Greek Acropolis. What is the acropolis, where is it, how it looks (photo)

In Greece, there are many architectural sites that represent a high historical value. One of them is the Acropolis of Athens. Acropolis - what is it? In Greek, the acropolis means "high city". It is a limestone flat hill above the city (about 80 m high) with steep slopes from all directions, excepting the western one. In ancient times, the main function of this structure was to protect against invaders.

The Ancient Settlements

The ancient Acropolis in Athens is mentioned long before the onset of the classical period of history. As a result of the excavations, elements of cultural heritage that corresponded to the Bronze Age (mostly early and middle) were discovered. In the VII-VI centuries. BC. E. Temples were built, but later destroyed by the Persians.

According to legend, the Greek Acropolis was founded by the Athenian king Cecrops. The elevation in the center is named after "cecropia".

Meaning of words

"Parthenon, propylaea, acropolis" - what do these concepts stand for, and what is the origin of these words?

• The Parthenon is the main temple in the Greek Acropolis, dedicated to the goddess Athena. From Greek "parfenos" is translated as "maiden". This nickname was worn by Athena.
• The word "propylaea" is derived from the Greek propylaion. This is the front arch at the entrance to the Acropolis of Athens. It has two different levels of Doric portico.
• The meaning of the word "acropolis" in Greek is literally translated as "acre" - a hill, "policy" - a city. That is, it is a fortified part of the Greek city, located on a raised platform.
• Erechtheion - a temple dedicated to Poseidon and Athena. Has an asymmetric composition, located on several levels.
• Hecatompedon is the most ancient temple of the Acropolis, which is dedicated to Athena.

Acropolis and its destination

Acropolis - what is in this ancient name and what is its significance? This was the main place to find the king. Also inside there were many temples, where prayers were offered to the Greek gods and sacrifices were offered. During the conquest of the Turks, the Acropolis acted as a mosque. Today it is an ancient monument of architectural art.

Athens Acropolis as an architectural ensemble

The Acropolis forms the external appearance of the city of Athens. In ancient times this place was of importance to the sanctuary and cultural center. All internal structures, temples form a single ensemble. The architecture of the Acropolis is unusually skilful, all its parts are integral, there is no place for chance here - buildings and monuments, their arrangement is carefully thought out and extremely logical. This ensemble is constructed asymmetrically and corresponds to two basic principles of the architecture of Ancient Greece during its heyday: harmony in the balance of the masses and the perception of architectural art in the dynamics of its construction. The temples of the Parthenon and Hecatompedon are the center. The Acropolis consists of 21 elements of buildings (the Dionysus Theater, the statue of Athena Promachos, the Propylaea, the Athens Altar, the Sanctuary of Zeus and others).

Material of manufacture

What does the Acropolis look like today? From what materials are all its buildings built?

Currently, many of the architectural monuments of the acropolis are being restored. Therefore, seeing the sights, you can see that some of them are surrounded by building forests. Many buildings after the passage of centuries still preserved their greatness, they can be judged on the uniqueness and complexity of all architectural details. Looking at the ancient columns you might think that the material for their manufacture is limestone. In fact, all the elements of the Acropolis were built of marble, which quite decayed under the influence of atmospheric phenomena, and some of its parts were destroyed by wars.

Propylaea

On the western side of the hill is the entrance to the Acropolis. What is Propylaea? This question worries many people who first visited the main attraction of Athens. Propylaea is the main entrance to the Acropolis, a majestic gate made of marble. Have for passage five openings. The widest of them (instead of steps equipped with a ramp) is located in the middle and was previously intended for riders and animals for sacrifice. Its width is 4.3 m. The facades of the gate consist of six-colon Doric porticoes. In ancient times Propylaea, from all the structures of the Acropolis, were most famous and were mentioned more often than the Parthenon.

Parthenon

Parthenon - the main temple, which is famous for the Acropolis, where the bas-reliefs depict scenes from ancient Greek myths, including the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus. The size of the temple is quite impressive: its width is 30 m, its length is about 70 m. The columns standing along the perimeter have a height of 10 m. It is surprising the structure of the columns: they expand towards the center, and the angular ones are installed with slight inclination with respect to the floor. Thanks to the cunning of the ancient architects, the temple looks equally proportionate regardless of which side to watch it. Inside was installed the famous sculpture of the goddess - Athena-Virgo. It was created by the main creator of the Acropolis, the architect Fidium. Hands and face of the goddess were made of ivory, pieces of clothing and weapons - made of gold, the glitter of the eyes was achieved through the use of natural gems. Up to now, the statue has not survived. Her appearance was restored, thanks to the found ancient copies.

Erechtheum

The temple, where several gods were praised at once: Athena, Poseidon and Erechthea (the ancient king of Athens). Inside was a well of Poseidon, filled with salt water. According to legend, this well arose as a result of a trident, which was held in his strong hand by the great Poseidon. Proceeding from the fact that the building of the temple was intended for various purposes, it had two entrances, from the north and east sides. Each of them contained its own portico, mounted on ionic columns. The opening was decorated with an ornate pattern with many carved details and was considered the best in the beauty of the platband of the Pericles era. Near the temple was a cave, in which lived the sacred serpent of the goddess Athena. The snake personified the great ruler of the city - Erechthea. Until now, the interior decoration of this temple has not survived, only in the works of contemporaries can find a description of the room.

Theater of Dionysus

Greek theaters have always been built on the hillside, where there were places for spectators, in front of which there was a wooden stage. Spectator seats were in the form of a semicircle (they were called "theatron") and surrounded the area where the choir was located (the site was called the orchestra). In the IV century. BC. E. The seats for spectators were made in the form of a depression in the rocky ground and then lined with marble. Theater of Dionysus - the first monumental Greek theater, is located on the southern slope of the Acropolis. Until now, preserved armchairs in marble, which were intended for significant guests and honorable residents of Athens. The capacity of the theater is 17 thousand people.

Temple of the goddess Nicky

This is another surviving temple to our time, part of the ensemble (Acropolis). What is "apteros" - the word denoting the name of the goddess? Normally, Nick was represented with wings behind her back. But this temple is an exception to the rule, because the inhabitants of Athens decided to leave victory at home. Therefore, wings were deliberately not made to prevent Nika from flying away and left forever in the city. Accordingly, "apteros" means "wingless".

The temple has four ionic columns, the upper parts of which are decorated with spiral curls. The temple of Nicky Ateros was built during the Peloponnesian War, so the bas-reliefs depicted the victory over the Spartans and Persians. During the occupation of the Turks, the sanctuary was dismantled for the construction of military fortifications. To date, the temple of Nicky is often closed to visitors because of the restoration.

What is destroyed by time

Some architectural objects have not survived to this day. In their place found only the foundations or shapeless ruins of buildings that once adorned the Acropolis. What did they store, what did they look like during their heyday? For example, Hecatompedon or Pandrosion? This can be judged from the results of the excavations or from the literary evidence left to the world by Ancient Greece. On the site of Hecatompedon, remains of columns and parts of sculptural compositions were found. The sanctuary of Artemis is almost completely destroyed: only its small remains and the warehouse where weapons were stored were found.

The new museum

The Athens Museum, located on the territory of the Acropolis, began its work in 1874. Mostly there are elements that were previously located in the Upper City. The collection was getting bigger and, after a while, the available premises became insufficient. Near the Acropolis began to build a new, more spacious building. But not always the work went smoothly, because there were some obstacles and problems associated with the choice of architects or land. At the beginning of the construction, at the stage of preparing the ground for laying the foundation, historically significant architectural objects were discovered. As a result, the construction of the museum was suspended.

In 2009, a three-level museum complex with a glass floor was opened , so that visitors have the opportunity to observe excavations.