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Acropolis of Athens

Ancient citadel above the city of Athens / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Acropolis of Athens (Ancient Greek: ἡ Ἀκρόπολις τῶν Ἀθηνῶν, romanized: hē Akrópolis tôn Athēnôn; Modern Greek: Ακρόπολη Αθηνών, romanized: Akrópoli Athinón) is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, "highest point, extremity") and πόλις (polis, "city").[1] The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. During ancient times the Acropolis of Athens was known also more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king.

Quick facts: UNESCO World Heritage Site, Location, Criteri...
Acropolis, Athens
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The_Acropolis_of_Athens_viewed_from_the_Hill_of_the_Muses_%2814220794964%29.jpg
The Acropolis of Athens, seen from the Hill of the Muses
LocationAthens, Attica, Greece
CriteriaCultural: i, ii, iii, iv, vi
Reference404
Area3.04 ha
Buffer zone116.71 ha
Coordinates37°58′18″N 23°43′34″E
Acropolis of Athens is located in Greece
Acropolis of Athens
Location in Greece
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While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as early as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c.495–429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the buildings whose present remains are the site's most important ones, including the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike.[2][3] The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored by the then Turkish rulers in the Parthenon was hit by a Venetian bombardment and exploded.[4]