The Acropolis 2

Here comes part 2 of the Acropolis because it is so big ;)

An illustration showed us what the Acropolis looked like when it was intact in the Classical Period: A statue of Athena, protector goddess of the city, with some votive offerings, and a temple in the background. There is a single olive tree on top of the Acropolis, thought to have been planted by Athena, hence the city built the temple for her.

The Erechtheion is a Ionic temple with statues of women (korai) to the left; it was later used as a church by the Franks, then as a harem by the Osmanic forces. What a volatile story!

Here we see it as a more scenic image with a wall in the foreground, and maybe you can see the statues better as well; they are life-like and supporting the roof of the temple. One of them was transported to England by Lord Elgin in 1801, a very controversial case ... anyway, it still rests in the British Museum.

In the roof, you can see iron pieces holding the stones together; originally, they were of better quality, but in modern times, attempts of restauration used metal of inferior quality so there was some rust that developed; new restauration projects had to be undertaken later.

More temples are there, but many of them were razed down to their foundations, so the final picture from the Acropolis shall be this one of our group exiting the ancient gate in a stream of tourists and heading down to the next adventure.

You will see that the next place to see is not far away from the Acropolis ... it lies at its foot!

Photo gallery