Welcome to Acropolis: History Page

The Acropolis has been in continuous use by the inhabitants of Athens, as a religious center, from the Mycenaean era until the end of the Byzantine period . Athenians still refer to the Acropolis as the ``holy rock''. The buildings which one brings to mind when talking about the Acropolis, are the most recent and most majestic in a succession of buildings. Having these edifices constructed was conceived by Perikles, the leader of the democratic faction and a friend of Sophocles and Anaxagoras. He dreamt of Athens as the leader of a panhellenic confederacy, as an ideal democracy, and above all as a city with magnificent edifices, temples and public buildings, theatres and odeia.

Certainly the most significant and ambitious project of Perikles involved the construction of the Acropolis. With Pheidias as adviser, the plans were soon laid. First and foremost would be a new large temple to goddess Athena Parthenos, the Parthenon, then would follow the monumental entrance to the sacred rock, the Propylaia. Third in order would be the small temple of Athena Nike, the plans of which had already been prepared before the Periklean works. And finally would come the temple to Athena Polias, the Erechtheion. This would replace the "Old Temple", burned down by the Persians.