aegean (the only island visible is Aegina). While the Persians were burning the Acropolis to the ground, the Athenians watched from their ships as they prepared to defeat their foes in the history-changing Battle of Salamis. In the distance, far to the right, is the port of Piraeus (the main departure point for boats to the islands).
Our tour is finished. Enjoy a few final moments with the Acropolis before you leave. If you’re not yet ready to return to modern Athens, you can continue your sightseeing at several nearby sights.
To reach the Theater of Dionysus ruins and the Acropolis Museum: Head left when you exit the Acropolis site, and walk down to the Dionysiou Areopagitou pedestrian boulevard. Turn left and follow this walkway along the base of the Acropolis. You’ll pass (on the left) the Theater of Dionysus ruins, and (on the right) the Acropolis Museum (see the 
Acropolis Museum Tour chapter).
The ruins of the Theater of Dionysus, which once staged works by Sophocles.
To reach the Ancient Agora: Turn right as you exit the Acropolis site, pass Mars Hill, and follow the Panathenaic Way down to the Ancient Agora (possible to enter through the “back door,” facing the Acropolis). My Ancient Agora Tour is covered in the next chapter and is also available as a free audio tour.
