The complex of temples atop the
rugged rock we call the Acropolis of Athens...
The
Acropolis of Athens
is is an
archaeological site
perched atop an
impressive rock in
the center of
Ancient Athens, and
it's the most
visited monument in
Greece today.
ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS
Parthenon.
The complex of
temples atop the
rugged rock we call
the Acropolis of
Athens in Greece are
not a mere
collection of ruins,
nor are they a mere
tourist destination.
Acropolis (akro +
polis) literally
means edge or point
of the city, and
throughout the
centuries in has
embodied a much more
significant position
not in relation to a
city, but in
relation to an
entire civilization.
A heavy burden to
say the least; but a
burden that the
discolored marbles
carry with
effortless grace.
Erechtheion.
The Acropolis was
always a sacred
place for ancient
Athenians going back
to Mycenaean times.
They worshiped their
gods in temples
there, conducted
their festivals, and
they fortified
themselves on it
whenever the enemies
managed to reach the
city of Athens. The
temples of the
Acropolis of Athens
were destroyed or
burned several times
in ancient times,
and the monuments as
we see them today
were the result of a
terrific public
project the
Athenians undertook
during "The
Golden Age of
Perikles" circa
450 BC. The whole
project was
supervised by the
famous sculptor and
Perikles' personal
friend, Phedias.
It
was designed as a
monument to
everything that the
Athenian thought
pattern represented
and which placed man
in its center of
interest. In the
monuments of the
Acropolis the ideals
which forged western
thought and culture
are embodied in
artistic expression
and formal
stylization of the
highest degree. The
Parthenon itself
managed to push the
aesthetic
conventions of its
time to their
logical conclusion:
a building that
touched the ideal in
every formal detail.
http://www.greeklandscapes.com
Acropolis of Athens
Theater of Dionysus
Monument of
Lysicrates
The new Acropolis museum
Ancient Agora of
Athens
Roman agora,Tower
of Winds
Areopagus
Pnyx
Irodio
theatre
Filopapou Hill
Plaka
- heart of Athens
Dionysiou Areopagitou
street
Panathineon road
Monastiraki Square
Temple
of Olympian Zeus
Arch
of Hadrian
Lycabettus Hill
Kerameikos Area
The temple of Ifestos
The lodge of Attalos
Plaka - the most beautiful and
romantic area of Athens - just under the Acropolis.
An
attractive approach
to Plaka is to
follow Odos
Kydathineon
Kythathineon, a
pedestrian walkway
that starts near the
Aglican and Russian
churches on Odos
Fillelinon, south of
Syntagma....
The Plaka is
situated under the
famous Acropolis; it
attracts loads of
visitors to Athens.
The area is full of
neoclassical
mansions (very
impressive can
hardly believe that
just a family can
live in them), and
red tiled houses,
with small winding
streets and steps
always steps. The
houses have flowers
everywhere on the
balconies like
bougainvilleas,
geraniums and even
jasmine. What is
better than sitting
in a street café in
the warm sunshine
drinking a glass of
Retsina or a nice
cold beer of course?
I
remember going into
one of the stores on
my last visit to buy
my mom one of these
Greek icons, these
stores are filled
with so many.
Things to do nearby,
lots of museums I
went to one that had
some of the
artifacts they found
when they built the
new metro for the
Olympics, halting
the construction at
times.
Another thing to do
is take a walk up
those steps again
starting from the
south slope of the
Acropolis, you will
come to Anafiotica,
looks like it
stepped out of one
of the Greek
Islands, all the
whitewashed houses.
It is a bit like
Mykonos with winding
little streets, one
of my favorites…
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a
stone theatre....
structure located on
the south slope of
the Acropolis of
Athens. It was built
in 161 AD by Herodes
Atticus in memory of
his wife, Aspasia
Annia Regilla. It
was originally a
steep-sloped
amphitheater with a
three-story stone
front wall and a
wooden roof, and was
used as a venue for
music concerts...
Ηρώδειο is the Roman
Theatre of Athens.
The impressive Roman
theater at the foot
of the sacred hill
of Acropolis of
Athens is located on
the south side and
built in the 2nd
century AD. An
Athenian nobleman
Tiberius Claudius
Atticus Herodes
wanted to honour the
memory of his wife,
Aspasia Annita
Rigillis. He spent
resources to build
the theater and,
therefore, the
initial name was
after his wife
Rigillis and then
his own - Odeon of
Herodes Atticus or
just the Odeon.
The Odeon of
Herodes Atticus in
its original form
had a wooden roof
with 32 rows of
seats and could
accommodate around
5,000 spectators for
its performances.
Like most theaters
of the Roman era,
the orchestra had a
semicircular shape.
The stage had three
stores, two of whom
survived, so we can
enjoy them today.
The Odeon of
Herodes Atticus was
nearly destroyed
during the centuries
by the damage it
suffered. In 1857 it
came back to light
through excavations
but rebuilt in its
present form despite
the decades. Since
1950, every summer,
it has been hosting
performances during
the Festival of
Athens.
virtualtourist.com
National Gardens. The National
Garden of Athens...
Εθνικός Κήπος
(national botanical
garden) is a park of
15.5 hectares in the
center of Athens.
The park is located
next to the Greek
Parliament and
extends to the south
by reaching Zappeion
congress center.
National Gardens
The National Garden Review
Εθνικός Κήπος
also encloses some ancient ruins, columns, mosaics, etc.
In the south-east you can find the busts of
Capodistrias, high Fillelinon Eynard and on the south
side the bust of the national poet Dionysios Solomos and
Aristotle Valaoritis.
The gardens were
built in 1836 by Frederick Gkairtner (Friedrich von
Gaertner), the architect of the palace in an area of
approximately 500 acres.
The first
Planters operations were organized and overseen by the
Bavarian agronomist Smarat (Smarat) in 1839, where 15000
planted ornamental plants shipped from Genoa, as well as
wild species.
The garden has
continued to expand, and for this purpose they invited
the Frenchman François Louis Bareaud, who took over the
direction of the garden from 1845 until 1854.
The garden was
renamed the National Garden in 1927 during the Republic.
It is open to the public. There are seven entrances to
the garden. Read more:
virtualtourist.com
Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens!
The
temple is located
about 500 m (1640
feet) south-east of
the Acropolis, and
about 700 m (2,300
feet) south of the
center of Athens,
Syntagma Square. The
Temple of Olympian
Zeus (Greek: Naos
tou Olympiou Dios,
also known as the
Olympieion or
Columns of the
Olympian Zeus...
...is
a colossal ruined temple in the centre of the Greek capital
Athens that was
dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. Construction began
in the 6th century BC during the rule of the Athenian tyrants,
who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world,
but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor
Hadrian in the 2nd century AD some 638 years after the project
had begun. During the Roman periods it was renowned as the
largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult
statues in the ancient world.
The
temple's glory was short-lived, as it fell into disuse after
being pillaged in a barbarian invasion in the 3rd century AD. It
was probably never repaired and was reduced to ruins thereafter.
In the centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, the temple
was extensively quarried for building materials to supply
building projects elsewhere in the city. Despite this,
substantial remains remain visible today and it continues to be
a major tourist attraction.
The Ancient Agora of Athens is
the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora!
Located
to the northwest of
the Acropolis and is
bounded on the south
by the hill of the
Areopagus and on the
west by the hill
known as the Colonus
Agoraeus.
The
agora in Athens had
private housing,
until it was
reorganized by
Peisistratus in the
6th century BC.
Although he may have
lived on the agora
himself, he removed
the other houses,
closed wells, and
made it the centre
of Athenian
government. He also
built a drainage
system, fountains
and a temple to the
Olympian gods. Cimon
later improved the
agora by
constructing new
buildings and
planting trees. In
the 5th century BC
there were temples
constructed to
Hephaestus, Zeus and
Apollo.
The
Areopagus and the
assembly of all
citizens met
elsewhere in Athens,
but some public
meetings, such as
those to discuss
ostracism, were held
in the agora.
Beginning in the
period of the
radical democracy
(after 509 BC), the
Boule, or city
council, the
Prytaneis, or
presidents of the
council, and the
Archons, or
magistrates, all met
in the agora. The
law courts were
located there, and
anyone who happened
to be in the agora
when a case was
being heard would
probably have been
able to view the
spectacle, though
only those adult
male citizens
appointed by lot
would have been able
to serve as jurors.
