Modern Athens was born long before the new era. In the V century BC, they played a major role in the history of ancient Greece. It was a city-state in which democracy formed in antiquity, and the philosophy and art of the theater took on classical forms. At the moment, the interesting places of Athens attract millions of tourists who were interested in the history of the ancient world at school, since this very story was created here.
If you do not know what to see here, do not limit yourself to the Athenian Agora and the Acropolis. In the historical part of the capital you will find a huge number of ancient monuments, while each of them is worthy to lead the rating of the largest attractions. When planning excursions in Athens, do not forget about the local museums! Here are collected unique collections of ancient Greek treasures.
Acropolis
In ancient Greece, the acropolis was called the elevated and fortified part of the city. The Acropolis of Athens was a refuge for residents when the enemy attacked. At the same time, a temple was built on its top for the gods, who were considered city patrons.
Climbing the Acropolis of Athens, you can see the ruins of the buildings of Ancient Greece, which are depicted all over the world on the pages of textbooks:
- Temple of Athena-Niki, built in the first third of the fifth century BC. e. from marble.
- The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and military strategy.
- Hekatompedon - the main temple built during the reign of Pisistratus. The sculptures decorating his pediment are in the New Museum, located at the Acropolis of Athens.
- Propylaea is the front gate that forms the entrance to the Acropolis.
The hill is in the center of the old town. He began to build up in the XV-XIII centuries. BC e. during the Mycenaean period, the constructions of that era destroyed the Persians during the Greco-Persian wars. The temples and ruins that have been preserved date back to a later period.
Temple of Athena Niki
The ancient Greek Temple of Niki Afteros (Athens-Niki) is located on the Acropolis. It is the first ionic temple here and is located on a hill on the right of the central entrance (Propylaea). In this place, the locals worshiped their goddess in the hope of a good result in a long war with the Spartans, as well as their allies.
Unlike the Acropolis, in which it was possible to enter the walls of the sanctuary only through the Propylaea, the temple of Niki Apteros was opened. It was erected in 427-424. BC e. Kallikratus, a famous ancient Greek architect, on the site of the older temple of Athena, destroyed in 480 BC. e. Persians. This building is an amphiprostyle, in which four columns are located in a row in the front and rear facades. The stylobate temple has 3 steps. The friezes are decorated with sculptural reliefs depicting Zeus, Athens, Poseidon, as well as scenes of military battles. Fragments of sculptural friezes that survived were exhibited in the British Museum and the Acropolis Museum; high-quality copies are now fixed on the temple.
Like the main number of buildings of the Acropolis, this temple is made of Pentelicon marble. After completion of the work, he was completely surrounded by a parapet in order to protect people from falling from a cliff. It was decorated on the outside with bas-reliefs with views of Nicky.
Agora
In the heart of Athens are the ruins of the Athenian agora. In ancient Greece, it was the financial, political, religious, cultural and administrative center of the city, second only to the Acropolis in importance. Trade deals were concluded at this place, justice was administered, and theater and athletic competitions were held. It should be noted that through the Ancient Agora lay the famous Panathenaic path leading to the Acropolis, along which solemn processions took place during the Panathenaean (festivities in honor of Athena, the patroness of the city of the goddess). At present, the Ancient Agora is one of the most popular and interesting sights of the capital, in addition, an important historical and archaeological site.
The very first excavations of the Athenian agora were carried out here in the 2nd half of the 19th century by the German Archaeological Institute and the Greek Archaeological Society. Periodically, work began in the twentieth century with an American school. The excavation results were so amazing that they made a decision at the state level on the demolition of a large number of modern buildings in order to be able to identify the boundaries of the Ancient agora.
Temple of Hephaestus
The Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, also known as Hephaestion and Theseusion, is one of the best preserved temples of the period of Classical Greece. This temple was created in the Doric style, decorated with columns, located in the northwest of the agora.
The temple was built in honor of the god Hephaestus (the god of fire, the most talented blacksmith, as well as the patron saint of blacksmithing). The construction was initiated by Pericles, Athenian statesman, commander and speaker. Athens under his rule reached a high degree of cultural and economic development, this period is also called the "Pericles Century". The construction of the temple lasted for almost 30 years, since some of the workers were transferred to the construction of the Parthenon. The architect of this masterpiece is still unknown.
The Temple of Hephaestus was erected from Parian and Pentelicon marble. It stands on 34 columns created in the Doric style, but the friezes are made in the Ionic style. At the same time, out of 68 metopes, 18 were sculptural, the rest were probably painted. At the temple on the eastern side, 10 metopes had various sculptural images of the battles of Hercules. 4 metopes located on the side adjacent gables were decorated with episodes of Theseus' life.
Dionysus Theater
In the legendary Acropolis on the southeastern slope is one of the oldest theaters on the planet. The Dionysos Theater in Athens is an important historical monument and one of the most interesting sights of the city.
Many centuries ago, it was the venue for festivals in honor of Dionysus - Small and Great Dionysius, during which the theater competitions, popular in Athens, took place. On the stage of the theater, the plays of famous ancient Greek authors such as Euripides, Sophocles, Aristophanes and Aeschylus were presented to the public for the first time.
The first theater was erected in the V century. BC e. In the original theater, the seats and stage were made of wood. Some wooden structures at the end of the fifth century were replaced by stone ones. As part of the Athens beautification project, in the second half of the fourth century, it was decided to reconstruct the theater. The new marble building was famous for its excellent acoustics, as well as its ability to accommodate 17,000 people, which by the time it was completed was almost half the population of the city. In the first row, the places were intended only for dignitaries, registered engravings, partially preserved to this day, speak of this.
During the reign of Nero, the Roman emperor, the theater was reconstructed, a high side was added in front of the first row, which can still be seen there. The sculptural frieze with views of satyrs, discovered during archaeological excavations, dates back to the same time.
Wind tower
The tower of winds in Athens deserves special attention. She is in the Roman Agora. It is believed that the tower was built in the middle of the 1st century BC. e. Andronicus, the famous Greek astronomer from Cyrus, however, scientists do not exclude that this structure was erected a little earlier.
The Tower of the Winds is an impressive octagonal building made from Pentelicon marble. Its height is 12 meters with a diameter of 8 meters. The tower in ancient times was crowned with a weather vane in the form of a Triton, showing the direction of the wind. But to this day it has not survived, while the images of the 8 divine winds of mythology - Kekia, Borea, Evra, Apeliot, Lips, Note, Skyron and Zephyr, encircling the upper area of the tower, can be seen today. Under the figures of these deities there was a sundial, while inside the tower there were a water clock or clepsydra, to which water was supplied from the Acropolis.
Metro Athens
The Athens Metro is not only a convenient form of transport, but also the historical heritage of the city. At present, the metro in Athens is the most modern in Europe, despite the fact that it was founded in 1869, only 6 years later than the London one, considered the very first on the planet.
National garden
The National Garden was built by order of Amalia, the Queen, the first ruler in independent Greece. The national garden in Athens was designed by Schmidt, a gardener from Germany. Queen Amalia personally chose specialists. At the same time, landscaping works lasted more than thirty years.
Birds, plants, animals from various parts of the planet were brought here. Some green spaces easily took root, others perished in a foreign climate. Only the best varieties of fruits and vegetables grew in this park. They were grown for the queen's table.
After the monarchy was abolished, this park was made public, after which it received its current name. And today it is one of the largest attractions of Athens.
There are 12 palm trees at the main entrance to the garden. They are located next to the sundial. Amalia personally planted these trees in 1842.
On the territory of almost 150 shrubs and trees, which are strong for 100 years. Walk a little further along the alleys, where you will find the remains of buildings of ancient times. There are almost whole columns, partly mosaics and walls. On the alleys there are busts of ancient Greek poets. The garden is ideal for relaxing walks. It has a pond with ducks. Be sure to bring some grain or bread with you to feed your local birds. A small zoo works for children. While they are watching his beasts, adults can safely sit in a cozy cafe or on a bench.
Go into the garden and find the Pisistratus Aqueduct. According to it, in ancient times, drinking water entered Athens. When the subway was being built near Syntagma Square, the builders came across a huge number of pipes that made up the aqueduct system.
Parthenon
Of course, of all the attractions of Athens, the most significant and largest temple occupies a special place. It was erected in honor of the Athena Virgin, goddess. The authors of this project were architects Kallistratus and Iktin, and the sanctuary was decorated with Phidias, an ancient Greek sculptor, a friend of the founder of Athenian democracy and the famous speaker Pericles.
Parthenon began to build after the conclusion of the Greco-Persian wars. It is surrounded on all sides by a colonnade, whose height exceeds ten meters. Each of the columns (there are 46 in total) with 20 grooves in length has a diameter of 1.9 m at the base.
The temple was thought out in the smallest detail. At the same time, architects emphasize the Parthenon curvature - this indicates a special curvature that is needed to correct the human vision error so that the temple looks perfectly straightforward. So, the corner columns look towards the center, while the middle ones look towards the corners, while the diameter of their section varies smoothly along the entire longitudinal axis - so they do not look concave.
During the construction of the temple of Athena, Pentelian marble was used, the blocks were grinded and fitted tightly without mortar. On the pediments of the temple were sculptural groups that depicted the life of the ancient Greek gods. Now in the museums are the originals of the preserved statues.
Erechtheion
But this is not all the attractions of Athens. The most beautiful temple of the Acropolis, Erechtheion, was erected in honor of Erechtheus, Poseidon and Athena - the mythological king of the city. The asymmetric layout of this sanctuary is explained by the fact that under it the soil had a significant difference, while the builders took this into account when creating the project.
The eastern and northern ionic porticoes frame the entrances. In Erechtheion, on the south side, is the Portico Caryatid - the most part of the temple in tourist avenues and historical books. 6 two-meter statues created from Pentelian marble represented women who supported the beam ceiling. You can look at authentic sculptures in the Acropolis Museum, and today the portico of Erechtheion is decorated with exact copies of the masterpieces of the now unknown sculptor.
Temple of Olympian Zeus
At 500 meters from the Acropolis Hill is another attraction of Athens, left over from the period of Ancient Greece, which is called the Temple of Olympian Zeus. A huge Greek temple was built over 650 years.
The first stone in this building was laid at Pisistratus, but at first the temple was dismantled again in order to use the stone to build a defensive wall. This sanctuary was completed only under Adrian, the Roman emperor, and opened solemnly when he visited the city. The solemn event was the highlight of the 132 year festivities program.
Until today, only one corner of the temple has survived. You can find only 16 columns, each of which is decorated with carved capitals, however, even the ruins give you the opportunity to imagine the grandeur and power of the once largest church in all of ancient Greece.