The Acropolis of Athens was an amazing place to spend our first day in Athens, Greece. The Acropolis is an ancient city located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens. It contains the remains of ancient architectural buildings dating as far back as the fourth millennium BC. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον "highest point, extremity" and πόλις ¨city¨. The most famous building is the Parthenon, the Parthenon was a building dedicated from the Athenians to the goddess Athena whom they considered their patron. The building began construction in 447 BC and was completed in 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, it is considered the most successful building in the Doric order. The Doric order is was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Parthenon is an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian Democracy and Western civilization, it is one of the world´s greatest cultural monuments. We also saw The Old Temple of Athena, the building with the women statues. On the north side, there is another large porch with six Ionic columns, and on the south, the famous "Porch of the Maidens", with six draped female figures as supporting columns. It was built around 525-500 BC, it took longer to build that then the Parthenon. That was surprising to me! The building that is connected to The Old Temple of Athena is called the Erechtheion, it is behind The Old Temple of Athena. The Erechtheion was dedicated to both Poseidon and Athena. The last pictures are at the entrance which is called the Propylaea which serves as monumental gateway in ancient Greek architecture. The fifth picture shows The Temple of Athena Nike dedicated to, guess who... Athena Nike. It was built around 420 BC, the temple is the earliest fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis. It is the first thing to the right you see when you enter the Propylaea. This truly is an awe-inspiring place and a great way to start our Athens adventure! -Angelina
The Theater of Dionysus is a major theater in Athens, considered to be the world's first theater, built at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis. It was dedicated to Dionysus the god of entertainment and wine. The theater could seat as many as 17,000 people. It was the first theater ever built, cut into the southern cliff face of the Acropolis, and supposedly the birthplace of Greek tragedy. I love theater and I am so fortunate to have seen this. It would be amazing to have preformed here in sixth century BC. The existing structure dates back to the fourth century BC but it has had many other later remodel-ling. It is still very well kept and it´s amazing that all of these ancient places are still standing. -Angelina
It was an amazing day in Athens, we walked from where we are staying and had a good little hike around the Acropolis. I was certainly impressed with the fortitude and beauty of the buildings considering all they have been through. The histories are some of the best stories of all time, and Angelina has recounted some of the facts here for you. I loved the Parthenon, both temples of Athena, and the temple of Zeus. The views of Athens from atop Areopagus Hill are spectacular. I am so grateful that one pass is good for many sites and will last for five days, as there is so much to see. We headed to the Acropolis Museum when the rain began, had a really tasty lunch while hearing the harp (my favorite instrument) and then set out again, to finish with the Temple of Zeus. Needless to say, we taxied back to our abode, and were exhausted. Athens has so much to offer, the ruins are such a sight to behold and I am looking forward to more exploring another day! My favorite from today are the pillar statues of Athena around the temple, so feminine and lovely.
댓글