The ‘Acropolis’ is any fort or complex built on a high mountain. The name comes from the Greek acro, upper or extreme or edge, and translates as police, city, ‘upper city’, ‘edge city’, or ‘city of the air’. The most common is the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. This dates back to BC. Built-in the 5th century.
The word is of Greek origin but is used to refer to any such structure built at high altitudes anywhere in the world. For example, Castle Rock in Edinburgh, Scotland, dates back to the 6th century BC. It is considered to have been fortified by acropolis as far back as 850. As the cities of the Maya civilization, they are man-made, although not built on a natural elevation to fit that definition. This model also applies to Native American cities in North America and to large earthen mounds such as Cahokia or the Poverty Point, where temples and dwellings are built on hand-made clay pillars.
Although there were other city-states in ancient Greece (Thebes, Corinth, and, in particular, Cologne on the island of Aegina), the name ‘Acropolis’ was used in ancient Rome. Buildings at higher elevations than the surrounding geography, the word ‘acropolis’ in modern times is similar to the ancient land of Athens.
The Acropolis of Athens was planned to be built by Pericles (495 – 429 BC), general and head of state of Athens. For more than two years the detailed plan went into specifications and only contracted labor to Parthenon.
Pericles, who hoped to create a lasting monument in honor of the Athenian goddess (who presided over Athens) and proclaim the glory of the city to the world, paid no heed to the construction of the Acropolis. In particular, Parthenon recruited talented architects such as Calicut, Meneciles and Ictinos, and the sculptor Phidias (recognized as one of the greatest sculptors of the ancient world, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, who created the statue of Zeus at Olympia).
According to historian Pedley, “the work was done under the supervision of Phidias. In fact, Plutarch says that Phidias was in charge of the entire Pericles project ”(251). Hundreds of artisans, metalworkers, painters, carpenters, and literally thousands of unskilled workers worked at the Acropolis. Phidias created a gold and ivory statue of Athena, located in Parthenon, also known as the Temple of Athena Parthenos (Greek for ‘Athena the Virgin’), and erected a small statue of the goddess in the center of the Acropolis.
The Acropolis rises 490 feet (150 m) above the city of Athens and covers an area of 7 acres (3 ha). The land was a natural choice for a fort, at least as old as the Mycenaean period of Greece (1900-1100 BC). A palace complex has already been built on the hill, and a temple to Athena is in operation. BC was destroyed in 480 when the Persians expelled Athens under the Sharks. BC Later structures are still in use today, after the defeat of the Sharks’ army at Battle of Salamis in 480, and as evidence of the Athenian resilience to illustrate the city’s glory.
The four main buildings of the original plan for the Acropolis were the Temples of Propylaea, Parthenon, Erection, and Athena Nike. Propylaea is the ornate entrance to the temple complex, and Parthenon was its main attraction.
Other buildings were added while the Acropolis was in use, and the Roman emperor Hadrian (76-138 AD) added his own prosperity to the city and the Acropolis during his reign. With the rise of Christianity after Constantine the Great (272-337 AD), Parthenon became a church, and the Acropolis was a center of Christian devotion. In keeping with the general practice of the church, all pagan images were destroyed, and they were altered to suit the Christian sensibilities of the churches. After the fall of Rome in the west (476 AD) and the Byzantine Empire in the east (1453 AD) from the Turks, the Acropolis was transformed into a Muslim shrine and Parthenon.
The invasion of Turkey and Greece caused damage to buildings on the Acropolis. (When the Parthenon was used to defend the military headquarters and when the Erections became the governor’s stronghold). And AD. The siege of Venice in 1687 caused further damage. Italian troops tried to drive the Turks out of Greece. AD After the War of Independence in 1821, the Greeks rebuilt the Acropolis and sought to restore it to its former glory. Furthermore, the damage done to most of the Acropolis, after years of neglect, seemed incurable. Serious restoration and conservation work on the Acropolis site began in AD. Only in the late 20th century.
