 The
Acropolis
South
Side
The
south slope of the Acropolis played a significant role in the
artistic, spiritual and religious activity of ancient Athens.
Important public buildings were erected in the area: the Odeion
of Perikles, the sanctuary and theatre of Dionysos, the choragic
monuments, the Asklepeion, the stoa of Eumenes and the Odeion
of Herodes Atticus.
Recently,
architectural members in the orchestra and the retaining wall
of the east parodos of the Dionysos Theatre were restored.
Acropolis
South photos
The South side - as it used to be
'As for our city, according to the will of Zeus and the thoughts
of the serene, immortal gods, it will never be destroyed since
her protectress, ever so magnanimous daughter of such a father,
Pallas Athena, has her hands over it.'
The Light and Sound Show
If
you would have been in Athens between April and October, and most
visitors usually were, then you were fortunate enough to have
the chance to catch one of the summer light and sound shows on
the Acropolis.
Every
evening during this period hundreds of floodlights were directed
at the hill and the Parthenon. As well as the lights you would
have received a commentary in English detailing Athens’
eventful history. While the Acropolis is impressive at the best
of times, this was a particularly good time to see it as it was
truly spectacular. 
The
best place to see the show was from Pnyx Hill.
Since 2000 this magnificent spectacle does not
take place any longer. According to some the reason is that the
lights were damaging for the marble of the monuments on the Acropolis
but has never officially been confirmed.
 Cranes
on the Acropolis
The
conservation interventions made from 1975 onwards on the Acropolis
were imposed by the problems mainly due to a series of flawed
restorations as well as to fires, war destruction and plundering
and earthquakes. Those resulted in the fracturing and fragmentation
of the marbles which led to the instability of some parts of the
monuments and the danger of their collapse. Last, atmospheric
pollution necessitated the removal of the sculpted decoration
of the buildings, for safekeeping in the Acropolis museum.
To
date, projects for the consolidation of the rock of the Acropolis,
the restoration of the Erechtheion, the south wall of the
Propylaea and the east front of the Parthenon have been completed.
Projects for the restoration of the south circuit wall of
the Acropolis, the Parthenon (pronaos, opisthonaos, north
face, side walls of the cella), the Propylaia (upper structure
of the central building), the temple of Athena Nike, as well
as on the  surface
of the these monuments, the Erechtheion and the west frieze
of the Parthenon, are in progress.
Intervention
in the unique monuments of Classical Antiquity is a great responsibility
involving specialist scientific and technical personnel. In addition
to scientific research, specialist knowledge, experience in the
field, constant attention during the difficult technical interventions,
the conservation, restoration and presentation of the monuments
for the future generations demand long-term efforts.
The
conservation and restoration of the monuments of the Athenian
Acropolis is carried out by the Acropolis Restoration Service
under the supervision and scientific direction of the Committee
for the Preservation of the Acropolis Monuments in cooperation
with the 1st Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities.
The project is financed jointly by the European Union and the
Greek State.
It
will take many more years to finish but, when that day comes,
the Acropolis and all its classical wonders will be there to admire
in full glory for many generations to come.
The Acropolis - as it used to be
The
Acropolis, as well as its slopes, used to have a lot more buildings
and temples than can still be seen today. What is left of most
of them are the fundaments.
The
Temple of Rome and of August is a building dating from the end
of the first century BC. It exists of a circularly column gallery
with nine Ionic columns. The Sanctuary of Pandion, the son of
Erechtheus, is an open air sanctuary from the 5th century BC.
Of
course a sanctuary for Zeus, the first under the Gods, could
not be absent on the holy rock. As Zeus is God of the skies,
he is associated with the mountaintops and thus he was worshiped
on the highest point of the Acropolis.
Between
the Erechteion and the Parthenon, you will find the fundaments
of the archaic Temple of Athena (570-560 BC). The temple was built
by the order of Peisistratos and it is associated with the reorganization
of the Panathenaic games of 566 BC. In 480 BC it was damaged by
the Persians. Afterwards it was partly repaired and from 454 BC
on, the treasure of Delos was kept in its cella. East of this
Temple there was the altar of Athena Polias and of Erechtheus.
The offerings during the Panathenaic games were held here.
The
Arrephoroi would stay in the small Arrephorio. Arrephoroi were
young Athenian girls who took part in some mysterious ceremonies.
The girls would bring so called holy things to the sanctuary of
Aphrodite. These were breads shaped as phalluses and snakes. These
rites probably were associated to the fertility of nature.
In
the old days there used to be a lot of votive presents on the
Acropolis. These works of art mostly were statues that would add
to the splendors of the holy place. Only the ones that were hidden
in caves close to the Acropolis by the Athenians before the Persian
raid, still exist.
 Theatre
of Dionysos
Whereas
the Acropolis was the spiritual center, the south slope of the
Acropolis has been the intellectual center of Athens since the
6th century BC. When Peisistratos brought the worship of Dionysos
to Athens, a sanctuary of Dionysos Eleutherios was built. The
small temple contained the wooden statue of the god. In the 4th
century BC a gallery was built as well as a new temple holding
the golden and ivory statue of Dionysos.
North
of the sanctuary, Peisistratos had a circular space constructed
for dances to the honor of Dionysos. That space was later used
to build the Theatre of Dionysos, originally made of wood but
a century later replaced by seats of stone and a permanent stage
was added. The theatre was destroyed and rebuilt twice, once in
86 BC by Sulla and again in 267 AD by the Herulae.
The
Theatre of Dionysos was the very first theatre in the world. It
also was the place were works of the famous classic drama writers
were performed.
The
Birth of Theatre
Drama
was born from Dionysiac rituals and specifically from
the dithyramb, a song accompanied by a flute and dancing
or mime. Drama maintained the religious character of the
dithyramb since it was always presented during celebrations
in honor of Dionysos. In satirical drama, the dancers
represented satyrs, the companions of the gods.
 According
to traditions, around the mid-6th century BC, under the
tyranny of Peisistratos in Athens, Thespis, the poet from
de deme of Icarios (the modern suburb Dionysos) added
a new feature to the traditional dithyramb song by the
chorus. He introduced verses in a different rhythm and
without melody with which the actor answered the words
of the chorus. Thus, Thespis is considered to be the father
of tragedy and of theatre in general.
At
the same time Peisistratos inaugurated the Great Dionysia
(Dionysia in the City), a major religious celebration
in honor of Dionysus, which took place at the end of March
(in the Attic month Elaphebolion) and lasted initially
five, and later, six days. Three, later four, of these
days were dedicated to theatrical performance which took
place in the Theatre of Dionysos on the southern slope
of the Acropolis.
Performances
were also given during the other major Dionysiac celebration,
the Lenaia. Three poets participated in the final conquest,
 each
with three tragedies and a satirical drama. The appearance
and development of dramatic poetry, is a products of democratic
Athens per se. Tragic themes were drawn from mythology
and yet, in elaborating them, the poet expressed his contemporary
Athenians’ problems and anxieties which reflected
the organization of the city’s social and political
life.
Comedy,
on the other hand, took its inspiration from everyday
life and social reality. Human superstition and defects,
up-to-date political or social events, formed the mythical
core of the comedy. Drama theatre reached its peak in
the 5th century BC with the three tragic poets Aeschylus,
Sophocles, Euripides and the comedian Aristophanes. At
the end of the 4th century BC, Menander (342-291 BC) significantly
modified comedy and introduced “new comedy”
with themes taken from contemporary everyday life. |
Opening hours and admission
Theatre of Dionysos - as it used
to be
Excavations
at the sanctuary of Dionysos started in 1838 by the Greek Archaeological
Society and lasted for about a century. They brought to light
the theatre and the greater part of the sanctuary which includes
the two temples of Dionysos.
The
excavations at the Odeion of Pericles were carried out almost
sixty years ago and revealed a large building with many columns.
The excavations, conducted by Kastriotes (1914-1927) and Orlandos
(1928-1931), revealed the north side of the building and five
column bases at the NE corner.
The
excavations at the Asklepieion were conducted in 1875-76 by the
Greek Archaeological Service under the direction of St. Koumanoudis
and uncovered the Early Christian basilicas and remains of the
most important buildings of the sanctuary.
1.
Orchestra |
5.
Kerkides |
9. Upper cavea |
13.
Parodoi |
2.
Cavea |
6.
Stairways |
10.
Proskenion |
|
3.
Scene |
7.
Diazoma |
11.
Logeion |
|
4.
Prohedria |
8.
Lower cavea |
12.
Paraskenia |
|
The
Stoa of Eumenes
This stoa was the largest construction on the southern slope of
the Acropolis being 162 meter (150 yards) long. It ran to the
west of the theatre of Dionysos and today, but not originally,
reaches the Odeion of Herodes Atticus.
The stoa was constructed by Eumenes II (197-159 BC), a powerful
king of Pergamum. In design it looked very much like the Stoa
of Attalos that was built by another king of Pergamum. Like
the Stoa of Attalus it was double wide and was two stories high.
Above the retaining wall was a peripatos (walkway) that runs around
the foot of the hill.
The
stoa of Eumenes was built of stacked poros stone and hymettian
and pergamene marble.
The Odeion of Herodes Attikus (Herodeion)
The
Stoa (gallery) of Eumenus connected the Theatre of Dionysus
with The Odeion of Herodes Attikus. It was the third odeion
to be built in Athens 160-157 AD after the Odeion of Perikles
and that of Agrippa. It was erected by Herodes in memory of
his wife Regilla, who died in 160 AD.
 The
Odeion of Herodes Attikus, also known as the Herodeion, is
shaped as a semicircular theatre, with a radius of 80 meters
(124,5ft) and it can seat around 6.000 people. The facade,
28 meters (91,8ft) high, was massive having a width of 2,40
meters (7,8ft). The wall of the scene was lavishly decorated
with architectural marble elements. The public seats also
were made of marble and the front of the three-story stage
was richly decorated with columns and niches. The roof must
have been made of cedar wood.
The
Odeion was destroyed during the invasion of the Herulae who also
destroyed most of the city's monuments in 267 AD.
Herodes
Atticus
Herodes
Atticus (AD 101/3-177) was a politician, philosopher,
sophist and one of the biggest benefactors of Athens.
His projects include the Odeon of Athens, the conservations
of the stadiums of Athens and Olympia, the construction
of the fountain of Regilla at Olympia and the restorations
of the Odeon of Corinth. |
Opening hours and admission
The Herodeion - as it used to be
The
city of Athens' cultural showcase is the two-phase Athens Hellenic
Festival, held every summer since 1955 at the magnificent 2000
year old Herod Atticus Odeon.
The
ancient tiered theatre nestles at the foot of the Acropolis and
during summer and autumn resounds each evening to the tune of
symphony orchestras, classical drama and dance and opera performances.
The large and varied program of international and Greek artists
is available from the Athens Festival office on 
Stadiou Street or you can see it on our Festivals
page.
The
summer section of the festival runs from June to July with performances
starting at 21:00, while the autumn section covers August and
September, with shows starting at 20:30.
1.
Orchestra |
5.
Kerkides |
9. Upper cavea |
13.
Staircase |
2.
Cavea |
6.
Stairways |
10.
Proskenion |
14.
Stoa |
3.
Scene |
7.
Diazoma |
11.
Logeion |
|
4.
Prohedria |
8.
Lower cavea |
12.
Vestibule |
|
|
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