Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 1 - Walking Tour Around the Legendary Acropolis The Acropolis of Athens is famous all over the world, it is the symbol of the city of Athens. The first habitation remaining on this site dates back to the Neolithic period. The Acropolis hill is also called the "Sacred rock" of Athens, as it was home to temples and churches throughout recorded history. It is the one historic site you cannot miss! Guide Location: Greece» Athens # of Attractions: 8 Tour Duration: 1 hour(s) Travel Distance: 1.0 km Please note: This walk is also featured in the ios app "Athens Map and Walks" on itunes App Store and the Android app "Athens Map and Walks" on Google Play. The apps provide GPS navigation to guide you from one tour stop to the next, so you will never be lost. The apps offer additional walking tours in Athens. Check them out! GPSmyCity offers self-guided walking tours in over 1,000 city around the world. Please visit gpsmycity.com for more walking tour offers. List of attractions included in this self-guided walking tour: A) Acropolis Museum B) Museum of the Center for the Acropolis Studies C) Theater of Dionysus D) Odeon of Herodes Atticus E) Temple of Athena Nike F) Propylaea G) Erechtheum H) Parthenon Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 1 -
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Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 3 - A) Acropolis Museum (must see) The Acropolis Museum houses all artifacts found in and around the Acropolis and the Parthenon in Athens. It is located on the south eastern slope of Acropolis Hill and offers spectacular views of the Acropolis. The Acropolis Museum is a modern building designed by Swiss Architect, Bernard Tschumi, and Greek architect, Michael Photiadis. Stone sculptures and artifacts excavated from the area around the Acropolis and the Parthenon are exhibited in the museum. Its construction began in 2003 and the museum was opened to the public in 2009. Collections are displayed in three levels and the fourth level holds the cafe and the museum shop. At the entrance visitors are greeted by an ancient owl, the sacred bird of Athena, dating back to 500 BC. There is an impressive display of corks, free standing sculptures of Gods and humans, marble figures, fragmented artifacts and friezes. There are also models of the acropolis and replicas of the Parthenon marbles that are now in the British museum. The Acropolis offers an interesting multimedia presentation of the exhibits and visitors can hire personal guides for a better understanding of the significance of the displayed items. The cafe at the museum serves authentic Greek food. Address: 15 Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, Athens, Greece Image Courtesy of Flickr and Nenyaki. Sight description based on wikipedia B) Museum of the Center for the Acropolis Studies This museum forms part of the Acropolis Museum s research workshops. It has original collections of sculpture and plaster models of ancient buildings that once made up Athens in classical Greece. The Museum of the Center for Acropolis Studies occupies the Wilhelm von Weiler building which carries the name of the Bavarian engineer who built it in 1836. It later served as a hospital and barracks for gendarmes. The Archaeological Service took over this building in 1978 with the help of the actress and then minister of culture, Melina Merkouri. After extensive remodeling it became a museum. Exhibits and collections at the museum include casts of sculptures that Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 3 -
Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 4 - once adorned the Parthenon, Erechtheion sculpture and an exhibition devoted to the restoration and history of the Acropolis. Treasures at the museum include casts of pediment sculptures from the Parthenon, casts of the Metopes of the Parthenon depicting the Trojan War, casts of friezes from the Parthenon, models of the acropolis showing the hill as it stood in ancient Greece, paintings representing the facade of the Paroplaia as it was in classical Greece and examples of the clay tiled roofs that once covered the monuments near the Acropolis. Address: 2-4, Makriyianni street, Athens, Greece Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Michael Greenhalgh. Sight description based on wikipedia C) Theater of Dionysus (must see) The theater of Dionysus is one of the earliest surviving theaters of classical Greece. It is known as the birthplace of European theater. Around 500 BC, the theater was erected near the Acropolis for the performance of plays, a popular form of entertainment in ancient Greece. The location chosen was near the temple of Dionysus, the God of wine and the patron of drama. The shape of the stage was semicircular like all the major ancient Greek theaters, and the gallery could seat 25,000 spectators. The theater had fallen into and remained in disrepair until the Roman Emperor Nero ordered its restoration and renovation. The first drama by classical playwright Thespis from whom the word Thespian was coined, was performed at this venue in 530 BC. Plays of classical Greek dramatists like Sophocles, Aristophanes, Aeschylus, Euripides and Menander were staged. These well known classical dramatists often competed for a prize awarded for the most popular among plays performed here. Serious Greek tragedies that propounded philosophy in the form of a drama and light popular plays were staged at the theater too. The ruined marble theater is being restored by the Greek government and is scheduled for completion by 2015. Visitors can view the Theater of Dionysus on their Acropolis ticket or separately. Address: Theatre of Dionysus, Athens, Greece Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and sailko. Sight description based on wikipedia Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 4 -
Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 5 - D) Odeon of Herodes Atticus (must see) This stone amphitheater is one of the largest among surviving classical Greek theaters in Athens. From ancient times to the present it has been the venue of musical and theater performances of well known Greek and international performers. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus also called the Herodeon was built by the rich Greek aristocrat and Roman senator, Herodes Atticus. It was dedicated as a memorial to his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla in 161 AD. The structure has a stone wall that supports two levels of seats. In classical times, popular and serious plays were performed at the venue. After extensive renovations in 1950, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus has returned to its former glory and is the venue of the summer Athens Festival that features music performances and opera. Acclaimed Greek performers like Maria Callas, Nana Mouskouri and Haris Alexiou have given memorable shows at the venue. The world got a view of the Odeon during the widely televised, Yanni at the Acropolis concert in 1993. The Miss Universe pageant was held here in 1973. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus can seat 5000 people. The marble seating in the gallery has been restored and cushions cover the marble seats for the comfort of spectators. Address: Dionysiou Areopagitou St., Athens, Greece Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Yair Haklai. Sight description based on wikipedia E) Temple of Athena Nike (must see) Nike means "victory" in Greek, and Athena was worshiped in this form, as goddess of wisdom, on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Her temple was the earliest Ionic temple on the Acropolis, compensated by its prominent position on a steep bastion at the south west corner of the Acropolis to the right of the entrance. The Temple of Athena Nike is a tetrastyle (four column) Ionic structure with a colonnaded portico at both front and rear facades (amphiprostyle), designed by the architect Kallikrates. This building was erected on top of the remains of an earlier sixth century temple to Athena, demolished by the Persians in 480 B.C. The total height from the stylobate to the acme of the pediment while the temple remained intact was a modest 23 feet. Some time after the temple was completed, around Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 5 -
Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 6-410 B.C a parapet was added around it to prevent people from falling from the steep bastion. Address: Temple of Athena Nike, Athens, Greece Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Steve Swayne. Sight description based on wikipedia F) Propylaea The Propylaea is the monumental gateway to the Acropolis in Athens. It is the main entrance through which thousands of tourists pass en route to the other monuments surrounding the Acropolis. The Propylaea was commissioned by the Athenian leader Pericles. According to Plutarch the structure was designed by the architect, Mnesicles. It was constructed between 437 and 432 BC. It has a central building with two lateral wings. The colonnades in the east and west had a row of Doric columns. A row of ionic columns divided the gateway into three parts. The north wing called the Pinakotheke had painted walls. It was once a picture gallery. The south wing was the antechamber of the temple of Athena Nike. The ceiling was gilded and painted with decorative perforations. Entrance to the Acropolis was controlled in classical times by the Propylaea. Runaway slaves, miscreants and those not ritually clean were not permitted through the gateway. The State treasury that formed part of the Acropolis was also protected by the Propylaea. The Propylaea survived without damage through the Greek, Roman and Byzantine civilizations. In 1656, it was damaged by an explosion at a nearby Turkish gunpowder magazine. Since 1984, the structure has undergone extensive restoration under the supervision of Dr. Tasos Tanoulas. Address: Propylaea, Athens, Greece Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Ron Waller. Sight description based on wikipedia Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 6 -
Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 7 - G) Erechtheum (must see) This temple that forms part of the Acropolis is one of the finest examples of Ionic architecture. It was also the most sacred among the temples on the Acropolis because it was the sanctuary of the cults of Athena, Poseidon and Erechtonius. The Erechteum was built between 421 and 406 BC. It gets its name from the shrine within dedicated to the snake bodied legendary hero Erechtonius who was killed by Poseidon during the battle for the patronage of the City of Athens. The leader of Athens, Pericles commissioned sculptor and mason, Phidias to build the structure. The temple is made of marble from Mount Pentelikon near Athens and the friezes were of black limestone. The temple has three main parts, the temple, the northern and the southern porches. The main temple has two cellae, one dedicated to the Goddess Athena and the other to the God Poseidon. It symbolized the reconciliation between the two after their battle for the patronage of Athens. The northern porch has Ionic columns and a Propylon. The southern porch is the famous porch of maidens or Caryatids. Six draped female figures support the roof of the porch. The name Caryatids is given to the statues because the models that posed for the sculptor came from Karyes in Lakonia. Address: Erechtheum, Athens, Greece Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Mountain. Sight description based on wikipedia H) Parthenon (must see) Regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Parthenon is the most imposing among structures on the Acropolis in Athens. It stands at the top of the acropolis and was built to thank Goddess Athena, the patron of the city of Athens for her blessings during the war with the Persians. The Parthenon was built between 447 and 438 BC. Pericles, the leader of Athens commissioned the structure and it was designed by architects, Iktinos and Kallikrates. Phidias, the renowned master sculptor and mason supervised the ornamentation of the building. When the Parthenon was complete, it housed a 40 foot high sculpture of Athena by Phidias. The statue was later looted and destroyed. The temple is one of the best Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 7 -
Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 8 - examples of Doric architecture in Greece. The structure is covered with carved friezes of mythological battles and feats of the Gods. The Parthenon has served several purposes through history. It once housed the treasury of the city of Athens. Later, it became a Christian Church, an Ottoman Mosque and a gunpowder magazine. The explosion of the magazine caused great damage to the building in the 17th century. The Parthenon is not only one of the most important surviving buildings in Greece but a structure that has inspired the architecture of major public buildings including parliaments, universities, museums and libraries around the world. Address: Acropolis, Top of Dionyssiou Areopagitou, Athens, 10558, Greece Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Tim Bekaert. Sight description based on wikipedia Copyright by GPSmyCity.com - Page 8 -