The Acropolis is the supreme expression of the adaptation of architecture to a natural site. Towering above a rocky promontory, it’s visible from all angles in the city of Athens. Following a victory against the Persians and the establishment of democracy (wow) , Athens pulled together the best Greek artists and architects to build a fortress, a symbol of unity and strength that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Originally built as a military fortress, due to its position with view of the land and sea, the Acropolis evolved into a religious center, to worship the goddess Athena. Armed Greek military still stand guard today.
See the white sections in the columns? Those are new marble filler sections for missing pieces. A major restoration project has been ongoing since 1975. The goal is to reverse the decay of centuries of attrition, pollution, acts of war and misguided past restorations. Current reconstruction is being done with titanium dowels, and is completely reversible, in case future experts decide to change things. Even cleaning technology has evolved – laser impulse is now used to clean the 20,000 tons of marble used to construct the Acropolis.
Part of the restoration has been to disassemble and reassemble marble pieces that were once thought to “fit” in certain places. Orthographic (from the Greek! “Orthos” means straight, and “graphe” means draw) projection can be used to show how the pieces should fit together.
Detail from the roof of the Pantheon (one of four buildings in the Acropolis). Does it look like there are pieces missing? There are! The British Prime Minister to Greece, in a (to put it mildly) controversial move, actually hired workers to pry off huge sections of the Acropolis, which he carted back to London, where they are now the pride of the British Museum. Athens has wanted them back ever since they were stolen in 1867. Good luck with that.
Beautiful Doric columns, fluted with concave grooves, represent the pinnacle of classical Greek architecture.
Not your average construction site! The Acropolis Restoration Committee is a joint scholarly supervision by 250 experts in archeology, architecture, civil engineering, chemical engineering and conservation.
Pericles, arguable the most prominent and influential Greek statesman, was a promoter of arts and literature. Through his efforts, the Acropolis project began. It beautified and protected the city, exhibited its glory and gave work to the people. He said, “We live under a form of government which does not emulate the institutions of our neighbors. On the contrary, we ourselves are the model, which some follow rather than be the imitators of other peoples. Our government is called a democracy, because its administration is in the hands not of the few but of the majority.”