Acropolis, Athens in the context of "Pnyx"

⭐ In the context of the Pnyx, the Acropolis, Athens is considered…

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Acropolis, Athens

The Acropolis of Athens (Ancient Greek: ἡ Ἀκρόπολις τῶν Ἀθηνῶν, romanizedhē Akropolis tōn Athēnōn; Modern Greek: Ακρόπολη Αθηνών, romanizedAkrópoli Athinón) is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word Acropolis is from Greek ἄκρον (akron) 'highest point, extremity' and πόλις (polis) 'city'. The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. During ancient times the Acropolis of Athens was also more properly known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king.

While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as early as the 4th millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495–429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the buildings whose present remains are the site's most important ones, including the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored by the Turkish rulers in the Parthenon was hit by a Venetian bombardment and exploded.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Acropolis, Athens in the context of Pnyx

The Pnyx (/nɪks, pəˈnɪks/; Ancient Greek: Πνύξ [pnýks]; Greek: Πνύκα, Pnyka) is a hill or hillside in central Athens, the capital of Greece. Beginning as early as 507 BC (Fifth-century Athens), the Athenians gathered on the Pnyx to host their popular assemblies, thus making the hill one of the earliest and most important sites in the creation of democracy.

The Pnyx is located less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of the Acropolis and about 2 km south-west of the Syntagma Square in the centre of Athens. The "mainly natural hollow" was first used from before 500 BC to perhaps 404 BC, when the arrangement was changed by adding a retaining wall below the speakers' platform, with the space between filled with earth.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Acropolis, Athens in the context of Phidias

Phidias or Pheidias (/ˈfɪdiəs/; Ancient Greek: Φειδίας, Pheidias; c. 480 – c. 430 BC) was an Ancient Greek sculptor, painter, and architect, active in the 5th century BC. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the statues of the goddess Athena on the Athenian Acropolis, namely the Athena Parthenos inside the Parthenon, and the Athena Promachos, a colossal bronze which stood between it and the Propylaea, a monumental gateway that served as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. Phidias was the son of Charmides of Athens. The ancients believed that his masters were Hegias and Ageladas.

Plutarch discusses Phidias's friendship with the Greek statesman Pericles, recording that enemies of Pericles tried to attack him through Phidias – who was accused of stealing gold intended for the Parthenon's statue of Athena, and of impiously portraying himself and Pericles on the shield of the statue. The historical value of this account, as well as the legend about accusations against the 'Periclean circle', is debatable, but Aristophanes mentions an incident with Phidias around that time.

↑ Return to Menu

Acropolis, Athens in the context of Areopagus

The Areopagus (/æriˈɒpəɡəs/) was a principal council of ancient Athens, later serving mainly as a judicial body responsible for cases of homicide, wounding, and certain religious offenses. It met on a rocky outcrop called the “Hill of Ares,” northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, from which it took its name. Its English name comes from the Late Latin composite form of the Greek name Areios Pagos, translated "Hill of Ares" (Ancient Greek: Ἄρειος Πάγος). The war god Ares was supposed to have been tried by the other gods on the Areopagus for the murder of Poseidon's son Halirrhothius, a typical example of an aetiological myth.

↑ Return to Menu