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Acropolis of Athens
Three thousand three hundred years. That's how long fortification walls have crowned this 156-meter limestone hill, making the Acropolis of Athens the longest continuously fortified site in Europe. But here's what most visitors never realize... beneath your feet lie the buried treasures of a city's heartbreak. In 480 BC, Persian forces led by Xerxes swept through Athens like wildfire, reducing the half-built temples to rubble and ash. The Athenians, returning to their devastated sacred hill, made a remarkable decision. Instead of clearing away the destruction, they lovingly gathered every broken statue, every shattered marble fragment, and buried them in natural crevices of this very rock. You're standing on artificial terraces built from the graves of gods. When Pericles launched his ambitious rebuilding project thirty years later, he paid every worker the same wage - one drachma per day - whether they were citizens or foreigners, creating history's first equal-pay construction site. The Parthenon you see rising before you replaced not one, but two previous temples to Athena, its foundations literally built upon the bones of its predecessors. And that magnificent western approach you just climbed? It's the only gentle slope on this otherwise fortress-like hill - the ancient architects' way of saying, "Democracy welcomes all, but only through the proper entrance."
Did You Know?
- The Acropolis of Athens has been inhabited since before the Neolithic Period, with evidence of human presence dating back over 4,000 years. The site was originally a Mycenaean citadel around 1600 BC, transitioning into a religious and cultural hub over time.
- One of the most fascinating architectural details of the Acropolis is the Parthenon, which was built to honor Athena. The Parthenon's construction began in 447 BCE under Pericles, featuring stunning Doric columns and intricate sculptures depicting scenes from Greek mythology.
- According to legend, the Acropolis was the site of a contest between Athena and Poseidon, where Athena planted an olive tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity, while Poseidon created a spring of seawater, which was less impressive to the Athenians. This mythological event is deeply ingrained in Athenian culture and history.