Tours: The Akropolis of Athens

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Explore the glorious Akropolis of Athens, and experience the sacred landmarks within.

Opening RemarksAkropolis OriginsTemple of Athena NikePerikles' AkropolisAthena Promachos

• Aspasia: Greetings, wanderer, and welcome to the Akropolis, the shining jewel of Athens.

("Who are you?")

• Aspasia: My name is Aspasia. Though I am not original from Athens, I have climbed to the top of its social ladder using my wit and intellect. I've even earned the love of Perikles, one of the most powerful men in the city. The mind truly is a beautiful thing.

("What do you think of this place?")

• Aspasia: Personally, I think the Akropolis is one of, if not the, greatest place in all of Greece. Though considering it was the project of my partner, Perikles, I may be a touch biased.

("I would like to begin the tour.")

• Aspasia: The Akropolis of Athens is a bastion of art and culture worthy of the gods themselves. Within this citadel, you will find many important sacred buildings, as well as some of the most magnificent art in all of Greece.
  You are in for a very enlightening visit.l When you're done, come find me, and we can discuss the things you have seen. Farewell for now.

Akropolis overview / 2014

The Akropolis has gone through many changes in its long history.

It began as a simple rock, was settled as early as the Neolithic period, and then became a fortress in the Mycenaean period.

Stone buildings started appearing in the 7th century BCE, but the famous structures whose ruins remain visible today date mainly from a period of construction in the 5th century BCE.

The location of the Akropolis is closely tied with Athens' foundation myth.

Supposedly, it was the site where Athena and Poseidon competed for the city's patronage. This connection gave the Akropolis a sacred aura, and it was considered the religious heart of the city.

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After the archaic buildings of the old Akropolis—most notably the temple of Athena Polias—were burned down in 480 BCE by Xerxes' Persian army, the great general and statesman Perikles resolved to transform the naturally imposing rock into a huge monument to Athens' political, military, and cultural greatness. Thus began the most ambitious building program the Greek world had even seen at the time.

Seven million drachmae were spent on the whole project, which has been deemed by UNESCO as "the supreme expression of the adaptation of architecture to a natural site". The Parthenon alone cost 469 talents—nearly 3 million drachmae, and the equivalent of approximately 12 tons of silver.

To justify the massive cost, Perikles cited the need to immortalize Athens' greatness, but also called the attention to the jobs the project would create for hundreds of stone cutters, carpenters, metal workers, painters, and unskilled laborers, all of whom were grateful for the opportunity to make more money.

Wingless Victory, Wingless Victory, a sculptural fragment from the Athena Nike parapet / 5th cent. BCE (Classical Greece)

The Temple of Athena Nike was built on the remains of old fortifications from the Mycenaean era.

Worship at the temple can be traced back to the 6th century BCE, but the building itself was destroyed during the Greco-Persian Wars a century later. It was rebuilt during the Peloponnesian War.

Given that the name Athena Nike roughly means "Athena of Victory", it was likely constructed in the hopes that Athens would win the war.

Unusually, the temple depicts historical scenes of battles against the Persians, instead of the more mythologically-inclined art of other Greek buildings.

The temple's priestess was chosen randomly among the Athenians, and received of fifty drachmae annually, along win skins and trophies from sacrificed animals.

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The area where the temple of Athena Nike was built offers a beautiful view of the southern shores of Attika, along with the ports of Piraeus and Phaleron.

This noteworthy feature—as well as the Mycenaean ruins nearby—were the basis for the assumption that Aigeus, the ninth king of the old Athenian dynasty, watched the sea from here in the hopes of seeing his son Theseus returning safe and sound from Krete.

Theseus, the most important Athenian mythological hero, had left for Krete under the guise of one of the youth send to feed the Minotaur. Theseus promised Aigeus that he would kill the monster and bring back the Athenian youth on a ship flying white sails, symbolizing victory and joy.

The hero slew the Minotaur and sailed home, but forgot to replace his ship's dark mourning sails with lighter ones. When Aigeus saw the dark sails, he assumed Theseus had died. Stricken with grief, the king threw himself off the steep bastion of the Akropolis, meeting his death on the ground below.

Perikles, a Roman copy of an earlier Greek original / 2nd cent. CE (Roman period)

The Akropolis was built up over a long period, due in no small part to its partial destruction during the Greco-Persian Wars.

It was in the 5th century BCE, though, that the Akropolis received its most significant improvements. This period was an extremely prosperous time for Athens, both financially and culturally.

With a booming economy bolstered by trade and the Laurion silver mines, Perikles, the leader of Athens, financed a huge project to rebuild the citadel.

He enlisted the help of renowned artists like the sculptor Phidias, as well as the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates.

Together, they erected buildings like the Parthenon, and the Propylaea gateway.

Perikles' goal was to make the Akropolis into a glorious monument to the gods, and to mortal Athenians.

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The history of the Akropolis did not end with the Periklean building program.

In antiquity, fires and invasions often imperiled or even destroyed parts of the Akropolis, forcing Athenians and foreign admirers of the site to restore, embellish, and protect the remnants of Perikles' achievements.

For example, a ceremonial entrance in front of the Propylaia was built by F. Septimius Marcellinus ca. 280 BCE, with stone quarried from nearby monuments which had recently been destroyed by a Germanic invasion. it is known as Beulé Gate, named after its modern excavator.

The Akropolis had many uses throughout history. Under Byzantine rule, it hosted pilgrims seeking to visit the Parthenon, which had been transformed into a church. After the Fourth Crusade, it housed a Roman Catholic cathedral, as well as the palace of the Latin Duke of Athens. In Ottoman times, it acted as a fortress for protecting mosques, living quarters, and the harem of the local governor.

It was only in the first half of the 19th century CE that the newly independent modern Greek state decided to revive the Akropolis' Classical ruins. The medieval and modern buildings were removed, and the site's restoration has been going on ever since.

Athena Promachos, on Panathenaic amphoras attributed to the Marsyas Painter / 4th cen. BCE (Classical Greece)

Behind the Propylaea was the giant bronze statue of Athena Promachos, or "Athena who fights on the front lines".

That name was reflected in the spear and shield the statue held in its hands.

It was erected in the mid 5th century BCE by the artist Phidas.

According to an inscription, it took nine years to make, and cost almost half a million drachmae.

At approximately ten meters tall, the statue was apparently so large that Pausanias claimed its helmet and spear tip could be seen from the sea near Cape Sounion, sixty kilometers away.

The ornamentation of the statue's shield was engraved by the metalsmith Mys.

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Athena, who was miraculously born from Zeus' head, was one of the most important deities in the Greek Pantheon. In the Bronze Age, she was an Aegean goddess who protected lucrative palatial and household activities, such as wool processing.

Later on, she became the patron deity of many ancient Greek cities, with Athens being only the best known among them. However, she still kept her place as the protector of artisans, spinners, weavers, smith, and the like.

The goddess had numerous epithets reflecting specific attributes, including Athena Polias (the protector of the city), Athena Ergane (the protector of crafts), and Athena Promachos ("fighting in the first rank", which alluded to her worship as a martial deity).

She was also conceived as the goddess of wisdom, and her most famous symbol was the owl, which was often engraved on Athenian coins and painted on vases.

House of the ArrhephoroiErechtheionParthenon ExteriorParthenon Interior

The Parthenon frieze showing the peplos of Athena, dedicated on the occasion of the Panathenaic festival / 5th cent. BCE (Classical Greece)

The arrhephoroi were young girls between the ages of seven and eleven who were in charge of special rites.

A list of four girls were drafted by the assembly of citizens, from which the high magistrate, the archon basileus, chose two to serve as arrhephoroi for the year.

The girls lived in a house on the Akropolis. They were in charge of carrying sacred objects, and weavubg the peplos of Athena.

The peplos was a sacred robe offered to Athena during Panathenaia, a festival held in her honor.

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The arrhephoroi were selected on the basis of noble birth, so only high status girls had the privilege of serving Athena during the feasts of the Arrhephoria and the Panathenaia.

Pausanias wrote that two girls—whose designation meant "Bearers of Mysteries (Sacred Offerings)"—performed a special rite during the Arrhephoria. Their main duty was to descend from the Akropolis to a precinct of Aphrodite, carrying sacred objects on their heads given to them by the priestess of Athena. Once at their destination, they left the objects and received something else in return. Neither the arrhephoroi nor the priestess knew what any of the objects were, as they were always covered.

The arrhephoroi's other duty was to assist the temple's priestess in the sacred act of weaving Athena's peplos (garment). This ritual took place over 9 months, before the garment was finally offered to Athena at the Panathenaia.

Employing young, inexperienced arrhephoroi guaranteed the purity of the sacred robe. It also gave the girls the chance to learn how to spin and weave, which were two most important tasks required of Greek women.

Erechtheion, view from the southwest / Contemporary

The Erechtheion was an atypical temple.

It was dedicated not only to Athens Polias, but also to Kekrops, the mythical founder of Athens, his son Erechtheos, and even Poseidon, the sea god who challenged Athena for possession of the city.

The temple was divided into sections.

The eastern part housed a statue dedicated to Athena, while the western section jointy belonged to Poseidon and Erechtheos. Meanwhile, King Kekrop's grave was believed to be under the Karyatid Porch. Under the temple was a crypt that was said to contain the sacred snakes of Athena.

The snakes may have had a sweet tooth, because the priestesses of Athena allegedly fed them honey cakes.

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The Erechtheion's North Court was a cloistered area where Athenians probably performed two specific religious rituals related to the festivals of Plynteria and Kallynteria.

On Plynteria, the olivewood statue of Athena Polias was brought out of the temple, undressed, washed, and cleaned by two maidens, who also washed its garments. Then, on Kallynteria, the statue was re-dressed, re-decked, and returned to its holy place.

These two feasts — which had numerous funerary connotations — are always connected in the accounts of ancient writers. Athenians believed they were unlucky days because the goddess was "otherwise occupied", and they accordingly avoided undertaking important activities until the statue was back in the temple.

Parthenon, Athens Akropolis 5th cent. BCE / Contemporary

The Parthenon is one of the most well-known buildings in the world, and an enduring symbol of Ancient Greek civilization.

While it is located on the Akropolis, the building is not a traditional temple

It was built by the sculptor Phidias and the architects Kallikrates and Iktinos as a great monument to the glory of the city of Athens.

That glory is evident in its many carvings. One of the most craved monuments in Greek architecture, the Parthenon's decorations depict several mythological scenes.

These include the birth of Athena, her fight against Poseidon for the patronage of Athens, the god's battle with the giants and the procession of the Great Panathenaia.

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The Parthenon was built and decorated between 447 and 432 BCE, and the worship of Athena went on for nearly one millennium, although the building was affected by the destruction caused by Germanic invaders in the 3rd century CE.

In approximately 590 BCE, it was converted into a Christian Greek church dedicated to Maria Parthenos—the Virgin Mary, and the new protector of Athens. The church became the fourth most important pilgrimage destination in the Byzantine Empire, after Constantinople, Ephesus, and Thessalonica.

After the Latin soldiers of the Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople in 1204 CE, Athens became a Crusader duchy for two and half centuries, and the Orthodox church became the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady.

The Ottoman conquest of 1458 CE transformed the Parthenon once again: this time, it became an Islamic mosque.

Although refurbishments and addtions were made to the building throughout its many iterations, the continued Christian and Muslim activity within the Parthenon helped preserve the monument better than many other ancient structures.

Unfortunately, in 1687 CE, during the Venetian siege of the Ottoman fortress on the Akropolis, a cannon ball shot struck the Parthenon, which was being used to store gunpowder. The roof was blown apart, three walls were severely damaged, and several columns and metopes fell to the ground, as well as most of the sculptures on the pediments and the frieze.

The plan of the Parthenon, drawn in 1879 with its two rooms, the bigger cella and the smaller treasury / 19th cent. CE (Modern period)

The Parthenon's inner chamber, or cella, contained a massive statue of Athena that was considered to be one of the sculptor Phidias' greatest masterpieces.

The statue was chryselephantine, a combination of gold and ivory.

To justify the steep cost of its construction, Perikles told Athenians that the statue was a gold reserve which could be disassembled in times of economic distress.

The cella also allegedly contained a pool whose main purpose was to control the room's humidity, which helped preserve the statue's ivory.

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Some researchers have hypothesized that the Parthenon's statue of Athena cost almost as much as the building itself. Unfortunately, the statue was either destroyed by a fire, or brought to Constantinople in late Roman times, where all trace of it was lost.

Fortunately, descriptions from historians like Plutarch and Pausanias, as well as smaller copies like the marble Varvakeion statuette, allow for detailed reconstruction.

The goddess was armed with a triple-crested helmet featuring a sphinx and two griffins, a big circular shield in her left hand, and a spear. She held a winged Nike two meters tall in her right hand, while a huge sacred snake was coiled between her left foot and the shield. She wore a typical peplos robe tucked into a belt, and on her chest was a snake-ridged aegis displaying the head of Medusa.

Today, a modern replica of the statue stands in a copy of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee.

Parthenon TreasuryClosing Remarks

Fragments of inventories of the Parthenon treasury for the years 426 to 412 BCE / 5th cent. BCE (Classical Greece)

Athen's treasury was located in the Parthenon, where it was believed to be protected by Athena herself.

The treasury contained objects of great value acquired from different conquests, as well as a mass of minted silver coins and various offerings to Athena.

Perikles also decided to move the entirety of the Delian League's treasure to the Parthenon in 454 BCE. This was a great testament to Athen's power over the rest of Greece.

The riches were divided into two parts: the demosia, which belonged to the city, and the hiera chremata, which was dedicated to the goddess and only used for religious purposes.

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At the height of its power, Athens' two main sources of revenue were the silver mines of Laurion, and the contributions paid by the allied cities of the Delian League.

The Delian League began in 478 BCE as an alliance of around 150 Hellenic cities, all headed by Athens. Its aim was to free the Greek cities under Persian oppression. The allies, whose number eventually grow to 300 as a consequence of numerous victories, contributed troops and money, the later of which was stored in the sanctuary of Apollo at Delos, a small holy island in the Aegean.

After the Persians were defeated, the allies started to resent Athens and its constant demand for troops and money. Athens ruthlessly quelled every revolt, and transferred the allied treasury to the Akropolis, gradually transforming the League into its own empire.

In fact, part of Sparta's success during the Peloponnesian War was determined by their promise to give the Athenians "allies" their freedom back, which earned the city lots of support.

• Aspasia: And what did you think of the Akropolis? It truly is quite something, isn't it? A sacred sanctuary and an architectural marvel, all in one. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

("I'm ready for a quiz.") TBA ("Leave – That's all for now.") TBA

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• File:Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour The Akropolis of Athens Ep. 1 Ubisoft NA