Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis of Athens is the monumental sacred citadel that rises above the historic centre of Athens in Attica. Although the hill had been fortified since the Mycenaean period, UNESCO records that it gradually acquired a specifically religious character in the eighth century BC with the establishment of the cult of Athena, the city’s patron goddess.

Its best-known monuments belong to the ambitious fifth-century BC building programme associated with Pericles: the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Propylaia and the Temple of Athena Nike. Together they form one of the clearest surviving expressions of Classical Greek architecture and state religion.

The Acropolis was not devoted to a single aspect of Athena; ancient Athenian cult honoured her under several titles, while other cults and myths were also represented on the hill. UNESCO inscribed the Acropolis on the World Heritage List in 1987 for its architectural, artistic, historical and religious importance.

Visitors encounter an archaeological monument rather than a functioning ancient sanctuary, and the surviving buildings should be understood through both material evidence and the religious beliefs of ancient Athens.