The Acropolis of Athens is the most famous landmark of one of the oldest cities in the world – Athens. For many years, large-scale construction work was carried out in the Acropolis, after which it was partially destroyed during the hostilities, but more on that later...
In 1987, the Acropolis of Athens was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In 2007, this greatest architectural structure was nominated for the title of "Wonder of the World" and entered the final of the competition "New seven wonders of the world".
At the end of this article (after learning about the interesting history of the Acropolis) we will take a 360° virtual trip to visit this architectural marvel with the help of the amazing AirPano and Google Maps services.
AirPano is the world's largest resource for providing the highest quality 360° photos, usually taken from a bird's eye view. Filming is carried out mainly from helicopters and drones, but planes, airships and hot air balloons are also used.
With the AirPano service, you can admire the picturesque views not only of the Acropolis, but of ancient Athens from a bird's eye view, using only the keyboard and mouse (also works on mobile devices):
- You can rotate the panorama with the mouse or use the arrows on the keyboard;
- To zoom in or out, scroll the mouse wheel;
- The "helicopter" icon indicates the points to which you can move. To get to such a point, click on the "helicopter";
- To descend to the ground, click on the "traveler" icon.
☛ Go directly to the virtual panorama
Google Maps gives you the opportunity to see the world for free, explore new places and plan future trips at any time without leaving your home.
Using the Google Maps service, you can virtually walk through the ruins of the Acropolis of Athens, using only the keyboard and mouse (also works on mobile devices):
- Move around the map using the arrow keys to move forward or backward, hover over the desired location;
- To zoom in or out, scroll the mouse wheel;
- The "X" icon indicates the points to which you can move. To get to such a point, click on it.
☛ Go straight to virtual cards
Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world: the first mention of it dates back to the 15th century BC. Athens is called the "cradle of civilization": it is the place where democracy, Western philosophy, political sciences, literature, theater and the Olympic Games were born.
Athens is the land of the gods: here, according to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, the battle between the goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the ruler of the seas, Poseidon, unfolded. In honor of the winner (or rather, the winner) the city was named. True, the offended Poseidon took revenge by depriving the area of water. This, of course, is just one of the beautiful ancient Greek myths, but the fact remains: the lack of water is felt here to this day, and given the hot weather in Athens, the Greeks probably dream from time to time that another deity would win in that legendary battle...
Odeon of Herodes Atticus | airpano.com
For many centuries, Athens was the most important cultural center, a large and powerful city. A myriad of sights of Athens have survived to this day, but the most famous, undoubtedly, is the Acropolis. Actually, the very word "Acropolis" means only "upper city", "elevated place" – such places for the construction of temples of patron deities were created in almost every Greek settlement. But it is the Acropolis in Athens that is known to the whole world; it is, in fact, the same symbol of Greece as the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Kremlin in Moscow.
Temple of Athena | airpano.com
In ancient times (650-480 BC), here, on a rocky spur with an area of 300 by 130 meters, as expected, there were temples and sculptures of numerous Greek deities. Then, during the Mycenaean period (15th-18th centuries BC), the Acropolis was a fortified royal residence. At the same time, temples were either erected or destroyed, depending on the peaceful or military state of the city at that time.
The most outstanding contribution to the appearance of the Acropolis was made by the architects Iktin and Kallikrates, who built in 447-438 BC. The Parthenon is a giant temple in honor of the patroness of these lands, Athena the Virgin (in ancient Greek – Athena Parthenos, hence the name of the temple). And although the Parthenon has survived to this day in a dilapidated state, it is its facade with columns that is the most famous landmark of Greece.
Parthenon | airpano.com
The Parthenon was thought out in the smallest detail, completely invisible to an outside observer, but introducing interesting optical adjustments. The temple seems to be perfectly straight, but in fact there are almost no strictly straight lines in its contours. For example, corner columns are not round in cross section, and they are thicker in diameter than others. Otherwise, they would appear thinner, but thanks to this technique, all columns visually look the same.
Parthenon after the Greek Revolution (1820s). Engraving by William Miller (1829) | wikipedia.org
During all the centuries of the existence of the Acropolis, there was a struggle for it. So, with the accession of Christianity in Greece, the Parthenon became the Church of Our Lady, and the statue of Athena Parthenos was transported to Constantinople. In the 15th century, after the conquest of Greece by the Turks, the temple was turned into a mosque, to which minarets were attached, and one of the temples of the Acropolis, the Erechtheion, became the harem of the Turkish pasha.
Night Acropolis | airpano.com
In the 17th century, almost the entire central part of the Parthenon was destroyed by a cannonball from a Venetian ship, and then the restless Venetians also broke several sculptures, trying to remove them. At the beginning of the 19th century, the English Lord Elgin took out everything that could be taken out – from friezes to caryatids (and Greece is still trying to convince the UK to return these monuments to their place). But not only that: the Turks constantly made tunnels in order to blow up the Acropolis – they did not succeed, however, during the next battle, the Turkish cannonball severely damaged the Erechtheion temple.
Fragments of the Parthenon | airpano.com
Only from the end of the 19th century did the peaceful period of the life of the Acropolis begin (except for the constant strikes of museum employees). Its ancient appearance was restored as far as possible, miraculously surviving original reliefs and sculptures are now in museums in London, Paris and Athens, and those outdoor sculptures that we can see today are copies.
Temple of Olympeion | airpano.com
Of course, not only the Acropolis and the Parthenon are the sights of Athens. A city with a long and legendary history, it has preserved many individual monuments, buildings and entire neighborhoods. The historical districts of Agora and Plaka, Syntagma and Omonia squares, the Athens Cathedral, the National Garden and much, much more – we invite you to admire the picturesque views of ancient Athens bird's-eye or take a walk the ruins of the Athenian Acropolis.
Acropolis of Athens: Virtual panorama
