Acropolis....

What would a visit to Greece be without going to the Acropolis? You can take a tour or wander up there yourself but during the summer, whatever you do, unless it is overcast, go early or late in the day. It can get very hot up there and gasping for breath can take way from your ability to marvel at the greatest of all archaeological sites. After climbing the steps you are at the entrance, or the Propylaea, which was completed in 432. Constructed in 432 just before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian wars the main architect was Mnesicles, a colleague of Phidias.		Acropolis of Athens
To your left is the Pinacotheca and a Hellenistic pedestal and on the right the tiny temple to Nike Athena or the Athena of Victory which commemorates the Athenians victory over the Persians. Supposedly this is the place where King Aegeus threw himself into the sea because he thought his son Theseus had been killed by the Minotaur. But if this is the point he chose to jump into the Aegean then how good a king could he have been? The sea is miles away.
	The Parthenon and other main buildings on the Acropolis were built by Pericles in the fifth century BC as a monument to the cultural and political achievements of the inhabitants of Athens. The term acropolis means upper city and many of the city states of ancient Greece are built around an acropolis where the inhabitants can go as a place of refuge in times of invasion. It's for this reason that the most sacred buildings are usually on the acropolis. It's the safest most secure place in town. As little as 150 years ago there were still dwellings on the Acropolis of Athens.
The Erecthion sits on the most sacred site of the Acropolis where Poseidon and Athena had their contest over who would be the Patron of the city. Poseidon thrust his trident into the rock and a spring burst forth, while Athena touched the ground with a spear and an olive tree grew. Athena was declared the victor and the great city of Athens was named for her while Poseidon was given a small village in Syros after it was discovered he had merely ruptured a water main.
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