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Acropolis Layout and Structure
What's an ACROPOLIS?- an acropolis is a hill, usually picked to host the central or main building of a city. The ATHENIAN ACROPOLIS held the famous Parthenon, which was a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, who protected and took care of the city of Athens. All of the city-states were very independent of each other, and were very attached to and proud of their own city-state.
[http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Parthenon/Parthenon1.jpg,
A picture of the acropolis and all of the buildings that it holds.]
General Acropoli
- Location: usually lies in the middle of a plain, or on a plateau. Most people choose an acropolis that is near a dependent and reliable water source, so that their civilization can grow and flourish.
- Ramps are used to get up the acropolis
- The acropolis usually had the primary municipal and religious buildings on it.
- The Greeks centered their life around the acropolis, both geographically and spiritually.
- The Greeks used an acropolis for their building site, because it was usually quite high, and they could easily see anything approaching. Also, it gave them an advantage over their enemies, because they would have a more strategic and high position while fighting.
- The city-states were all very proud and protective of themselves, and being high up on a hill, would have helped them in times of war, trouble, and strife.
- Also, an acropolis held, "natural mysteries-caves, springs, copses, and glens," that probably suggested that gods dwelled there.
The Greek Acropolis
- 260 ft. (80 m) tall at its highest point.
- 1,150 (350 m) long
- started in the Neolithic Period
- wall built by the 6th century BC
- was ransacked by the Persians in 480 BC and was later damaged by the Turks and other civilizations.
- has suffered recently from pollution and poorly done attemptys at repair
Parthenon
- The Parthenon was built from about 447 BCE to 432 BCE.
- Has porched columns to hold up the ceiling
- Made of marble
- Propylon: gate entryway
- Patterns on the ceiling, which indicates that there were skilled artists who dedicated their time to creating paintings in this remarkable temple.
- The floor plan is in the shape of a rectangle, having small steps on each side. It also has columns, to hold up the roof. At each entrance, there are six columns[http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/Parthenon.html].
- Two temples existed on the Athenian Acropolis before the Parthenon. One was situated a little bit away from where the Parthenon was located, but the other was directly underneath it, when they starting building the Parthenon.
[http://theallseeingeye.tv/parthenon-and-the-acropolis-landmark-1.jpg
Side view of Parthenon and Athenian Acropolis.]
[http://z.hubpages.com/u/406103_f496.jpg,
The modern veiw of the Athenian Acropolis layout today]
A Walk-through
- The road leading up to the propylae of the Acropolis was surrounded by many shrines to smaller gods and goddesses including the minor god Pan.
- Approaching the propylae, the Athena Nike Temple is to the right.
- As one walks through the propylae, they will see the Bravronion Temple, also to the right.
- The Chalkotheke is seen on the right, just uphill from the Bravronion, which housed the treasury.
- Above the Chalkotheke is the Parthenon, which is the grandest building in the area.
- To return from the Parthenon to the propylae, one will pass the Statue of Athena Promachos which was so large, it could be seen from 5 kilometers out at sea.
- The Erechtheus was further down the hill and was built before Athens fell to the Spartans. It combines three old shrines into one large building. It is believed that this was the location of the battle between Athena and Poseidon for possession of the city.
- The Pandroseion was a shrine dedicated to Zeus, but was named after Pandrosis who was the daughter of an Athenian king named Kekrops.
- Off to the right a ways, lies the Old Temple of Athena, which was later destroyed by the Persians.
http://www.ancient-greece.org/images/maps/plans/acropolis-plan.swf
Bibliography
Cartledge, Paul. Ancient Greece. N.p.: Cambridge, 1998.
Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Acropolis.” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 4 Dec. 2008 <http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9003589>.
Gale Student Research Center Gold. “Parthenon Built.” Gale Student Research Center Gold. 2003. 8 Dec. 2008 http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/tab.do?subjectParam=Locale%2528en%252C%252C%2529%253AFQE%253D%2528su%252CNone%252C22%2529the%2Bathenian%2Bacropolis%2524&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28ke%2CNone%2C22%29the+athenian+acropolis%24&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=Relevance&tabID=T001&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=DISPLAY_SUBJECTS&prodId=SRC-1&searchId=R2&displaySubject=&userGroupName=aust33615&prevSubject=&searchType=BasicSearchForm.
Page(s) 1 of... Silverman, David. "Parthenon." academic.reed.edu. 8 Dec. 2008 http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/Parthenon.html.
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