Photographs of the Acropolis, Athens
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The Parthenon and the Erechtheum have stood on the top of the Acropolis in Athens for nearly 2,500 years.
The Parthenon was built to give thanks to Athena, the city's patron goddess, for the salvation
of Athens and Greece in the Persian Wars. It was originally a a Greek temple, but has
also been a treasury, a fortress, a church, and a mosque.
In 1687, when Athens was part of the Ottoman Empire, the Venetians attacked Athens and the Ottomans
fortified the Acropolis and used the Parthenon as a powder magazine. A Venetian shell exploded the
magazine and the building was partly destroyed.
In 1806 the Earl of Elgin got permission from the Ottomans to remove some of the
surviving sculptures and these (Elgin Marbles) are currently in the British Museum in London.
Since 1983, a careful programme of reconstruction to restore the structural integrity of
the edifice (important in this earthquake-prone region) has been taking place and this
is continuing today.
The Erechtheum derived its name from a shrine dedicated to the legendary Greek hero Erichthonius. It is
much better condition than the Parthenon and has two porches. A another large porch with columns on the
north side, and on the south, the famous "Porch of the Maidens", with six draped female figures
(caryatids) as supporting columns.
