As almost every tourist in Athens does, we climbed the long hill to the Acropolis (i.e., High City) last September as part of a guided walking tour of the city.
The entrance to the Acropolis is through a gateway called the Propylaea.
In 1975, reconstruction efforts began to fully restore the Acropolis and its artifacts from mechanical, chemical, and biological damage. Restoration of the relatively small temple of Athena Nike, just south of the Propylaea gateway, was completed in 2010.
The greatest structure on the Acropolis, and the best known, is the Parthenon, which was dedicated to Athena, the Greek goddess of war and wisdom. In addition to on-going damage since its completion in 438 B.C., the Parthenon was further damaged by an earthquake in 1981.
Near the Parthenon is the temple known as the Erechtheion, which was actually the most holy place on the Acropolis. It is most famous for the columns on one porch (the Kore) carved in the shape of women, the Caryatids. One of the early restoration projects, the Erechtheion was completely restored between 1979 and 1987.
There were originally six columns but one was “rescued” by the English in the early 1800s. That column is now on display in the British Museum.
The night after our tour, we took our cameras and captured various views of the Acropolis from the city below. The renovation scaffolding will remain in view for future visitors for at least another decade.
iball round the world 