The City of Teotihuacan and the Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Name

Professor

Subject

Date

The Glory and Grandeur of the Acropolis

The city of Athens is not the only famous for being the site of the first Modern Olympics but also for various museums that showcased the architectural expertise of the Greeks of the ancient world (UNESCO Acropolis , Athens

During the second half of the 5th century BC after the Greeks defeated the Persians , Athens took the lead among the other cities of the ancient world in the flourishing of art . Led by Pericles , a group of artists

converted a rocky hill into a one-of-a-kind monument . During that time vital monuments were constructed : the Parthenon by Ictinus , the Erechtheon , the Propylea , which serves as the entry point to the Acropolis , and the mini-temple Athena Nike (UNESCO , Acropolis Athens

The Acropolis served as both a fortress and state sanctuary of ancient Athens . Built around the 5th century BC , most of its massive remains still stand to this very day . During the Late Bronze Age , it was fortified by walls such as those of Mycenae and Tiryns in Southern Greece . After the fall of the Mycenaean civilization , it continued to be used and fortified the Acropolis for many centuries (Glowacki , The Acropolis

During the mid-8th century , the Acropolis was transformed into the sanctuary of the goddess Athena . Towards the second quarter of the 6th century , the Acropolis was the site of architectural and sculptural activities in preparation for the celebration of the Panathenaic festival in 566 BC . During this period , the first stone Doric temple of Athena was constructed in the Acropolis (Glowacki , The Acropolis

Today , the Acropolis is considered as a World Heritage Center by the United Nations Education , Scientific , and Cultural Organization (UNESCO (UNESCO , Acropolis , Athens

The Parthenon

The Parthenon served as a memorial for the goddess Athena . Emperor Theodosius converted it to a Christian Church in honor of the Virgin Mary , the Franks then made it into a Catholic Church in 1204 and to a Mosque by the Turks in 1458 . When the Christians made the Parthenon into a Church , part of the Metopes were ruined (Lahanas , The Parthenon History , Reconstruction , Technology and Interesting Facts

In 480 - 479 BC , majority of the structures in the Acropolis was destroyed by the Persians . The building of the Parthenon started in 447 BC and its completion was in 438 BC . Pheidias added the decorations in 432 BC with the assistance of close to 70 other sculptors

Venice sculptor Francesco Morosini ruined Athena 's chariot horses when he tried to remove them from the Western pediment (Lahanas , The Parthenon : History , Reconstruction , Technology and Interesting Facts . In 1686 , the Turks destroyed the temple of Nike and its restoration was completed in 1835 . In 1687 , as the Turks were using the structure as a powder magazine , Morosini 's forces attacked them . The temple was instantly destroyed when a German lieutenant fired the crucial shot . The roof of the temple gave in and its pillars were ruined (Lahanas , The Parthenon : History , Reconstruction , Technology and Interesting Facts...