Acropolis in Athens

The Acropolis of Athens is arguably the most iconic site in Greece. It’s a citadel that houses the Parthenon among other ancient buildings. The importance of the Acropolis extends to the name Acropolis itself. Roughly translating to “the highest point in the city”, the Acropolis’ position lets it stand as a focal point for Athens.

While the hill the Acropolis is built on was inhabited for much longer, the buildings of the Acropolis as we know it today including the Parthenon were built by Pericles in the 5th century BC. It was used to host the Panathenaea, a festival where a procession moved through Athens into the Acropolis to place a woollen robe onto the statue of Athena. Alongside sacrifices and other religious ceremonies, the festival also included games which even rivalled the Olympics at the time. This celebration was also a time for music and the recitation of epic poetry.

The Acropolis has seen many cultures come and go. From the Romans to the Ottomans, each civilisation that has conquered Athens has left their mark on the Acropolis. The Romans restored it and built a temple to Rome and Augustus, the Byzantine empire used the Acropolis as the administrative centre of Greece and the Parthenon as a church, and the Ottoman empire used it as a headquarters for the Turkish army.

Today, the Acropolis stands as a fantastic historical site, a place where you can see so many eras of history converge for an experience like no other