Acropolis in Greece, resort of Athens
Rating: 8,0/10 (1992 votes)  The Acropolis of Athens is a rocky high hill with a gentle summit, reaching a height of 156 meters. It was the most important social, administrative and religious center of Athens, giving the name to the architectural complexes of other Greek cities that perform similar functions. According to archaeological data, the first settlement appeared here even before the onset of the classical era. During the Archaic times, temples were already located here, sculptures were made, and various objects of worship were used. In ancient times, the Acropolis served as a fortified city center, where residents gathered in case of a siege. In the 7-6 centuries BC. a lot of construction was done here. On the territory of the acropolis during the reign of Peisistratus the temple of the goddess Athena was erected. In 480 BC. during the Greco-Persian wars, the Persians destroyed almost all the temples of the Acropolis. At the initiative of the famous Pericles in 47 BC. new large-scale construction began on the territory of the Acropolis. The head of all work was the sculptor Phidias, who, perhaps, was the author of the project that became the basis of the entire complex, its sculptural and architectural appearance. The architectural complex of the Acropolis erected at that time (including the famous Parthenon temple and other cult and public buildings) became the brightest and most famous example of ancient Greek architecture. At the end of the Antique era, the Acropolis fell on hard times. In the 5th century AD. the statue of Athena was transported to Constantinople, and the Parthenon was turned into the Church of Our Lady. In the 15th century, after the Turkish conquest of Greece, the temple began to be used as a mosque, to which minarets were added later. Later, the mosque turned into an arsenal. The temple of Niki Apteros was completely dismantled, and the bastion wall was assembled from its blocks. The entire central part of the temple of Athena was destroyed by a cannonball from a Venetian ship in 1687. In an unsuccessful attempt to remove the Parthenon sculptures, the Venetians smashed several statues. In the 19th century, the English Lord Elgin broke down a number of metopes, almost all the sculptures of the Parthenon pediments, tens of meters of frieze and caryatid from the portico of the Erechtheion. During the defense of the Acropolis in 1827, the Erechtheion temple was severely destroyed. Subsequently, the Turks also made attempts to blow up the Acropolis, however, thanks to the Greek sapper Hormovitis, We also recommend reading Stone (Petrified) forest of Nostimo in Greece Topic: Acropolis in Greece, resort of Athens. |
