Acropolis in Greece

There are many acropolises in Greece. The name is given to any city that was built on elevated ground. However, the most visible and famous acropolis is the one in Athens. Because of its fame, it is referred to as the Acropolis.

The Acropolis is a rock that rises 490 feet above sea level and has a flat top. A palace was built on top of the rock and soon after, a huge wall was built to surround the structure. The wall also became vital to the defense of the palace until the fifth century. Other structures were on this site beginning in the sixth millennium BC, but very little of these, if anything, remains today.

The Acropolis contains numerous buildings, as it has over the centuries. Two of these were the "Bluebeard" Temple and the Old Parthenon. After the Persian attack on Athens, both of these structures were completely destroyed, along with many others. The Athenians buried all the wreckage in huge pits dug on the site during a great ceremony. This, in turn, acted as the foundation for the new Parthenon. The buried rubble of the older, ruined structures can still be seen on display at the Acropolis.

You can reach The Acropolis on foot from a couple of different directions. You can get there from Syntagma, Plaka or Monastiraki, or you can walk through the Agora to reach The Acropolis. Just be sure and visit it while in Athens, as it is truly a sight to behold.