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 Temple of Athena Nike was built around 420 BC. It has a prominent position on a steep bastion at the south west corner of the Acropolis. The temple replaced a previous building destroyed during the Persian occupation of the Acropolis in 480 BC. Nike was the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, and Athena was worshipped in this form, representative of being victorious in war.

In the 16th century, the temple was converted into a powder magazine under the Ottomans, and large quantities of powder were buried beneath the floor. In 1687, the Ottomans demolished the temple to use its stones to reinforce the Acropolis's defenses against the Venetians. The material was used between the Pinacoteca and the bastion. Parts of the Nike balustrade were also incorporated into this section of the bastion.

After the liberation of Greece, the components of the bastion were salvaged, and the temple was rebuilt in 1836. By the early 20th century, research on the temple had already advanced considerably and so the Greek Antiquities Service decided to relocate and rebuild the building.
The temple was once again completely reconstructed starting in 1998, using more contemporary means and methods and incorporating additional parts that had since been identified as belonging to the temple.