The Parthenon, the main temple and attraction of the Acropolis in Athens, is located in the archaeological zone of Greece, on a limestone rock, towering among other ancient temples and buildings, such as the Erechtheion, the Propylaea, the Temple of Nike the Wingless.

The amazing temple has an amazing architectural composition, which attracts tourists from all over the world who seek to capture the beauty of the Parthenon in the photo.

Who built the Parthenon?

Its construction began even before our era in 488 under the influence of Pericles. It was built specifically on the elevation of the Athenian Acropolis. The temple was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, thus the Greeks thanked the goddess for the victory in the Battle of Marathon over a strong enemy - the Persians.

The temple, built at this time, was similar in size to the current Parthenon. However, in 480 the Persians destroyed the Acropolis, including the still unfinished Parthenon. After that, construction stopped for as much as 30 years. Work resumed in 454, the construction was led by architects: Iktin and Kallikrat, as well as the sculptor Phidias, who supervised the construction.

The Parthenon in Athens was built from Pentelian marble mined here, which was originally pure white, and over time oxidized and acquired a warm yellowish tint, as if filled with sunlight. It is noteworthy that other buildings before the Parthenon were built of limestone. When laying, no mortar was used, the blocks were carefully adjusted to each other and fastened together with iron pins.

After the birth of Christ, the Parthenon in Greece was turned into a Christian church, which was consecrated in honor of Hagia Sophia. They even made a bell tower inside the temple.

In 1460, during the reign of Ottoman Empire, the Turks turned the Parthenon into a mosque, next to which stood a minaret. In 1687, Athens was besieged by the Venetians and the temple was used as a storehouse for gunpowder. This had a very negative impact on his condition, the entire middle part of the temple was destroyed due to flying into it cannonball and subsequent explosion. In addition, the English lord took away part of the Parthenon sculptures, so part of the unique heritage ended up in France and London.

The appearance of the magnificent Parthenon

The place for this magnificent building in Greece was not chosen by chance, the architects made a lot of efforts to place the temple in the most advantageous position from an artistic point of view. The Parthenon was supposed to crown the Athenian Acropolis, towering above all other buildings.

The dimensions of the temple depended on the size of the rock, as the architects ancient greece adhered to the rule of the golden section in construction. To enter the Parthenon temple, you need to overcome only three marble steps, the total height of this wide staircase is only one and a half meters.

The Parthenon has the shape of a rectangle, decorated in the Doric order, thanks to which it has a majestic colonnade that can be seen from afar. The temple has 8 columns at the ends and 17 at the sides (there are 50 in total), all of them taper upwards and each is decorated with decorative gutters - flutes. The columns at the corners stand with a slight slope towards the center. All these features are designed to make the building look more refined and coherent, especially when viewed from afar.

What did the Temple of Athena Parthenon look like?

In ancient times, the entire interior of the Parthenon was divided into two parts.

1. The room to the east is longer and was called Hekatompedon. In the space hidden behind the columns inside the temple, there used to be a statue of the goddess Athena. The figure was decorated with gold and ivory, it had a wooden base and a decent height - 12 meters, the architect Phidias worked on it. In her hand, Athena held a smaller statue of Nike. She was wearing a helmet on her head, which had three crests with images of a sphinx and griffins.
2. The western room was called the Parthenon. It kept the treasury and archives of the state. Subsequently, the entire temple began to be called the Parthenon.

The Parthenon was decorated with various sculptural compositions, bas-reliefs and high reliefs. One of them depicts the birth of the goddess. According to legend, Zeus swallowed his pregnant wife so that the born heir could not surpass him and kill him. But, despite this cunning of Zeus, the divine child was still able to be born. Hephaestus, the god of fire, cut Zeus's head, and the newborn goddess Athena jumped out.

Another pediment depicts a dispute over Attica. Athena and the god of the seas Poseidon argued which of them would be the patron of the city. The olive tree that Athena grew was more liked by the inhabitants than the salty spring carved from the rock by Poseidon.

At the end of the temple, a solemn procession is depicted, walking along the Parthenon in honor of the Panathenaic holiday and worship of the patron goddess of the city. Horsemen, priestesses and priests participated in it. Athena was presented new clothes, which was called peplos.

Some metopes of the Parthenon depict various scenes from battles and not only between people. On them, the Greeks are fighting with centaurs, Amazons, the gods are fighting with giants. They also illustrate scenes from the Trojan War.

Many details of the Parthenon were previously painted, blue and red colors predominated. It was painted in a special way: a thin layer of wax with a dye was applied, then, under the influence of temperature, the paint penetrated into the stone. A magnificent effect of coloring marble was achieved, while its structure was visible. The building was also decorated with bronze wreaths.

On the famous Athenian Acropolis is the famous ancient Greek temple Parthenon. This main temple in Ancient Athens is a magnificent monument of ancient architecture. It was built in honor of the patroness of Athens and all of Attica - the goddess Athena.

The start date for the construction of the Parthenon is 447 BC. It was installed thanks to the found fragments of marble tablets, on which the city authorities presented resolutions and financial reports. Construction lasted 10 years. The temple was consecrated in 438 BC. at the Panathenaic festival (which in Greek means “for all Athenians”), although the decoration and decoration of the temple was carried out until 431 BC.

The initiator of the construction was Pericles, an Athenian statesman, famous commander and reformer. The design and construction of the Parthenon was carried out by the famous ancient Greek architects Iktin and Kallikrates. The decoration of the temple was made by the greatest sculptor of those times - Phidias. High quality Pentelian marble was used for the construction.

The building was built in the form of a periptera (rectangular structure surrounded by columns). The total number of columns is 50 (8 columns on the facades and 17 columns on the sides). The ancient Greeks took into account that straight lines are distorted at a distance, so they resorted to some optical techniques. For example, the columns do not have the same diameter along the entire length, they taper somewhat towards the top, and the corner columns are also inclined towards the center. Thanks to this, the building seems to be perfect.

Earlier in the center of the temple stood a statue of Athena Parthenos. The monument was about 12 m high and made of gold and ivory on a wooden base. In one hand, the goddess held a statue of Nike, and with the other she leaned on a shield, near which the serpent Erichthonius curled up. On the head of Athena was a helmet with three large crests (the middle one with the image of a sphinx, the side ones with griffins). On the pedestal of the statue was carved the scene of the birth of Pandora. Unfortunately, the statue has not survived to this day and is known from descriptions, images on coins and a few copies.

For many centuries, the temple was attacked more than once, a significant part of the temple was destroyed, and historical relics were looted. Today, some parts of the masterpieces of ancient sculptural art can be seen in famous museums peace. The main part of the magnificent works of Phidias was destroyed by people and time.

Currently, restoration work is underway, the reconstruction plans include the maximum reconstruction of the temple in its original form in ancient times.

The Parthenon as part of the Acropolis of Athens is listed world heritage UNESCO.

Published: June 8, 2015

The Parthenon (ancient Greek: Παρθενών; modern Greek: Παρθενώνας) is an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the Athenians considered their patroness. Construction began in 447 BC. when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It ended in 438 BC. e., although the decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. e. It is the most important surviving building of classical Greece and is generally considered to have its zenith in the Doric order. decorative sculptures The Parthenon are considered among the most successful in Greek art. And the Parthenon itself is a symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy and Western civilization, and one of the greatest cultural monuments in the world. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture is currently implementing a program of selective restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially destroyed structure.

The Parthenon, which historians refer to as the Pre-Parthenon, was destroyed during the Persian invasion of 480 BC. e. The temple was built archaeoastronomically, according to the Hyades star cluster. Despite the fact that the sacred building was dedicated to the goddess patronizing the city, in fact it was used as a treasury. At one time, it served as the treasury of the Delian League, which later became the Athenian Empire. In the last decades of the sixth century AD, the Parthenon, which was converted into a Christian church, was dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

After the Ottoman conquest in the early 60s of the 15th century, it was turned into a mosque. On September 26, 1687, due to the Venetian bombardment, the Ottoman ammunition, which was stored in the building, caught fire. As a result of the explosion, the Parthenon and its sculptures were seriously damaged. In 1806, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed some of the surviving sculptures, ostensibly with permission from the Ottoman Empire. They are now known as the Elgin or Parthenon marbles. In 1816 they were sold to the British Museum in London, where they are exhibited today. Since 1983 (at the initiative of the Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri), the Greek government has decided to return the sculptures to Greece.

Etymology

Originally, the name "Parthenon" comes from the Greek word παρθενών (parthenon), and was referred to in the sense of "rooms of unmarried women" in the house, and in the case of the Parthenon, perhaps only a separate room of the temple was first used. There is debate about what kind of room it was, and how it got its name. According to the work of Lidl, Scott, Jones "Greek-English Lexicon" it was the western cella of the Parthenon. Jamari Green believes that the Parthenon was the room in which the peplum was presented to Athena at the Panathenaic Games. It was woven by the harrephores, four girls who were chosen every year to serve Athena. Christopher Pelling argues that the Athena Parthenos may represent a separate cult of Athena, closely related, but not identical, to that of Athena Polias. According to this theory, the name Parthenon means "temple of the virgin goddess" and refers to the cult of Athena Parthenos, which was associated with this temple. The epithet "parthenos" (παρθένος), whose origin is unknown, means "virgin, girl", but also "virgin, single woman”, and was mainly used in relation to Artemis, the goddess of wild animals, hunting and vegetation, and Athena, the goddess of strategy and tactics, craft and practical reason. There is also an assumption that the name of the temple refers to the virgins (partheno), whose highest sacrifice guarantees the safety of the city.

© website, photo: Parthenon today, July 2014

The first instance in which the name Parthenon certainly refers to the entire building was found in the writings of the orator Demosthenes dated to the 4th century BC. In the 5th century, the building was considered as a structure, which was simply called ho naos ("temple"). It is believed that the architects Mnesicles and Kallikrates called it Hekatompodos ("one hundred feet") in their lost treatise on Athenian architecture, and in the 4th century and later, it was known as Hekatompedos or Hekatompedon, like the Parthenon; in the 1st century AD e. The writer Plutarch called the building Hecatompedon the Parthenon.

Because the Parthenon was dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, it was sometimes called the Temple of Minerva, the Roman name for Athena, especially in the 19th century.

Purpose

Although architecturally the Parthenon is a temple and is usually called that, however, in the generally accepted sense of the word, this is not entirely true. A small temple was found inside the building, on the site of an old one, probably dedicated to Athena, as a way to get closer to the goddess, but the Parthenon itself never accepted the cult of Athena Polis, the patroness of Athens; the cult image, which was washed in the sea and presented with peplos, was an olive xoan, located on an old altar in the northern part of the Acropolis.

The magnificent statue of Athena, by Phidias, was not associated with any cult and is not known to have ignited any religious fervor. She probably did not have a priestess, an altar, or a cult name. According to Thucydides, Pericles once referred to the statue as a gold reserve, emphasizing that it "consisted of forty talents of pure gold, and they could be taken out." The Athenian statesman thus assumed that the metal obtained from modern coinage could be used again without any disrespect. The Parthenon was then seen more as a large setting for a votive statue of Phidias than as a place of worship. Many Greek authors are said to have described in their writings the myriad treasures kept inside the temple, such as Persian swords and small statues made of precious metals.

Archaeologist Joan Breton Connelly has recently argued for the connection of the Parthenon's sculptural plan in presenting a series of genealogical accounts that trace Athenian features back through the ages: from the birth of Athena, through cosmic and epic battles, to the great final event of the Athenian Bronze Age, the war between Erechtheus and Eumolpus. She argues that the pedagogical function of the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon establishes and reinforces the Athenian foundations of myth, memory, values ​​and identity. Connelly's thesis is debatable, and some notable classics such as Mary Beard, Peter Green, and Harry Wheels have either questioned it or simply rejected it.

Early history

Old Parthenon

The initial desire to build a sanctuary of Athena Parthenos on the site of the current Parthenon was realized shortly after the Battle of Marathon (c. 490-488 BC) on a foundation of hard limestone, which was located on the southern part of the top of the Acropolis. This building replaced the Hekatompedon (i.e. "one hundred feet") and stood next to the archaic temple dedicated to Athena Polias. The Old Parthenon, or Pre-Parthenon as it is often called, was still under construction when, in 480 B.C. e. The Persians sacked the city and destroyed the Acropolis.

The existence of the proto-Parthenon and its destruction is known from Herodotus. The drums of its columns were visible at a glance and were built after the load-bearing wall north of the Erechtheion. Further physical evidence of this structure was revealed during the excavations of Panagis Kavadias in 1885-1890. Their results led Wilhelm Dörpfeld, then director of the German Archaeological Institute, to claim that the original Parthenon contained an underground structure called Parthenon I, which was not exactly below the current building, as previously thought. Dörpfeld's observation was that the three steps of the first Parthenon consisted of limestone, two of porous, like the base, and the upper step of Karha limestone, which was covered by the lowest step of the Pericles Parthenon. This platform was smaller and was located just north of the final Parthenon, indicating that it was built for a completely different building, currently completely closed. The picture was somewhat complicated by the publication of the final excavation report in 1885-1890, which indicated that this underground structure was of the same age as the walls built by Kimon, and implied more late deadline first temple.

Floor plan of the Parthenon, photo: public domain

If the original Parthenon was indeed destroyed in 480, this raises the question of why the site remained in ruins for thirty-three years. One argument suggests an oath taken by the Greek allies before the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. e., according to which the sanctuaries destroyed by the Persians will not be restored. Only in 450, at the conclusion of the Kallia peace, did the Athenians free themselves from this oath. The mundane fact about the cost of rebuilding Athens after the Persian sack is not as plausible as its reason. However, Bert Hodge Hill's excavations led him to propose the existence of a second Parthenon built during the reign of Cimon after 468 BC. e. Hill argued that the Karha limestone step that Dörpfeld thought was the highest in Parthenon I was in fact the lowest of the three steps of Parthenon II, whose stylobate dimensions, according to Hill's calculations, were 23.51 by 66,888 meters (77.13 × 219.45 feet).

One of the difficulties in dating the proto-Parthenon is that at the time of the excavations in 1885, the archaeological method of seriation had not been fully developed; careless digging and backfilling of the site resulted in the loss of a large amount of valuable information. Attempts to discuss and comprehend the clay shards found in the Acropolis were realized in a two-volume work by Graf and Langlotz, published in 1925-1933. This inspired the American archaeologist William Bell Dinsmoor to attempt to set deadlines for the temple platform and five of its walls hidden under the re-terracing of the Acropolis. Dinsmoor concluded that the last possible date for Parthenon I was no earlier than 495 BC. e., which contradicts the earlier date established by Dörpfeld. In addition, Dinsmoor denied the existence of two proto-Parthenons and established that the only temple prior to the temple of Pericles was that which Dörpfeld called Parthenon II. In 1935, Dinsmoor and Dörpfeld exchanged views in the American Journal of Archaeology.

modern building

In the middle of the 5th century BC. e., when the Athenian Acropolis became the seat of the Delian Union, and Athens was the greatest cultural center of his time, Pericles initiated an ambitious building project that continued throughout the second half of the century. During this period, the most important buildings that can be seen in the Acropolis today were built: the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon was built under the overall supervision of Phidias, who was also responsible for the sculptural decoration. The architects Iktin and Kallikrat began their work in 447 BC. BC, and by 432 the building was completed, but decoration work continued until at least 431. Some financial accounts of the Parthenon have survived which show that the biggest expense was to transport the stones from Mount Pentelikon, about 16 km (9.9 miles) from Athens, to the Acropolis. These funds were partly taken from the treasury of the Delian League, transferred from the pan-Hellenic sanctuary at Delos to the Acropolis in 454 BC. e.

Architecture

The Parthenon is an octastyle Doric temple surrounded by columns with Ionic architectural features. It stands on a platform or on a stylobate of three steps. Like other Greek temples, it has a lintel and is surrounded by columns bearing an entablature. At each end are eight columns ("octastyle"), and seventeen on the sides. Also at each end of the column are installed in two rows. The colonnade surrounds an internal stone structure - a cella, divided into two rooms. At either end of the building, the roof ends in a triangular pediment, originally filled with sculptures. The columns represent the Doric order with a simple capital, fluted shaft and no base. Above the architrave is a frieze of illustrated carved panels (metope) separated by a triglyph, which is typical of the Doric order. Around the cella and along the lintels of the internal columns there is a continuous sculptural frieze in the form of a bas-relief. This element of architecture is Ionic rather than Doric.

Measured on the stylobate, the base of the Parthenon measures 69.5 by 30.9 meters (228 by 101 feet). The cella was 29.8 meters long and 19.2 meters wide (97.8 x 63.0 ft) with an internal colonnade in two rows structurally necessary to support the roof. On the outside, Doric columns measured 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in diameter and 10.4 meters (34 ft) high. The diameter of the corner columns was slightly larger. In total, the Parthenon had 23 internal and 46 external columns, each containing 20 flutes. (A flute is a concave groove carved in the shape of a column.) The stylobate had a curvature that increased towards the center by 60 mm (2.4 in) at the east and west ends and by 110 mm (4.3 in) at the sides. The roof was covered with large overlapping marble tiles known as fluted tiles and tegula.

© website, photo: Parthenon today, July 2014

The Parthenon is considered best example Greek architecture. John Julius Cooper wrote that the temple "has the reputation of being the most perfect Doric temple ever built. Even in antiquity, his architectural refinements were legendary, especially the delicate balance between the curvature of the stylobate, the slope of the cella walls and the entasis of the columns." Entasis refers to a slight decrease in the diameter of the columns as they rise, although the observed effect in the Parthenon is much more subtle than in early temples. The stylobate is the platform on which the columns stand. Like many other classical Greek temples, it has a slight parabolic increase in curvature to drain rainwater and strengthen the building against earthquakes. This may be why the columns were supposed to lean outward, but in fact they leaned slightly inward so that if they continued they would meet almost exactly a mile above the center of the Parthenon; since they are all the same height, the curvature of the outer edge of the stylobate is transferred to the architrave and roof: "The whole subsequent principle of creation is based on slight curvature," Gorham Stevens noticed this when he pointed out that the west facade was built somewhat higher than the south. It is not universally established what the entasis effect was supposed to be; it is possible that it served as a kind of "reverse optical illusion". Because the Greeks may have known that two parallel lines slope or curve outward when crossing converging lines. In this case, it seems that the ceiling and floor of the temple lean towards the corners of the building. In their pursuit of perfection, the designers may have added these curves, making up for the illusion by creating their own curves, thus negating this effect and allowing the temple to be as it was intended. It has also been suggested that it was used for "revitalization", in case a building without curves would perhaps have the appearance of an inert mass, but it should be compared with the more obvious curved predecessors of the Parthenon, and not with a conventionally rectilinear temple.

Some studies of the Acropolis, including the Parthenon, have concluded that many of its proportions are close to the golden ratio. The facade of the Parthenon, as well as the elements, can be described by a golden rectangle. This view was refuted in later studies.

Sculpture

The cella of the Parthenon housed the chrysoelephantine statue of Athena Parthenos by Phidias, created in 439 or 438 BC. e.

Initially, the decorative stonework was very colorful. At that time, the temple was dedicated to Athena, although construction continued almost until the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 432. By 438, the sculptural decoration of the Doric metopes on the frieze above the outer colonnade and the decoration of the Ionic frieze around the top of the cella wall were completed.

The richness of the frieze and metope is consistent with the purpose of the temple as a treasury. The opisthodome (back room of the cella) kept the monetary contributions of the Delian League, of which Athens was a leading member. Today, the surviving sculptures are kept in the Athens Acropolis Museum and the British Museum in London, and a few pieces in Paris, Rome, Vienna and Palermo.

Metopes

The western metopes illustrate the current state of the temple after 2,500 years of war, pollution, destruction, looting and vandalism, photo: Thermos,

The frieze of the entablature contains ninety-two metopes, fourteen each on the east and west sides, and thirty-two each on the north and south. They are carved in bas-relief, this practice was used only for treasuries (the building was used to store gifts that were presented to the gods by vow). According to construction documentation, metope sculptures date back to 446-440 BC. e. The metopes of the Parthenon, above the main entrance, on the east side depict the Gigantomachy (a mythical battle between the Olympian gods and giants). The metopes on the west side show the Amazonomachy (the mythical battle of the Athenians against the Amazons), and on the south side the Thessalian centauromachy (the battle of the Lapiths, with the help of Theseus, against half-human, half-horse centaurs). Metopes 13 to 21 are missing, but the drawings attributed to Jacques Carrey indicate groups of people; they have been variously interpreted as scenes from the Lapith's wedding, scenes from early history Athens and various myths. On the north side of the Parthenon, the metopes are poorly preserved, but the plot is reminiscent of the destruction of Troy.

The metopes are presented as an example of the strict style in the anatomy of the heads of the figures, in the limitation of physical movements to the contours but not to the muscles, and in the pronounced veins in the figures of centauromachy. Some of them still remain on the building, with the exception of those on the north side, as they are heavily damaged. Several metopes are in the Acropolis Museum, others are in the British Museum, and one is in the Louvre.

In March 2011, archaeologists announced that they had discovered five Parthenon metopes on the south wall of the Acropolis, which had been extended when the Acropolis was being used as a fortress. According to the daily newspaper Eleftherotype, archaeologists claimed that the metopes were placed there in the 18th century, when the wall was being restored. Experts discovered metopes while processing 2,250 photographs using modern photographic techniques. They were made of white Pentelian marble, which is different from the other stone of the wall. It was previously thought that the missing metopes were destroyed during the explosion of the Parthenon in 1687.

© website, photo: Parthenon today, July 2014

Frieze

Most hallmark in the architecture and decoration of the temple is the Ionic frieze around the outer walls of the cella (the inner part of the Parthenon). The bas-relief frieze was carved at the construction site; it dates from 442-438 BC. e. One interpretation is that it depicts an idealized version of the procession of the Panathenaic Games from the Dipylon gate at Kerameikos to the Acropolis. This procession, which takes place every year, was attended by Athenians and foreigners to honor the goddess Athena, bringing sacrifices and new peplos (cloth woven by specially selected noble Athenian girls).

Joan Breton Connelly offers a mythological interpretation of the frieze that is in harmony with the rest of the sculptural plan of the temple, and shows the Athenian genealogy through a series of myths from the distant past. She identifies the central panel above the door of the Parthenon as a sacrifice made before the battle by the daughter of King Erechtheus, and ensured victory over Eumolpus and his Thracian army. A large procession moved towards the eastern part of the Parthenon, showing the post-battle thanksgiving sacrifice of cattle and sheep, honey and water, following the triumphal army of Erechtheus, which returned with victory. In mythical times, these were the very first Panathenaic, the model upon which the historical processions of the Panathenaic Games were based.

Gables

When the traveler Pausanias visited the Acropolis at the end of the 2nd century AD, he only briefly mentioned the sculptures of the pediments of the temple (the ends of the gabel), leaving the main place to describe the statue of the goddess made of gold and ivory, which was located inside the temple.

East pediment

The eastern pediment tells of the birth of Athena from the head of her father Zeus. According to Greek mythology, Zeus gave birth to Athena after a terrible headache prompted him to summon Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmithing) for help. To relieve the pain, he ordered Hephaestus to hit him with a hammer, and when he did, Zeus's head split open and the goddess Athena came out of it, all dressed in armor. The sculptural composition depicts the moment of Athena's birth.

Unfortunately, the central part of the pediment was destroyed even before Jacques Carrey, who in 1674 created useful documentary drawings, therefore, all restoration work is the subject of assumptions and hypotheses. Main olympic gods should stand around Zeus and Athena, watching the miraculous event, probably with Hephaestus and Hera near them. Kerry's drawings played important role in the restoration of the sculptural composition from the north and south sides.

West gable

The western pediment overlooked the Propylaea and depicted the struggle between Athena and Poseidon during their competition for the honor of becoming the patron of the city. They appear in the center of the composition, and diverge from each other in strict diagonal forms, the goddess holds an olive tree, and the god of the sea raises his trident to hit the ground. On the sides, they are framed by two groups of horses pulling chariots, while the space in the sharp corners of the pediment is filled with legendary characters from Athenian mythology.

Work on the pediments continued from 438 to 432 BC. e., and the sculptures on them are considered one of the best examples of classical Greek art. The figures are created in natural movements and the bodies are full vital energy, which breaks through their flesh, and the latter, in turn, breaks through their thin clothes. Thin chitons show the lower body as the center of the composition. By placing the sculptures in stone, the sculptors erased the distinction between gods and humans, the conceptual relationship between idealism and naturalism. The fronts no longer exist.

Drawing of the statue of "Athena Parthenos", installed inside the Parthenon

Athena Parthenos

Only one sculpture from the Parthenon is known to belong to the hand of Phidias, the statue of Athena, which was located in the naos. This massive gold and ivory sculpture is now lost. It is known only from copies, vase paintings, jewelry, literary descriptions and coins.

Late period of history

late antiquity

In the middle of the third century AD, a major fire broke out in the Parthenon, which destroyed the roof and most of the interior of the temple. Restoration work was carried out in the fourth century AD, probably during the reign of Flavius ​​Claudius Julian. To cover the sanctuary, a new wooden roof was laid, covering it with clay tiles. It had a steeper slope than the original roof, and the building's wings were left open.

For almost a thousand years, the Parthenon continued to exist as a temple dedicated to Athena, until in 435 AD. e. Theodosius II did not decide to close all pagan temples in Byzantium. In the fifth century, one of the emperors stole the great cult image of Athena and took it to Constantinople, where it was later destroyed, possibly during the siege of Constantinople in 1204 CE. e.

Christian church

In the last decades of the sixth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church, which was called the Church of Mary Parthenos (Virgin Mary), or the Church of Theotokos ( Mother of God). The orientation of the building was changed, turning the facade to the east; main entrance moved to the western end of the building, and the Christian altar and iconostasis were on the eastern side of the building next to the apse built on the site where the pronaos of the temple had previously been located.

A large central entrance with adjacent side doors was made in the wall separating the cella, which became the church nave, from the back room, the porch of the church. The gaps between the columns of the opisthodom and the peristyle were walled up, however, the number of entrances to the room was sufficient. Icons were painted on the walls, and Christian inscriptions were carved into the columns. These renovations inevitably led to the removal of some of the sculptures. The images of the gods were either interpreted in accordance with the Christian theme, or seized and destroyed.

The Parthenon became the fourth most important Christian pilgrimage site in the eastern part of the Roman Empire after Constantinople, Ephesus and Thessalonica. In 1018, Emperor Basil II made a pilgrimage to Athens, immediately after his final victory over the Bulgarians, for the sole purpose of visiting the church in the Parthenon. In medieval Greek records, it was called the temple of the Athenian Mother of God (Theotokos Atheniotissa) and was often indirectly mentioned as famous, without an exact explanation of which temple was meant, thus confirming that it was really famous.

During the Latin occupation, for about 250 years, it became the Roman Catholic Church of the Virgin Mary. During this period, a tower was built on the southwest corner of the cella, which was used as a watchtower or as a bell tower with a spiral staircase, as well as vaulted tombs under the floor of the Parthenon.

islamic mosque

In 1456, Ottoman forces invaded Athens and laid siege to the Florentine army, which defended the Acropolis until June 1458, when the city surrendered to the Turkish. The Turks quickly restored the Parthenon for later use as a church by Greek Christians. For a while, before closing in the fifteenth century, the Parthenon became a mosque.

The exact circumstances under which the Turks took possession of it for use as a mosque are unclear; one source states that Mehmed II had it reconstructed as punishment for the Athenian conspiracy against the Ottoman Empire.

The apse, which became a mihrab (a tower built earlier during the Roman Catholic occupation of the Parthenon), was extended upwards to make a minaret, a minbar was installed, and the Christian altar and iconostasis were removed, and the walls were whitewashed to cover the icons of Christian saints and other Christian images.

Despite the changes accompanying the Parthenon, the transformation into a church and then into a mosque, its structure remains largely unchanged. In 1667, the Turkish traveler Evliya Celebi expressed admiration for the sculptures of the Parthenon and figuratively described the building as "some kind of impregnable fortress not created by man." He composed poetic prayers: "the work of less significant human hands than Heaven itself must stand for a long time."

The French artist Jacques Carrey visited the Acropolis in 1674 and made sketches of the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon. Early in 1687, an engineer named Plantier painted the Parthenon for the Frenchman Gravier Dortier. These images, especially those made by Carrey, provided important evidence of the condition of the Parthenon and its sculptures before the destruction at the end of 1687 and in the subsequent looting of its works.

The destruction of the Parthenon as a result of the explosion of a gunpowder warehouse during the Venetian-Turkish war. 1687. Drawing by an unknown artist.

Destruction

In 1687, the Parthenon was badly damaged in the greatest catastrophe that ever befell it. long history. To attack and capture the Acropolis, the Venetians sent an expedition led by Francesco Morosini. The Ottoman Turks fortified the Acropolis and used the Parthenon as an ammunition cellar—despite the danger of such use after the 1656 explosion that severely damaged the Propylaea—and shelter for members of the local Turkish community. On September 26, a Venetian mortar shot fired from Philopappus Hill blew up the cellar and partially destroyed the building. The explosion shattered the central part of the building and caused the cella to collapse. The Greek architect and archaeologist Cornelia Hatziaslani writes that “... three of the four walls of the sanctuary almost collapsed and three-fifths of the sculptures from the frieze fell. Obviously, none of the parts of the roof remained in place. Six columns fell from the south side and eight from the north, and nothing remained of the eastern portico, except for one column. Together with the columns, a huge marble architrave, triglyphs and menotopes collapsed. The explosion killed approximately three hundred people, who were covered with marble debris near the Turkish defenders. It also caused several large fires that burned until the next day and destroyed many houses.

Records were made during the conflict as to whether this destruction was intentional or accidental; one such entry is by a German officer, Zobifolsky, which states that a Turkish deserter gave Morosini information about what the Turks were using the Parthenon for, expecting the Venetians to not target a building of such historic importance. In response, Morosini sent artillery to the Parthenon. Subsequently, he tried to loot sculptures from the ruins and cause further damage to the building. When the soldiers tried to remove the sculptures of Poseidon and Athena's horses from the western pediment of the building, they fell to the ground and broke.

The following year, the Venetians abandoned Athens in order to avoid a confrontation with the large Turkish army assembled at Chalcis; at that time, the Venetians took into account the explosion, after which almost nothing remained of the Parthenon and the rest of the Acropolis, and rejected the possibility of its further use by the Turks as a fortress, but such an idea was not pursued.

After the Turks recaptured the Acropolis, they built a small mosque within the walls of the destroyed Parthenon, using the ruins from the explosion. Over the next century and a half, the remaining parts of the structure were looted for building materials and other valuables.

The 18th century was the period of the "sick man of Europe"; as a result, many Europeans were able to visit Athens, and the picturesque ruins of the Parthenon became the subject of many paintings and drawings, spurring the rise of the Philhellenes and helping to arouse the sympathy of Britain and France for the sake of Greek independence. Among these early travelers and archaeologists were James Stewart and Nicholas Revett, who were commissioned by the Society of Dilettantes to investigate the ruins of classical Athens.

They created drawings of the Parthenon, while making measurements, which in 1787 published in two volumes Antiquities of Athens Measured and Delineated (Antiquities of Athens: measured and depicted). In 1801, the British ambassador in Constantinople, Count Elgin, received a dubious firman (decree) from the Sultan, whose existence or legitimacy has not been proven to this day, to make casts and drawings of the antiquities of the Acropolis, and to demolish the last buildings, examine the antiquities if necessary, and remove the sculptures .

Independent Greece

When independent Greece gained control of Athens in 1832, the visible part of the minaret was destroyed; only its base and the spiral staircase to the level of the architrave remained intact. Soon all the medieval and Ottoman buildings built on top of the Acropolis were destroyed. However, there is a photograph by Joly de Lotbinier of a small mosque in the cella of the Parthenon, published in Lerbaud's Excursions Daguerriennes in 1842: the first photograph of the Acropolis. This area became a historical site that was controlled by the Greek government. Today it attracts millions of tourists every year. They follow the road at the western end of the Acropolis, through the restored Propylaea up the Panathenaic Way to the Parthenon, which is surrounded by a low rail to prevent damage.

Marble Sculpture Controversy

The center of the dispute was the marble sculptures taken out by Earl Elgin from the Parthenon, which are in the British Museum. Also, a few sculptures from the Parthenon are displayed in the Louvre in Paris, in Copenhagen, and elsewhere, but more than fifty percent is in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Some can still be seen on the building itself. Since 1983, the Greek government has been campaigning to bring sculptures back to Greece from the British Museum.

The British Museum has steadfastly refused to return the sculptures, and successive British governments have been unwilling to force the museum to do so (which would require a statutory basis). However, negotiations between senior representatives of the Greek and British ministries of culture and their legal advisers took place in London on 4 May 2007. These were the first serious negotiations in several years, in which hopes were pinned that both sides could take a step towards a resolution.

© website, photo: Parthenon columns in scaffolding

Recovery

In 1975, the Greek government began coordinated work to restore the Parthenon and other structures of the Acropolis. After some delay, in 1983 the Committee for the Preservation of the Monuments of the Acropolis was established. The project later attracted funding and technical assistance from the European Union. The archaeological committee carefully documented each artifact left there, and using computer models, the architects determined their original location. Particularly important and fragile sculptures were transferred to the Acropolis Museum. A crane was installed to move the marble blocks. In some cases, previous reconstructions turned out to be wrong. Dismantling was carried out, and the restoration process began anew. Initially, the various blocks were held together by oblong iron H-shaped connectors, which were completely covered with lead to protect the iron from corrosion. The stabilizing connectors added in the 19th century were less lead-plated and corroded. Since the product of corrosion (rust) tends to expand, it has caused further damage to the already cracked marble. All of the new metalwork consisted of titanium, a strong, lightweight and corrosion-resistant material.

The Parthenon will not be restored to the state it was in before 1687, however, as far as possible, damage from the explosion will be repaired. In the interest of restoring the building's structural integrity (important in this seismically prone area) and aesthetic integrity, chipped portions of the column drums and lintels will be filled in using finely hewn marble, reinforced in place. New Pentelian marble from the original quarry is used. As a result, almost all large pieces of marble will be placed where they originally were, supported, if necessary, by modern materials. Over time, the white repaired parts will become less visible compared to the original weathered surfaces.

Janos Korom Dr. / flickr.com Parthenon in Athens (Panoramas / flickr.com) János Korom Dr. / flickr.com Chris Brown / flickr.com Parthenon, 1985 (Nathan Hughes Hamilton / flickr.com) The Parthenon rises on the Acropolis (Roger W / flickr.com) jjmusgrove / flickr.com Nicholas Doumani / flickr.com claire rowland / flickr. com Dennis Jarvis / flickr.com The Parthenon at night (Arian Zwegers / flickr.com) psyberartist / flickr.com George Rex / flickr.com Reconstruction of the Parthenon (Emiliano Felicissimo / flickr.com) Comrade Foot / flickr.com In front of the Parthenon (Kristoffer Trolle / flickr.com)

The Acropolis of Athens Parthenon is the most outstanding religious building and the greatest monument of ancient Greek architecture. Built in the 5th c. BC, the temple struck its contemporaries with its size and grandeur, and continues to amaze and interest eyewitnesses of the modern era.

The temple of Athena the Virgin in the city named after her was the main cult object of the ancient Hellenes. For the inhabitants of the city of Athens, it became consonant with the meaning of the words of prosperity and well-being.

Such a reverent attitude is explained by the fact that it was dedicated to the goddess Athena, who was considered the patroness of the city and ancient Greece.

The word "Parthenon" in the language of the ancient Hellenes meant "pure". In other words, Athena became the forerunner of the "Pure Virgin Mary" in the Christian religion. Also, the goddess was an ancient Greek invariant of the widespread archetype of the “mother goddess”.

Legend of Goddess Athena

Interestingly, Zeus himself gave birth to Athena. According to ancient Greek myths, the supreme god of Olympus was foreshadowed by death at the hands of his son.

In front of the Parthenon (Kristoffer Trolle / flickr.com)

Fearing the fulfillment of the words of the prophecy, the Thunderer swallowed his wife Metis, who was carrying a child under her heart.

However, the prediction did not come true - a daughter was born who came out of the head of Zeus (the heavenly ruler himself ordered to cut his skull, because he could not stand the torment).

Athena, like her brother Ares, became the patroness of wars. But unlike her divine relative, she stopped injustice and advocated the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

According to ancient Greek mythology, it was Athena who gave people crafts, in particular, taught women how to weave. In addition, the goddess contributed to the development of science and philosophy.

The Hellenes, who valued the intellectual factor of life above all, decided to thank their patroness by erecting the most majestic temple in the history of mankind in her honor.

Where is the Parthenon located?

The temple of the warrior maiden is located in the very center of the modern capital of Greece, on the Athenian Acropolis and is visible even from the most remote point of the city. The word "Acropolis" meant "Upper City". And this city performed defensive functions - the Athenians hid behind its walls, waiting for the siege.

Acropolis - home of the gods

One glance at the Acropolis is enough to understand that the gods played a primary role in the life of the inhabitants of ancient Greece - its entire territory is dissected by temples and sanctuaries dedicated to almost all the gods of Olympus.

The buildings of the Acropolis amaze with the genius of architectural thought and serve as classic examples of the use of the golden section in construction.

The Greeks valued the correctness and proportionality of forms so much that even in plastic art they applied the rules of the golden section.

The Parthenon in Athens is not the first building of the Acropolis erected in honor of Athena. Even 200 years before him, the goddess was glorified in the temple of Hekatompedon. According to ancient historians, both sanctuaries actually existed in parallel until the first fell into decay.

Today, the monastery of Athena is a ruin, carved with traces of numerous destructions, but they still keep the seal on themselves. former grandeur. The temple is calling card Athens and all of Greece.

Every year, crowds of tourists interested in history tend to the foot of the Acropolis to touch the history.

Acropolis of Athens (© A.Savin, Wikimedia Commons)

Who built the Parthenon?

The construction of the main temple of Athens, the Parthenon, dates back to 447 BC. e. The building was designed by the famous architect of antiquity Ikten. The construction was carried out by Kallikrates, the court architect of the ruler Pericles, who initiated the construction.

Parthenon, 1985 (Nathan Hughes Hamilton / flickr.com)

Under the guidance of the master, other objects of the Acropolis were also erected, and more than a dozen civil objects of Athens. All projects of the master are built in the best traditions of the architecture of Ancient Greece - using the principle of the golden section.

The temple of the goddess Athena was originally part of an extensive program of the Athenian ruler Pericles to improve the city.

An interesting fact is that 450 talents were spent on its construction. Considering that 1 warship could be built for 1 talent, we can say that Pericles left his empire without a navy, but gave the world one of the unique architectural monuments.

The construction of the temple lasted 9 years, and in 438 BC. e. he opened his doors. However, for another 6 years, finishing work was carried out, which was led by Phidias, who went down in history thanks to an interesting fact of his creative biography.

Parthenon at night (Arian Zwegers / flickr.com)

The master is the creator of one of the seven Wonders of the World - a sculpture of Zeus in Olympia. For the new temple, the sculptor created a statue of Athena Parthenos - an eleven-meter sculpture made of ivory and gold. It was a rich gift for the revered goddess.

The monument has not reached our days, and we can judge its beauty only from the preserved ancient sources.

The interior of the temple was filled with numerous sculptural compositions and statues of gods. Many of them are irretrievably lost. Some are kept in museums around the world. Statues from the Parthenon can be seen in the Hermitage.

Most of the surviving heritage is in the London Museum - these are statues and metopes, bought back in the 19th century. from the Ottoman government. Currently, Greece is working to return the exhibits to their native land.

Features of the architectural solution

The Parthenon temple was in many ways an innovative structure. His appearance and design findings at one time amazed contemporaries and still arouse research interest.

Architecture of the Parthenon (George Rex / flickr.com)

The temple was actually completely built of Pendelian marble, which cost a lot of money, and the decoration abounded in gold.

Under the influence of sunlight, the southern facade acquired a golden hue over time. The north side of the building, which was less exposed to radiation, had its original gray color.

The temple of the warrior goddess is located on the highest point of the Acropolis, and in the rays of the setting sun, a visual effect of a golden glow is created.

At the same time, observers get the impression that the temple is small. As you approach, the panorama expands and the building "suppresses" with its massiveness.

Hyperbolic diagram of the curvature of the Parthenon (© A.Erud, Wikimedia Commons)

From the side, there is a visual image that the building has an ideal straight structure. In fact, most of the architectural elements are devoid of straight lines:

• the upper parts of the steps have a slight deflection in the center, the columns are somewhat thickened in the center, while the corner ones have a larger volume compared to the rest;
• The pediments of the Parthenon face inward, while the entablature protrude outward.

All these optical techniques actually made it possible to create the illusion of perfect straightness. In addition, the principle of the golden section was used in the construction of the temple.

The outer facade of the building was decorated with numerous metopes - relief images of the gods: Zeus, Apollo, winged Nike, etc. The Parthenon, like all the sanctuaries of ancient Greece, was painted in bright colors.

Dominant in the color palette were shades of red, blue and gold. Over time, they were worn out and we can only judge the beauty of the building according to the words of ancient scrolls.

Parthenon - temple of three religions

The fate of the Parthenon was such that it became a place where the words of three religions sounded - paganism, Orthodoxy and Islam. The history of the greatness of the temple did not last long.

Parthenon, Acropolis of Athens (Carole Raddato / flickr.com)

The last ruler to honor the wise goddess was Alexander the Great. In the future, Athens was subjected to numerous captures. The temple was plundered, the gilding was removed from the statues, and the sculptures themselves were barbarously destroyed. However, the cult of the goddess Athena was so high among the Athenians that the sanctuary was restored by the incredible forces of the townspeople, despite the fact that the treasury was actually plundered.

After the restoration, the temple operated for another 800 years and became the last refuge of paganism on the territory of modern Greece. With the advent of Christian power, pagan traditions in the city were still strong. In order to stop idolatry in the IV century. n. e. the monastery of Athena was turned into an Orthodox church in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos.

The building was rebuilt in accordance with the canons of Orthodox architecture, but in general it looked the same as before. In a new incarnation, the temple began to attract pilgrims from all over the Orthodox world. Emperors and commanders came running for words of support from the ministers of the new "old" shrine.

Reconstruction of the Parthenon (Emiliano Felicissimo / flickr.com)

In the XV century. Greece fell under the influence of the Ottoman Empire. The new authorities, first of all, hastened to get rid of Christian symbols, and this time the Parthenon acquired the features of Muslim mosques. However, in addition to the excision of Christian stories and words, no fundamental changes in the external appearance of the temple did not happen. In the 17th century During the military clash between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League, the walls of the Parthenon were almost destroyed.

In 1840, restoration work began, which breathed new life to a place of worship. The process of recovery with varying degrees of success continues today.

Today, the fate of the Parthenon is once again under threat. The financial problems that began after the country's accession to the EU became the main obstacles to the revival of the greatest monument of history.

Greece ... At the sound of this word, Olympus appears with a host of gods, beautiful and courageous heroes and crowded policies. This is a picturesque country with a rich history, every corner here is a cultural heritage that takes those who visit it back into the depths of centuries. The famous monument of Greek culture is the Acropolis of Athens, short description which is presented in this article.

Acropolis - the heart of Athens

In the center of the great Greek capital, Athens, rises a hill 156 meters high, visible from any part of the city. You can climb this hill only from the sea: other slopes are steep and present a serious obstacle. At the top of the hill is a temple complex called the Acropolis ("Upper City" in Greek). The Acropolis served as the abode of the city rulers, as it was the most protected part of the city. Now it is the most popular and famous place in Greece, which attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world. It is very interesting both as a monument of history and as a monument of architecture. The Acropolis has seen a lot in its centuries-old life: the heyday of Greek culture, and its decline, and the conquests of the Romans, and the formation of the Ottoman Empire, and the emergence of modern Greece. Many times the heart of Athens was destroyed by enemy shells, and now the remains silently remind of eternal values ​​​​in the hustle and bustle of this world.

A bit of history

Picturesque pedestals and columns with a panoramic view of the capital of Greece today is the temple complex of the Acropolis (Athens), whose history begins around the 16th century AD.

The founder of the Acropolis is the first Athenian king - Kekrops. In those days it was just a hill fortified with huge stones. In the 6th century BC. at the direction of King Pisistratus, the entrance gates to the Upper City - Propylaea are being erected. In the 5th century BC. under the leadership of the ruler Pericles, Athens became the center of Greek politics and culture, and at the same time, active construction was underway in the Acropolis. The main temple of Athens, the Parthenon, the temple of Nike Apteros, the theater of Dionysus, and the statue of Athena Promachos were built. The remains of these structures make up the Athenian Acropolis, a brief description of them will be given below.

In time, a new temple appeared on the hill - the Temple of Rome and Augustus. Then a long period of wars began, construction was no longer carried out, the Greeks tried to protect what they had.

Over the centuries, the Athenian Acropolis experienced many disasters. Architecture, monuments (Athens is very rich in cultural heritage) were constantly destroyed. The Byzantine rulers made the Parthenon a church, the Ottomans a harem. In the 19th century, it was almost completely destroyed by the Turks. Having finally achieved independence, the Greeks are trying to restore the temple complex and return it to its original appearance.

Currently, everyone can visit the Athenian Acropolis. Brief description of the complex, features of architecture and richest history You can find out during the tour or by studying special literature.

Propylaea - entrance to the Upper City

For those visiting the Athenian Acropolis, a brief description of the main entrance will be very interesting. The idea belongs to the architect Mnesicles, who designed the main passage in the form of porticos and colonnades, located symmetrically on both sides of the path to the hill. The entire composition was made from different breeds marble and included 6 Doric columns, 2 Ionic, 5 gates and the main corridor, as well as pavilions adjacent to the west side. Unfortunately, only a few columns and fragments of the corridor have survived to this day.

Great Parthenon

The age of Pericles is the architecture of the classics. The Acropolis of Athens was built according to the ideas of the sculptor Phidias. He, apparently, belongs to the idea of ​​the Parthenon.

The name of the temple means "virgin", and it was conceived in honor of the goddess Athena. Unfortunately, after the explosion of the Venetian bomb in the 17th century, only the columns survived, but according to some descriptions, one can imagine its appearance. In the center of the temple was a statue of Athena in precious decoration, surrounded by more modest statues of various Greek heroes. The temple itself, approximately 70x30 meters in size, was surrounded by marble columns 10 meters high.

Temple of the Erechtheion and Temple of Nike Apteros

It was the Erechtheion temple, named after King Erechtheus, that was considered a place of worship for the goddess Athena, because her wooden statue, according to legend, fell directly from heaven, was kept here. There was also a trace from the lightning of Zeus, which killed the above-named king, and the salty spring of Poseidon, reminiscent of his struggle with Athena for dominion over the Adriatic. A lot of sculptures of the goddess of war and wisdom are kept by the Athenian Acropolis (architecture, monuments). Athens, named after this goddess, is the heart of Greece, and every temple, every statue here is imbued with reverence for the patroness of the city.

Many temples included the ancient Athenian Acropolis. The description briefly tells about the temple of Nike Apteros. This is a marble structure with four columns, in which there was a statue of the goddess of victory, holding a helmet in one hand, and a pomegranate fruit in the other, symbolizing peace. The Greeks deliberately deprived the statue of its wings so that Victory could no longer fly away from them and never leave their sacred city.

Theater of Dionysus

Let's continue our short excursion to the Athenian Acropolis (brief description). For children, perhaps the most interesting place more precisely, its surviving fragments. Initially, this theater, built for performances during the Lesser and Greater Dionysias (that is, every six months), was wooden. Two centuries later, the stage and most of the steps were replaced with marble ones. During the Roman Empire, instead of theatrical performances, gladiator fights were held here. The huge stage and many marble chairs in the open air could accommodate the whole city. The first rows were intended for honorary citizens, the rest - for ordinary spectators.

Even now, after so many centuries, the theater of Dionysus impresses with its size and majesty.

What else to see in the Acropolis?

In addition to these famous sights, the Athenian Acropolis, a brief description of which we continue, is also interesting for other monuments that are practically not preserved, but still worthy of attention. These are temples, or sanctuaries, of Aphrodite and Artemis, the temple of Rome and Augustus, a small temple of Zeus. In the 19th century, a French scientist discovered a secret emergency gate to the Upper City. They were named after him - the Bule Gate.

Panoramic view of great city Athens, which opens from the top of the hill, can also be considered part of the cultural heritage. The whole capital (with its old and new buildings) at a glance, White City on the background blue sea visible in the distance.

What should tourists know?

The Acropolis is open to visitors all year round, from 8.00 to 18.30 on weekdays and in a reduced mode (from 8.00 to 14.30) on holidays. There are installed holidays when the museum is closed to the public. Please read the opening hours carefully before planning your tour. The entrance ticket costs 12 euros and is valid 4 days after purchase (there is a reduced rate for students and pensioners and free admission for schoolchildren).

You can visit the Acropolis either with a guided tour, or with an individual guide, or on your own. In the latter case, only the cost of the entrance ticket is paid, but it should be noted that without the guide's comments, the tour of the monument will not be interesting. It is better to get an audio guide or an accompanying story.

July and August are the peak of tourist trips to Athens, so you need to be prepared for queues and a large number of visitors to the temple complex. It is better to plan a visit in the early morning when there are fewer visitors.

When visiting in summer period you should wear a hat and take a sufficient amount of drinking water (you can buy it on the territory of the complex, but the price will be unreasonably high).

You should visit the Acropolis in comfortable shoes, prepare for walks over fairly long distances.

In the temple complex, nothing can be touched with your hands, not even stones!

300 meters from the Acropolis is a new Archaeological Museum, where you can see interesting excavations and finds right in the ground, walking along the glass floor. The cost of visiting is not high.

There is an open-air cafe on the roof of the museum, where they offer delicious coffee and inexpensive local dishes. The view of the Acropolis from there is simply amazing!

Can be purchased to leave the Acropolis in your memory for a long time, description and photo: Greece, Athens, picturesque nature and famous sights will remind you of yourself from the pages of the album.

Tourist impressions

The Athenian Acropolis leaves no one indifferent: the reviews of tourists are mostly enthusiastic, filled with vivid emotions. The grandeur of the temple complex in Athens is amazing! Every stone, every piece of marble keeps a centuries-old history, the memory of prosperity and destruction, defeats and victories, the memory of great warriors and cruel conquerors.

Despite the fact that only fragments of its former splendor have survived to this day, a special atmosphere of the culture of the ancient Greeks hovers here, and people who ascend the hill seem to become a little closer to this heritage, as if they are surrounded by those deities in whose honor the most beautiful temples and sanctuaries were built. and colonnades!