Athens Full City Video Guide 🇬🇷 Greece Best Place - Travel & Discover

The Athenian Acropolis is located on a rocky promontory 156 meters above the valley of Elisos. It covers a surface area of less than 3 hectares. It is the supreme expression of the adaptation of architecture to a natural site. Illustrating the civilizations, myths and religions that flourished in Greece over a period of more than 1,000 years, the Acropolis, the site of four of the greatest masterpieces of classical Greek art, the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Rectheum and the Temple of Athena Nike, in some sense epitomize the idea of world heritage. The Deion of Herodes Atticus is one of the better-known and most beloved ancient buildings in Greece, as well as the site of some of the 20th century's greatest performances. It was built in memory of Regilla, Herodes' wife. The 60-year-old patron of the arts spent an enormous amount of money to construct it. Herodes' last great work, the theatre became famous for its advanced constructions as well as for its evident luxury. The Odeion, also known as the Herodeion, is circular in shape and can seat around 6,000 people. A walkway joins all the monuments of the Acropolis, long considered a sacred site for ancient Athenians. The monuments of the Athenian Acropolis have exerted an exceptional influence, not only in the ancient world, during which time they provided the highest cultural model in the Mediterranean world, but up until the modern era. Whereas the Acropolis was the spiritual center of ancient Athens, the south slope of the Acropolis was the city's intellectual center, as early as the 6th century BC. After the worship of Dionysus was brought to Athens, a sanctuary of Dionysus Eleutherios was built, a small temple containing a wooden statue of the god. In the 4th century, a gallery was built, as well as a new temple, housing a golden and ivory statue of Dionysus. North of the sanctuary, Peisistratos, Athens' 6th century tyrant, had a circular space constructed for dances in honor of Dionysus. That space was later used to build a theater dedicated to the god, which would be considered the world's very first theater. It was also the place where works of the famous classic drama writers were performed. Drama was born from Dionysiac rituals and specifically from the dithyram, a song accompanied by a flute and dancing or mime. Drama maintained the religious character of the dithyram, since it was always presented during the celebrations in honor of Dionysus. In satirical drama, the dancers represented satyrs, the companions of the gods. Throughout the 6,000 years of recorded history, the sacred rock of the Acropolis of Athens has been used as a dwelling place, a temple, a fort, and a symbol. The central section of Propellae is the main entrance, the gate itself. The Acropolis has one way in. The formal entrance with its white marble is still incomparable for the size and beauty of the stone. From myth to institutionalized cult, the Athenian Acropolis, by its precision and diversity, bears a unique testimony to the religions of ancient Greece. It is a sacred temple from which sprung fundamental legends about the city. There, Athena and Poseidon fought for possession of the city. Poseidon made a source of salt water spring forth. Athena offered the olive tree, which, cut by the Persians in 480, grew again the following year. The central section of the Propellae is rectangular in shape. Inside, there are six door columns on the western side and another six on the east. Beginning in the 6th century BC, the Athenian Acropolis was the place where myths and beliefs gave rise to temples, altars, and statues, corresponding to an extreme diversity of cults that characterized the Athenian religion in all its richness and complexity. The conservation interventions made from 1975 onwards on the Acropolis were made necessary by damage chiefly caused by a series of flawed restorations, as well as by fire, war, plundering, and earthquakes. The Erechtheion was built to a plan highly unusual for a temple. It was where Athena Pollias was worshipped, but there were also altars devoted to Zeus Hippotos, Poseidon, and others. The architect who undertook to combine so many sites of worship on a spot, where the land was highly uneven due to the shape of the underlying rock, chose to solve the ensuing problems in a complex but ingenious way. On the southwestern face of the building is one of the most famous works of ancient Greece, the Porta the Caratids, with six slender maidens dressed in richly draped Doric chitons. The Pronaos of the eastern section had six Ionic columns crowned by a pediment. The temple was named after the mythical king Erechtheus, who was often identified with the Thonic deity Erechthonius, and later with Poseidon. Athena and Poseidon played the leading role among the other deities associated with the temple, followed by Hephaestus, Erechthonius' father, and Voutis, Erechtheus' brother, both Thonic deities. The six Ionic columns that comprise the northern porch perfectly display the concepts of entasis and meiosis, an architectural device whereby columns are thicker at the base and thinner at the top, creating an optical illusion. The design created on the ceiling of the roof by the crossing of the beams of the richly decorated monumental entrance is truly striking. According to Greek mythology, the god Hephaestus once tried to rape Athena, the virgin goddess and patron of the city. Unsuccessful, he impregnated the earth instead, resulting in the birth of the demigod Erechthonius. Athena was venerated as the goddess of the city, Athena Polias, as a goddess of war, Athena Promakos, as a goddess of victory, Athena Nike, and as a protective goddess of crafts, Athena Ergane. Most of her functions are glorified at the main cult temple dedicated to her, the Parthenon, the temple of the maiden goddess. The Parthenon is the most important and characteristic monument of ancient Greek civilization and continues to stand as its international symbol. It was built under the instruction of Pericles, Athens' prominent statesman, orator in general, during the city's golden age. Even in antiquity, its architectural refinements were legendary, especially the subtle correspondence between the curvature of the stylobate, the tapering of the neos walls, and the entasis of the columns. The Parthenon is a manifestation of the many historical events that played a part in its construction. These were the political and military might of Athens, the presence of an inspirational and brilliant personality such as Pericles, and the events of the Persian Wars. The Parthenon was elaborately decorated with marble sculptures, both internally and externally. These survive only in part, though good descriptions exist of most of those parts that were lost. The architects of the Parthenon, which was the first building in Pericles' construction program for the Acropolis, were Actinus and Callicratus. The general supervisor of the works and the inspiration for the decoration was the renowned sculptor Phidias. The Parthenon is a peripteral Doric temple with 17 columns on its long sides and 8 on its short sides. Of the amphiprostyle type, both short sides bared another colonnade before the cella walls. The cella itself is divided into two sections unequal in size. Although the pure white marble of surviving ancient Greek temples appeals to the modern aesthetic, the Parthenon, like all ancient buildings, was at least partly painted, though scholars dispute the extent and color scheme. In the late Bronze Age, the Acropolis was surrounded by a massive fortification wall, like those at Mycenae and Tyrrhenes in southern Greece. This wall remained in use long after the collapse of Mycenaean civilization and functioned as the fortifications of the Acropolis for several centuries. Three of the hills near the Acropolis have political importance. Arios Pagos, the Hill of Justice, the Hill of the Muses, which the Athenians chose to honor their benefactor, Philopappos, and Nix, the Hill of Democracy, with the little church of Loubardiares, decorated by pichiones. Located about 500 meters to the west of the Acropolis, the Nix is a rocky hill surrounded by parks. Artificially carved out of the hillside is a stone platform, or bema, which literally means step in Greek, with stone steps leading up to it. The Nix is a place where Athenians used to gather to talk about political issues and take decisions on the future of their town. This was the first recorded form of democracy in the world. It was the first time when all the citizens of a town, male citizens actually, were declared equal and had the right to vote and take part in decision making. The Athenians believed that this task was too important to leave to one person, the king or governor, as was usually the case. This process evolved over the centuries, leading to modern democratic systems. The Nix is thought to have been founded in the 5th century BC and passed three construction periods. At first, the Nix was a plain, natural area with a retaining wall to the north. Then a semi-circular retaining wall was built, together with two staircases leading to the bema, where the orators could speak. The agora was the heart of ancient Athens, as a focus of political, commercial, administrative and social activity, the religious and cultural center, and the site of justice. The site was occupied without interruption in all periods of the city's history. It was used as a residential and burial area as early as the late Neolithic period. In the early 6th century, in the time of Solon, the agora became a public area. After a series of repairs and remodeling, it reached its final rectangular form in the 2nd century BC. Extensive building activity occurred after the serious damage made by the Persians first, by the Romans after, and by the Heruli in 267 AD. After the Slavic invasion in 580 AD, the agora was gradually abandoned. From the Byzantine period until after 1834, when Athens became the capital of the independent Greek state, the agora was again developed as a residential area. Overlooking the agora from the hill to the west is the Hephaestion, the best preserved example of a Doric temple on mainland Greece. It was dedicated jointly to Hephaestus, god of the forge, and Athena, the goddess of arts and crafts. It dates to the second half of the 5th century BC. It is largely built of marble from Mount Pentelicus and lavishly adorned with sculptural decoration. The plan has a distinctive arrangement, the east porch being aligned with the third columns of the flanks. As in the Parthenon, over the porch the Doric frieze is replaced by a ionic frieze. The architrave has a continuous molding at the top. The temple is a peripheral hexastyle with 13 columns on its long sides, and measures about 32 meters by 14 meters. The name of the architect of Hephaestion is unknown, but he was probably responsible for the construction of three other very similar temples in Attica, the temple of Nemesis at Ramnus, the temple of Poseidon at Sunion, and the temple of Ares at Pelene. The Stoa of Attalos is a prominent building on the east side of the ancient Agora. It was built in around 150 BC, with a donation from Attalos II, king of Pergismon. The Stoa of Attalos was discovered during excavations between 1859 and 1902. It is the most representative monument of the Hellenistic period in Athens. The Stoa now houses the ancient Agora Museum. The Stoa was reconstructed between 1953 and 1956 as a two-storied building made of patellic marble, grahymatous marble, and Attic limestone. The facade of the lower floor has a colonnade of 45 Doric columns with unfluted lower drums. A second colonnade of 22 Ionic columns runs along the inside. Near the Stoa of Attalos, the Holy Apostles' Church in the ancient Agora played a significant role in the development of Byzantine architecture. Dating from the late 10th century, the church is built on the plan of a Greek cross, with a northex on the west side. Of all of the 150 early Christian Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches in Athens, 24 have survived virtually intact. Athenian churches were built of rectangular stones, usually of poros, each boxed in by thin red bricks. This system is known as cloisonné masonry. Bricks were also used to create diverse designs on the exterior, such as letters of the Greek alphabet and old Arabic script. Most of the Byzantine churches in Athens are of the square type with dome. The Choragic Lysocrates Monument on Tripodon Street dates from 334 BC. Athens has retained many of its historical relics, together with its eternal beauty and the pride of its residents. The city's spirit is evident in its neighborhoods, such as Metagiozea, Kolonos, Petralona, and Plaka, with its houses, and Monastiraki, with its beautiful streets. The Plaka is the city's oldest neighborhood. Today mostly a pedestrian zone, it is also a favorite neighborhood for both locals and visitors. Plaka is a commercial hub now home to an array of shops, restaurants, and cafes. The Plaka market is full of merchants selling various items and keepsakes. Ranking among the most famous shopping streets in the world, Plaka offers a vast variety of shops that sell anything from an old trumpet to ornate ceramic pottery. Gold and silver jewelry are one of Greece's finest crafts. Greece is well known for its exquisite cuisine, as well as local souvenirs and handicrafts. The Plaka neighborhood is full of shops displaying local crafts, including knotted carpets, embroidered cushion covers, woodwork, and much more. Some souvenir shops offer tourists imitations of ancient statues or pottery. The fluffy and brightly colored phlokate rugs have been part of Greek tradition for centuries. Visitors to Athens will find streets and squares lined with an incredible display of architecture, with stunning examples of a variety of styles. Greco-Roman and neoclassical buildings dating back to ancient Athens stand within sight of modern office buildings. After the division of the Roman Empire into West and East, Athens became part of the Eastern Empire, with Constantinople as its capital. During the early Christian centuries, Athenians retained strong memories of their ancient religion, reinforced by the city's monuments. Located on Irmou Street, the Kapnikereia Church is a splendid relic of Byzantine architecture, not far from some of Athens' most important monuments. The church is also known as the Church of St. Mary, to whom it was dedicated. The church's architecture and decoration lead experts to believe that it was built around the year 1050. The church is architecturally quite complex, and includes some secondary structures as well as the original church building. Atop the roofs with their crosses, a beautiful dome rises over the church's different levels. The Monastiraki neighborhood is located in an old part of Athens, nestled under the city's ancient Acropolis. On one corner of the square is a relic of the Turkish occupation, the mosque, minus minaret, built by the Athenian Muslim Cisarachus in 1759. Monastiraki is very near and on the same level as Hadrian's Library and the Roman Agora. At the initiative of Julius Caesar, a new market, a Roman Agora, was built in a spacious rectangular courtyard surrounded by stoas, or roofed arcades, shops, and storerooms. St. Nicholas Ragavas Church is an 11th-century church in the Middle Byzantine style. Like many churches in Athens, it incorporates marble columns and other remains of ancient buildings in its external walls. Hadrian's Gate was built by the Emperor Hadrian in 131 AD and functioned as a triumphal arch. Several monuments were built under Roman rule, mainly to the north and east of the Acropolis, an area which today is crossed by a street dedicated to the Emperor. The columns of the Temple Olympion Zeus rise up in one of the most beautiful settings in Athens. The temple that was built here was one of the largest in the Corinthian style in Greece. The building is built on a large rectangle 250 meters long and 130 meters wide. Today, 16 columns have survived of the original total of 108. According to ancient Greek traveler and geographer Pausanias, Athenian tradition had it that the site was connected to the myth of the creation of the human race. The ancients built their stadiums on the slopes of the hills near the town. In 1896, with the revival of the Olympics, the first modern games were held here at the initiative of Pierre Coubertin. Syntagma Square is the center of Athens, as well as the site of the Greek Parliament Building. All distances in Greece are measured from here in kilometers. The present-day Greek Parliament Building lies above the monument to the Unknown Soldier. Originally the Palace of King Otto, it was built between 1834 and 1838, following plans by the German architect Friedrich von Gartner. Members of the elite Yves Zones Light Infantry Unit provide a 24-hour honor guard, with an hourly guard change, at the Presidential Mansion and at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, off Syntagma Square at the foot of the Hellenic Parliament. The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in particular has become a tourist attraction, with many people marveling at the guards, who stand motionless for two 20-minute intervals during their one-hour shifts. With a history spanning nearly 150 years, the Greek Presidential Guard was officially founded in 1868 as a regiment of the Greek Army. Though the Presidential Guard is a predominantly ceremonial unit, all Yves Zones are volunteers drawn from the Hellenic Army's infantry, artillery, and armored corps. During the 19th century, while Athens was rebuilding itself and transforming into a European capital, many prominent architects offered their services towards the Seine. Among the most magnificent buildings designed and constructed by Theophilus Hansen of Denmark is the Athens Academy of 1859. It is one of the three most prominent buildings in the center of Athens, together with Athens University and the National Library. Hansen was inspired by Greek classical architecture of the 5th century BC. The building consists of a central part with two wings, and displays characteristics of the Ionian rhythm. Its central part is designed along the lines of an amphiprostyle temple. It is generally acknowledged by both Greek and foreign experts that the building of the Academy of Athens constitutes one of the most exquisite neoclassical buildings in the world. Fashioned out of fine marble, the facade of the building of the Academy of Athens faces Panepistoumio Avenue. The entrance has elements originating from the eastern side of the Acropolis. Athens is known all over the world as a cradle of a great civilization, symbolized by the Acropolis. World culture owes a massive debt to Athens, the birthplace of democracy, the sciences and philosophy. Athens is an ancient city in the true sense of the word. Its origins and cultures are believed to date back to the years when the gods of myth walked the earth. A history reflected in popular destinations such as the Acropolis, the temple of Olympian Zeus, and the ancient Agora, where the temples of the gods Hephaestus and Apollo are also found. The Athenian Acropolis illustrates how Greek civilization was built over a period of more than a millennium. This unique series of public monuments was built and conserved in one of the densest spaces of the Mediterranean. The Acropolis is directly and tangibly associated with events and ideas that have remained alive over the intervening centuries. These monuments form the memory of a precious part of humanity's cultural heritage.