Athens, the southernmost capital on the European mainland, is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years. According to Greek mythology the city was named after Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom. Classical Athens was one of the most powerful city-states in ancient Greece. It was a centre for democracy, the arts, education and philosophy, and was highly influential throughout the European continent, particularly in Ancient Rome. For this reason it is often regarded as the cradle of Western civilisation and the birthplace of democracy.

The acropolis is located on a flat rock that rises 150 m above sea level and covers an area of around 3 hectares. It has probably been inhabited since the 6th millennium BC.

In Mycenaean times, it was the seat of the king from the 14th century BC. A defensive wall was later built in the 13th century BC, which also included access to a spring to maintain the water supply in the event of a siege. Later, in democratic Athens, it was extended as a temple precinct and lost its defensive function. After the victory over the Persians, Athens became the center of the Hellenic world from 448 BC under Pericles as the supreme power of the Attic League. This power and the wealth associated with it were also to be demonstrated through buildings. The Acropolis was completely redesigned by the master builders Iktinos, Mnesikles and Kallikrates under the direction of the ingenious sculptor Phidias.

The Parthenon is the temple for the city goddess Pallas Athena Parthenos. It replaced an older temple of Athena, which had been destroyed during the Persian conquest of Athens in 480 BC.


It was built, on the initiative of Pericles, to thank the goddess for saving the Athenians and Greeks after the last Persian War. The construction, supervised by the sculptor Phidias, began in 447 BC and ended in 438 BC, but work on the building decoration continued until at least 433 BC. Throughout Greece's history, the building has also served as the treasury of the Attic League. The Parthenon is one of the most famous surviving monuments of ancient Greece and one of the best-known buildings in the world. Under the Byzantines Parthenon was converted to the Church of the Virgin Mary. It continued to fulfill this function after the Crusader conquest in the 13th century, only under Catholic auspices. After the Ottoman conquest in 1456, the Parthenon was converted into a mosque. Until well into the 17th century, the ancient monuments were largely intact. The catastrophe came in 1687 with the siege by the Venetians, who shelled the Parthenon. The explosion of the Turkish powder magazine there severely damaged the temple, as well as surrounding buildings.

Only a small number of the original sculptures remain in situ. Extensive parts of the Parthenon´s architectural decoration were stolen by Lord Elgin in 1801 and taken to London. The dispute over the return of these so-called “Elgin Marbles” continues to this day.