Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Acropolis was first inhabited in Neolithic times (4000-3000 BC). The first
temples were built during the Mycenaean era in homage to the goddess Athena. People
lived on the Acropolis until the late 6th century BC, but in 510 BC the Delphic oracle de-
clared that it should be the province of the gods.
After all the buildings on the Acropolis were reduced to ashes by the Persians on the
eve of the Battle of Salamis (480 BC), Pericles set about his ambitious rebuilding pro-
gram. He transformed the Acropolis into a city of temples, which has come to be re-
garded as the zenith of classical Greek achievement.
Ravages inflicted during the years of foreign occupation, pilfering by foreign archae-
ologists, inept renovations following Independence, visitors' footsteps, earthquakes and,
more recently, acid rain and pollution have all taken their toll on the surviving monu-
ments. The worst blow was in 1687 when the Venetians attacked the Turks, opening fire
