THE CITY OF ATHENS

SITES OF INTEREST

ATTICA OVERVIEW MAP

Athens view from air

THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS

THE ACROPOLIS MUSEUM

THE PANATHENAIC STADIUM

THE TEMPLE OF HEPHAESTUS

KERAMEIKOS

SYNTAGMA SQUARE

PLAKA

SITES OF INTEREST

End presentation

The Acropolis of Athens (Greek: Ακρόπολη Αθηνών) is an ancient citadel located on a high rocky

outcrop above the city of Athens and containing the remains of

several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic

significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis comes from the Greek words ἄκρον

(akron, "edge, extremity") and πόλις (polis, "city").[1] Although

there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the

Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as "The Acropolis"

without qualification.

While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth

millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC)

in the fifth century BC who coordinated the

construction of the site's most important buildings including the Parthenon,

the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the

temple of Athena Nike

THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS

The museum was founded in

2003, while the Organisation of

the Museum was established in

2008. It opened to the public on

June 20, 2009.[1] Nearly 4,000

objects are exhibited over an

area of 14,000 square

metres.The Organisation for the

Construction of the new

museum is chaired by Aristotle

University of Thessaloniki

Professor Emeritus of

Archaeology, Dimitrios

Pandermalis.

THE ACROPOLIS MUSEUMThe Acropolis Museum (Greek:

Μουσείο Ακρόπολης, Mouseio

Akropolis) is an archaeological

museum focused 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 its feet, from the Greek

Bronze Age to Roman and

Byzantine Greece. It also lies on

the archaeological site of

Makrygianni and the ruins of a

part of Roman and early

Byzantine Athens.

PANATHENAIC STADIUMThe Panathenaic Stadium or

Panathinaiko (Greek:

Παναθηναϊκό στάδιο), also

known as the Kallimarmaro

(Καλλιμάρμαρο, meaning the

"beautifully marbled"), is a

multi-purpose stadium used

for several events and

athletics in Athens that hosted

the first modern Olympic

Games in 1896. Reconstructed

from the remains of an ancient

Greek stadium, the

Panathenaic is the only major

stadium in the world built

entirely of white marble.

The identification of this temple

as Hephaesteion (location of

worship of the god Hephaestus)

was ascertained by the

excavations and investigations

that brought to light metallurgy

workshops on the wider area of

the hill, thus outshining earlier

opinions presuming that

Theseus, Hercules or Aris (Mars)

were the deities worshipped

there. The temple was probably

erected between 460 and 420

BC by a yet unknown architect,

to whom, however, are

attributed other temples of

similar structure in the Attica

region.

THE TEMPLE OF HEPHAESTUS

On top of Agoraios Kolonos hill,

which is delimiting the Ancient

Agora of Athens to the west,

stands the temple of

Hephaestus, broadly known as

Thisio. It is one of the best

preserved ancient temples,

partly because it was

transformed into a Christian

church. According to the

traveller and geographer

Pausanias - two deities were

jointly worshipped in the

temple: god Hephaestus,

protector of all metallurgists,

and goddess Athena Ergani,

protecting all potters and the

cottage industries.

The area took its name from the city square or dēmos (δῆμος) of the Kerameis (Κεραμεῖς, potters), which

in turn derived its name from the word κέραμος (kéramos, "pottery

clay", from which the English word "ceramic" is derived).[1] The "Inner

Kerameikos" was the former "potters' quarter" within the city

and "Outer Kerameikos" covers the cemetery and also the Dēmósion

Sēma (δημόσιον σῆμα, public graveyard) just outside the city

walls, where Pericles delivered his funeral oration in 431 BC. The

cemetery was also where the Ηiera Hodos (the Sacred Way, i.e. the

road to Eleusis) began, along which the procession moved for the

Eleusinian Mysteries. The quarter was located there because of the

abundance of clay mud carried over by the Eridanos River.

KERAMEIKOSKeramikos (Greek: Κεραμεικός)

is an area of Athens, Greece,

located to the northwest of the

Acropolis, which includes an

extensive area both within and

outside the ancient city walls,

on both sides of the Dipylon

(Δίπυλον) Gate and by the

banks of the Eridanos River. It

was the potters' quarter of the

city, from which the English

word "ceramic" is derived, and

was also the site of an

important cemetery and

numerous funerary sculptures

erected along the road out of

the city towards Eleusis.

SYNTAGMA SQUARE

Syntagma Square (Greek:

Πλατεία Συντάγματος, Greek

pronunciation: [plaˈtia sin

ˈdaɣmatos], English:

Constitution Square)

(sometimes spelled 'Syndagma

Square'), is a town square

located in central Athens,

Greece. The Square is named

after the Constitution that King

Otto was obliged to grant, after

a popular and military uprising

on September 3, 1843.[1] It is

the oldest and socially most

important square of modern

Athens, at the epicentre of

commercial activity during the

nineteenth century.

The Greek Parliament is

immediately across to the

east, and surrounded by

the extensive National

Gardens, which are open

to the public; the

Parliament itself is not

open to the public, even

when not in session. Every

hour, the changing of the

guard ceremony,

performed by the

Presidential Guard, is

conducted in front of the

Tomb of the Unknown

Soldier on the area

between the square and

parliament.

PLAKAPláka (Greek: Πλάκα) is

the old historical

neighborhood of Athens,

clustered around the

northern and eastern

slopes of the Acropolis,

and incorporating

labyrinthine streets and

neoclassical architecture.

Plaka is built on top of the

residential areas of the

ancient town of Athens. It

is known as the

"Neighborhood of the

Gods" due to its proximity

to the Acropolis and its

many archaeological sites.

THANK YOYEND OF

PRESENTATION