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| By Acropolis_from_a_top_Philopappos_Hill.jpg: ccarlsteadderivative work: IgnisFatuus (talk) - Acropolis_from_a_top_Philopappos_Hill.jpg - Source : Wikimedia Commons |
Located in rocky outcrops above Athens, Greece, Acropolis is a fortress
featuring some of the largest classic world architecture. The most famous
structure there is Parthenon, a temple dedicated to city's Patron goddess,
Athens; it joins the site devoted to pagan rituals and some monumental gates.
Despite centuries of war, earthquake, looting, and weathering in open air,
mostly still survive. Here are 12 facts about Acropolis Athens.
1. It’s the most famous of many Acropolis.
While Athens Acropolis often flows to the mind when people hear the word
Acropolis, it is one of the many acropolis built throughout Greece. Based on
the ancient Greek words ákros for high points and pólis for the city, the
acropolis means roughly "high city," and can refer to the same
fortress. The high fort and temple known as the Acropolis can also be found in
the Greek cities of Argos, Thebes, Corinth, and others, each built as a center
of local life, culture, and protection.
2. Its human history is Neolithic.
Humans have inhabited the slopes of limestone from what the Acropolis
for centuries; they are likely to be drawn in water from natural springs. There
is evidence of occupancy in the area originating from the Neolithic period
between 4000-3200 BC, with homes and graves identified from around this era. A
series of shafts have also been found, with several ships found in their deep
chasm. One theory is that the shaft was once a well, while the other was that
they were ritual funeral sites, because human bones were found among objects
buried in it.
3. Its first structures were built for defensive
purpose.
From the central position above Athens, the Acropolis is positioned
perfectly for strategic military defense - and its main initial structure
actually focuses on the preparation of the war. The ancient Mycenaean built its
first defense wall in the 13th century BC (a structure that was so strong that
the fragment still survived today), which was the main defense of the Acropolis
for about eight centuries. Finally the site will get religious significance,
with the temple added to the area.
4. Its most iconic buildings were just constructed in
just a few decades.
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| By Kristoffer Trolle from Copenhagen, Denmark - Lady sitting in front of Parthenon on Acropolis, Athens, Greece - Source : Wikimedia Commons |
The most famous structure in the Acropolis-Parthenon, Erechthion Temple,
Propylaea Gate and Athens Nike Temple - Everything was built for decades in the
5th century BC. Fueled by the latest Athens victory over Persia, the ambitious
building campaign was launched under the direction of Pericles America. The
project was led by Ictinus and Callicrates architects with Phidias sculptors
(artists from the statue of Zeus 43 feet which are now destroyed in Olympia,
one of the seven wonders of the ancient world).
Thousands of workers, craftsmen and artists gathered at the top of the
hill, and completed an extraordinary project in just 50 years. The building
collection towering 500 feet above the city announced that Athens was the Greek
art center, faith, and thought.
However, the golden age of Athens's brief strength. Only a year after
the Parthenon was finished, Athens against Sparta in the Peloponnese war, with
Spartan Army finally seized the city at 404 BC. As for Pericles, he died of an
outbreak that destroyed the city population. But the Acropolis would long
beyond him.
5. A Colossal Athena once presided over the Acropolis.
The Acropolis is the most complete, extraordinary,
Greek monumental complex considering the centuries of natural disasters,
war, and reconstruction. However, many ornaments and art now gone. One of these
losses is a colossal statue of Athens ever located in the Parthenon. Known as
Athens Parthenos, it stands almost 40 feet and is made of gold and ivory by
Phidias sculptor. Dress with armor and jewelry coated, it was an amazing
spectacle that reaffirmed the spiritual strength and economy of Athens.
The statue disappeared over ancient times, and the possibility of being
destroyed - but thanks to Roman replicas, we could still get an idea of what
looked like Athena Parthenon. To experience the full scale faction, you have to
travel to Nashville, Tennessee. There, in the 1980s, Alan LeQuire artist
created a full reconstruction of Athens Parthenon, now located in the Kota
Parthenon replica.
6. Bringing marble to the Acropolis was a monumental
task.
Marble who compiled the classic structure of the Acropolis, including
Parthenon, not local. It was excavated on Mount Pentelicus, which is located 10
miles northeast of Athens and is famous for its white marble uniformity. It is
hard work to ward off the marble, with Stonemason using iron slices and hammer
to hit the beam-beam along their gap. From Mount Pentelicus, the workers used
the road to decline to move the marble on its long journey to Athens, where
they still had to get the steep slope of the Acropolis.
7. It was originally painted.
Although our vision of ancient Greece is often sparkling white marble, Parthenon, and other buildings on the Acropolis, used to be colorful. The recent test during laser cleaning from Parthenon reveals blue, red and green shades. The pediment statue in Parthenon, showed the birth of Athens and her battle with Poseidon to rule Athens, accented paint and even bronze accessories. Over time, the stones were bleached in the sun, and the movement of neoclassical art in the 18th and 19th centuries embraced romantically from pure white past. But the pigment trace on the Greek marble statue shows that these sites are kaleidoscopic in their color.
8. The world’s oldest weather station at its base.
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| By Institute for the Study of the Ancient World from New York, United States of America - The Roman Forum (III) - Source : Wikimedia Commons |
Located on the slopes of the Acropolis is what is considered the oldest
weather station in the world. Known as a wind tower, an octagonal marble
structure of the date of return 2000 years, and the possibility of holding the
bronze wind propeller above its fungus. Many historians also believe that it
contains water at hydraulically powered with water flowing down the steep
acropolis hill, so Athena could tell that time even after dark. Lord Elgin, who
brought many Parthenon statues to London, wanted to bring this structure too,
but was rejected. After recent restoration, opened to the public for the first
time in almost two centuries in 2016.
9. Its religious history includes a church and mosque.
Pagan temples in the Acropolis date back to the 6th century BC. For the
following centuries, the identity of the Acropolis religion is regularly
changed by the kingdom and conqueror. At some point before 693 CE Parthenon was
converted into a Byzantine Cathedral. Franks who occupied the Parthenon once
again at 1204, this time became a Catholic cathedral. Under the Ottoman Empire
in the 15th century, it was born again as a Muslim mosque, adding to adding in
the western corner.
10. It’s
experienced both construction and destruction.
Today's Acropolis is the result of a century of construction and
destruction. Although the main group of structures dated in the 5th century BC,
others follow later, such as the Roman era temple founded by Augustus, and the
large stairs built under Claudius. Small houses were also built around the
acropolis during the administration of the Ottoman Empire.
Siege 1687 by Venetian's strength - the army gathered as a reaction to
the conquest of Vienna who failed in 1683 - brought a heavy mortar shell attack
to the Parthenon, which the Ottoman Empire used to store gunpowder. The Parthenon
was broken, but the statues were still in situ, at least until 1801. That year
Lord Elgin, Ambassador from England, negotiated an agreement with Ottoman. What
exactly requires being debated, but it causes Elgin to take off marbles. Now
most of the statues of Parthenon Frieze are in the British Museum in London.
Only in 1822, during the Greek independence war, whether the Greeks returned to
control over the Acropolis.
11. It was an influential site of resistance against
fascism.
After the April 1941 invasion by Nazi Germany to support Italian
fascists, the whole Greece was occupied by the axis power. The German war flag
was dropped by a swastika grew up on the Acropolis of the month, replacing the
Greek flag.
Then, on the night of May 30, 1941, two young players Athens-Manolis
Glezos and Apostolos Santas, carrying knives and lanterns between them - going
up to the top of the Limestone hill. They pulled the German flag, and cut it
into pieces. The defiant law is a statement that can be seen from Greek pride
to fascism, and inspires the resistance of the country during the occupation.
12. Restoration started 40 years ago – and it’s still
going.
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| By Pamputt - Source : Wikimedia Commons |
The main recovery of the Acropolis began in 1975, under the new
committee for the conservation of monuments in the Acropolis, which carefully
examined the peak of the hill and began to work to return it to ancient
conditions. Marble from the right mountain where the original stone is
excavated used for structural intervention, and the conservator uses a tool
similar to those employed by ancient craftsmen. But because only one block can
take more than three months to improve, this project is still ongoing - and is
expected to stabilize the site for centuries to come.
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