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" THE
CITY OF THE GODDESS "
Athens is a
place of great cultural interest, as well as a vivid and
modern city. The harmonious and perfectly balanced
fitting between the old and the new age makes this city
unique. Both sides of Athens are extremely appealing to
tourists. There are many interesting
museums to visit
and various cultural activities to attend , that cater
for all tastes. Travelers attracted to Athens by an
interest in the history of the ancient world's cultural
capital have many choices to make.
The Acropolis
of Athens was both a fortress and a sanctuary mainly for the worship of
the goddess protecting the city, goddess Athena, after whom the city was
named. Light is the word that comes to mind when one looks up at the holy
rock of the Acropolis.
Acropolis Museum
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Every
city in ancient Greece had its own acropolis, the equivalent of the
fortress in medieval times. An acropolis was always built on a
rock or a hill overlooking the city, not necessarily the highest one
but the one with a water supply was chosen. High walls were built
around it in order to offer refuge and protection to the citizens in
case of invasion or war.
The
Acropolis,
consisting of the words Akron (edge, summit) and Polis (city), means "the highest point of a city", is
certainly the focal point of any visit and every
archaeological tour undoubtedly starts with the
Parthenon, the temple that symbolizes Greek architecture and
represents the very core of Greek civilization. Built in
448-438 B.C. from a design by Phidias,
Ictinus and Callicrates, the temple is a
classic example of the Doric order, with a colonnade of
eight columns at each end. Its structural and decorative
elements were based on complex mathematical calculations, successfully expressing in architecture the harmony of
proportions already experimented with and codified by
Polyclitus
in his sculpture. The underlying principles are probably
to be found in the philosophical debates of the
Pythagoreans and Anaxagoras regarding universal
harmony.
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The
Parthenon
is dedicated to goddess Athena Parthenos (virgin). The peristyle, comprised of 8 x 17
columns and still virtually intact, stands on an
imposing stylobate approximately 70m (230 ft) long and 31m
(102 ft) wide. Inside, the pronaosand opisthodomos seem to
have been reduced to a minimum, to the advantage of the cella, on the east side, and the smaller "Chamber of the Virgins" the
Parthenon proper - on the west. In the cella, a double row of Doric columns framed the cult statue of
Athena Parthenos on three sides. This
colossal chryselephantine masterpiece by
Phidias
stood around 12m (40 ft) high.
So for today's visitors, too, the traditional heaviness of the
Doric order is transformed by the austere elegance and harmony of forms and
proportions, while the white Pentelic marble enhances
the in play of light and shadow on the temple's majestic
structures. The decorative features of the Parthenon,
completed in 432 B.C. flourished in political , civic and
religious significance.
The sculptures were entirely
designed and perhaps also executed by Phidias, assisted by some of Attica's finest emerging artistic
talents.
Works that survived
the fury of
Christian fundamentalists after
the Edict of Theodosius II (of AD
395), Muslim iconoclasm after the
Turkish conquest of 1456 and
Venetian cannon-fire in 1687
*
can
be seen still in situ, in the
Acropolis Museum nearby, in the
British Museum in London and
in the Louver in Paris.
*
The Venetians
under leader Captain Mourozini besieged the
Acropolis. The disaster happened on 26 of September in
1687 when a
cannon ball hit the Parthenon. Due
to the ammunition stored there by the Turks the cannon ball exploded
and the Parthenon was
destroyed. Many years later the
English
Ambassador in Constantinople
received permission from
the Turkish authorities to remove
sculptures from the metopes of the temple.
In 437 B.C. the
architect Mnesicles began his project
for the Propylaea, the monumental new
gateway to the sanctuary of the Acropolis, on the site
of a much more modest one built under Pisistratus. After five years
work, almost certainly by the same craftsmen who had only
recently completed the Parthenon, the Propylaea became
the point of arrival for the last, winding ramps of the Sacred Way.
The
elegant small temple of
Apteros Nike
(
Wingless
Victory ), stands on the SW bastion of the Propylaea. The goddess whose
wings were cut off so she could never leave the city of Athens.
The last addition to
the Acropolis before the end of the 5th century B.C. was
the new temple of Athena Polias, known
throughout history as the Erechthion,
after the Attic name for Poseidon (the old patron of the city). It was built north of
the Parthenon, between 421 and 405 B.C, to a plan by Philocles
or according to some - Callicrates or Mnesicles. The Ionic portico with six columns on the east
gives access to the cella, where the ancient wooden cult
icon of Athena Polias was devotedly kept.
On the west
side, on different levels, were spaces for the cults of
Poseidon Erechtheum, Hephaestus, the hero Butte and the
serpent - boy Erichthonius, particularly dear to Athena.
The famous
porch with the Caryatids marked the
legendary tomb of Cecrops.
The six
beautiful statues of young women wearing Ionic costumes
are perhaps the work of one of the best disciples of Phidias, Alcamenes.
Outside the
building on the west side grew the sacred olive tree traditionally believed
to be the gift of Athena in her dispute with Poseidon. On the north side a
high Ionic portico protected the mark left by the trident thrown by Poseidon
to make a sea -water spring gush from the rock.
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The famous theatre of
Dionysus
stands on the southern slope of the Acropolis, in the
precinct of the god who protected the dramatic contests
held during the festival of the Great Dionysia.
The visible structures date to 330 B.C. with Roman
additions. Around it are remains of a Hellenistic
portico used as a promenade and the odium of Pericles (445
B.C.), a large auditorium rebuilt in Roman times. Herodion Theatre
by.
The Agora, with
the nearby hill of the Areopagus, is Athens' other main
area of archaeological interest. Originally an open space crossed by the Panathenaic Way, the Agora was quickly flanked by large numbers of
public buildings and adorned with temples and altars, stoas and
fountains.
It acquired its final form in the 2nd c. AD.
Its most prominent structures today are the modern
reconstruction of the Stoa built by
Attalos II of Pergamum in the 2nd century B.C. now housing the
Agora Museum and the Doric
Temple of Hephaestus (Theseion), still miraculously
intact. Built in Pentelic marble in the same period as the Parthenon,
the temple is still an important landmark in the lower part of Athens.
It is about 32m (105 ft) long and 14m (46 ft) wide, with 6 columns at
the ends and 13 at the sides. Its plans appears conventional Doric, but
its cella resembles the larger one in the Parthenon.
The Agora,
which extends over the north-west slopes of Acropolis,
was the heart of ancient Athens from the late 6th c. BC
onwards. It was a place for political gatherings and
debate, for elections, religious occasions and trading
activities, theatrical performances and athletic
competitions. The word “Agora” drives from the word
“ageiro” meaning “I gather”. |
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In the beginning
somebody spoke in an open space and people gathered around. He came back
and they came back to listen. Another orator took his place and people
went on gathering around the speakers. Peddlers came with their goods, and
gradually shops were built around this open space, and the orator’s stand
finds its permanent place. The Agora – market place – is born.
You
can view my portfolio of photos at
http://www.panoramio.com/user/45649/tags/Acropolis
or
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickolaos/tags/akropolis/
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