ACROPOLIS
Wednesday 12th of October 2011
After arriving in Athens . The first thing you look out for is the world famous Acropolis.
We were lucky our city centre hotel had a roof top bar which had great views over Athens.
After breakfast we rush through Plaka to the gates of the Acropolis . The crowd is large due the the site shutting at 11.30 . Industrial action is the cause of the early close.
As we climb the stair we start to get the feeling we going back in time.
OLIS
The walk up is slow due to the crowds .People from all over the world marvel at the historical site. The greatest and finest sanctuary of ancient Athens, dedicated primarily to its patron, the goddess Athena, dominates the centre of the modern city from the rocky crag known as the Acropolis
The term acropolis means upper city and many of the city states of ancient Greece are built around an acropolis where the inhabitants can go as a place of refuge in times of invasion. It's for this reason that the most sacred buildings are usually on the acropolis. It's the safest most secure place in town."
Parthenon
The Parthenon, dedicated by the Athenians to Athena Parthenos, the patron of their city, is the most magnificent creation of Athenian democracy at the height of its power. It is also the finest monument on the Acropolis in terms of both conception and execution.
The restoration of the Parthenon began in 1975 when the Greek government began to make a concerted effort to restore their Acropolis structures. A committee was assigned the task of restoration in 1983. Funding and technical assistance was requested, careful records were kept, computer models were used, and many other techniques were employed in order to maintain as much of the historical integrity of the building as possible.
Erechtheion
The elegant building known as the Erechtheion, on the north side of the sacred rock of the Acropolis, was erected in 421-406 BC as a replacement of an earlier temple dedicated to Athena Polias, the so-called ''Old temple''. The name ''Erechtheion'', mentioned only by Pausanias (1, 26, 5), derives from Erechtheus, the mythical king of Athens, who was worshipped there. Other texts refer to the building simply as ''temple'' or ''old temple''.
In the early 500s BC a new way of government was invented in Athens. It was "democracy" or "'rule by the people". Not everyone had a vote though. Only a male citizen had a say in how the city was run. There were about 30,000 citizens. The ruling Council had 500 members, all men, and chosen for a year at a time. Women could not be citizens, nor could slaves or foreigners.
The citizens met to vote on new laws put forward by the Council. Usually around 5,000 citizens met, every 10 days or so on a hill called the Pnyx. In Athens, you can still see the stones of this historic meeting place.
The Parthenon was built in the 5th century BC by the Athenian Acropolis. It is a temple to the Greek goddess Athena. The Parthenon is currently undergoing a restoration and reconstruction process. Today the Parthenon is recognized as one of the worlds most treasured cultural monuments.
The Parthenon remains an important piece of history today because it stands as a symbol of both ancient Greece and of the age of Athenian democracy.