Top historic sites in Athens
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a former temple, on the Athenian Acropolis, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438 BC although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered the zenit ...
Founded: 447 BC |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Acropolis
The Acropolis of Athens and its monuments are universal symbols of the classical spirit and civilization and form the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed by Greek Antiquity to the world. In the second half of the 5th century BC, Athens, following the victory against the Persians and the establishment of democracy, took a leading position amongst the other city-states of the ancient world. In the age tha ...
Founded: c. 495-429 BC |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Erechtheion
The Erechtheion is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens which was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon. The temple as seen today was built between 421 and 406 BCE. It may have been built in honor of the legendary king Erechtheus, who is said to have been buried nearby. Erechtheus was mentioned in Homer"s Iliad as a great king and ruler of Athens during the Archaic Period ...
Founded: 421-406 BCE |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Propylaea
A propylaea means an monumental gateway in ancient Greek architecture. Entrance into the Acropolis was controlled by the Propylaea. Though it was not built as a fortified structure, it was important that people not ritually clean be denied access to the sanctuary. It was one of several public works commissioned by the Athenian leader Pericles in order to rebuild the Acropolis hill at the conclusion of the Persian W ...
Founded: 437 BC |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Asclepeion
To the west of the Dionysos theatre and quite close to the cliff of the Acropolis lies the Asklepieion, the sanctuary of the healing god Asklepios dated to 420 BC. Functioning pretty much as hospitals, the asklepieia were of immense importance in ancient Greece, the most popular being the Asklepieion of Epidaurus. Besides the usual facilities for sheltering the pilgrims, the core structures of the Athenian complex we ...
Founded: 420 BCE |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Temple of Athena Nike
The Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis of Athens was named after the Greek goddess. Built around 420 BCE, the temple is the earliest fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis. It was a prominent position on a steep bastion at the south west corner of the Acropolis to the right of the entrance, the Propylaea. In contrast to the Acropolis proper, a walled sanctuary entered through the Propylaea, the Victory Sanctuary w ...
Founded: 420 BCE |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone theatre structure located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens. It was built in 161 AD by the Athenian magnate Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla. It was originally a steep-sloped theater with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof made of expensive cedar of Lebanon timber. It was used as a venue for music concerts with ...
Founded: 161 AD |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Theatre of Dionysus
The Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus is a major theatre in Athens, built at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis. Dedicated to Dionysus, the god of plays and wine, the theatre could seat as many as 17,000 people with excellent acoustics, making it an ideal location for ancient Athens" biggest theatrical celebration, the Dionysia. It was the first theatre ever built, cut into the southern cliff face of the Acro ...
Founded: 6th century BC |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Hadrian's Library
Hadrian"s Library was created by Roman Emperor Hadrian in AD 132 on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens. The building followed a typical Roman Forum architectural style, having only one entrance with a propylon of Corinthian order, a high surrounding wall with protruding niches (oikoi, exedrae) at its long sides, an inner courtyard surrounded by columns and a decorative oblong pool in the middle.The ...
Founded: 132 AD |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Stoa of Attalos
The Stoa of Attalos was a covered walkway or portico in the Agora of Athens. It was built by and named after King Attalos II of Pergamon, who ruled between 159 BC and 138 BC. The current building was reconstructed in 1952–1956 by American architects along with the Greek architect Ioannis Travlos and the Greek Civil Engineer Yeoryios Biris. Typical of the Hellenistic age, the stoa was more elaborate and larger th ...
Founded: 159 BCE (1952-1956) |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Old Royal Palace
The Old Royal Palace is the first royal palace of modern Greece, completed in 1843. It has housed the Hellenic Parliament since 1934. The Old Palace is situated at the heart of modern Athens, facing onto Syntagma Square. The palace was designed by Bavarian architect Friedrich von Gärtner for King Otto of Greece and his wife, Queen Amalia, with funds donated by Otto"s father, King Ludwig I of Bavaria. Pr ...
Founded: 1836-1843 |
Location:
Athens, Greece
National Archaeological Museum
The National Archaeological Museum houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world and contains the richest collection of artifacts from Greek antiquity worldwide. The current location was proposed and the construction of the museum"s building began in 1866 and was c ...
Founded: 1866-1889 |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Agora of Athens
The Ancient Agora of Classical Athens is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora (central public space in ancient Greek city-states), located to the northwest of the Acropolis and bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill known as the Agoraios Kolonos, also called Market Hill. The Agora"s initial use was for a commercial, assembly, or residential gathering pla ...
Founded: 5th century BCE |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Fethiye Mosque
The Fethiye Mosque is located on the northern side of the ancient Roman Agora in Athens and was built on the ruins of a Christian basilica from the middle Byzantine period (8th/9th centuries). The Christian church was converted into a mosque in 1456/58, soon after the Ottoman conquest of the Duchy of Athens, to coincide with the visit to the city by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror in 1458. Only a fragment of the ...
Founded: 1668-1670 |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Roman Agora
The original Roman Agora was encroached upon and obstructed by a series of Roman buildings, beginning with the imperial family"s gift to the Athenians of a large odeion (concert hall). The Odeon of Agrippa was built by him in around 15 BC, and measured 51.4 by 43.2 metres, rose several stories in height, and – being sited just north of the Middle Stoa – obstructed the old agora. In return for the odeion, the A ...
Founded: 19-11 BC |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis Museum, opened in 2009, focuses on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies over the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. Nearly 4,000 objects are exhibited over an area of 14,000 square metres.
Founded: 2009 |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Areopagus
The Areopagus is a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis. In pre-classical times (before the 5th century BC), the Areopagus was the council of elders of the city, similar to the Roman Senate. Like the Senate, its membership was restricted to those who had held high public office, in this case that of Archon. In 594 BC, the Areopagus agreed to hand over its functions to Solon for reform. He in ...
Founded: 6th century BC |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Temple of Olympian Zeus
The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a former colossal temple at the centre Athens. It was dedicated to Olympian Zeus, a name originating from his position as head of the Olympian gods. Construction began in the 6th century BC (around 520 BC) during the rule of the Athenian tyrants, who envisaged building the greatest temple in the ancient world, but it was not completed until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in t ...
Founded: 520 BC |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Temple of Hephaestus
The Temple of Hephaestus is a well-preserved Greek temple located at the north-west side of the Agora of Athens; it remains standing largely as built. It was dedicated to Hephaestus, the ancient god of fire and Athena, goddess of pottery and crafts. According to the archeologists, the temple was built around 450 BCE. at the western edge of the city, on top of Agoreos Koronos hill, and it is a classical example of Dor ...
Founded: 450 BCE |
Location:
Athens, Greece
Arch of Hadrian
The Arch of Hadrian is a monumental gateway resembling – in some respects – a Roman triumphal arch. It spanned an ancient road from the center of Athens, to the complex of structures on the eastern side of the city that included the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It has been proposed that the arch was built to celebrate the adventus (arrival) of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and to honor him for his many benefactions ...
Founded: 131-132 AD |
Location:
Athens, Greece