The Ancient History of the Acropolis

Iconic beyond belief, the Acropolis of Athens is the quintessential embodiment of antiquity, the most recognisable name and landmark in the ancient world. Atop it stands the Parthenon, surrounded by temples and structures which have withstood the test of time to keep the fires of ancient Greece burning through the millennia. Today we are taking a tour through a time where myths, history and architecture collide to produce the incredible story of the Athenian Acropolis, from its mythic neolithic origins to the culmination of one of antiquity's most dominant cultures, most marvellous productions, the Parthenon of Athens, a building whose presence still echoes around the world and proudly oversees the beautiful capital of Greece. As with most ancient history, we begin in the mythical age. Way back when, before Athens was called Athens, a man was born of the earth, an autochthonous man named Actaeus. He is credited with being the first king of the region of Attica, which under him was said to be named Actae. To the ancients he lived in the time of the gods, but archaeological evidence for small civilisation on the coast does seem to indicate that people inhabited the region as far back as the Neolithic Stone Age to 7000 BCE. He was succeeded by another autochthon, a man with no parents called Kekrops, and really he wasn't entirely even a man, legend has it he was half man half snake, don't ask me why or how that works. Regardless, the Athenians revered him, and it's said that he taught the people of Actaeus many wonderful things. And when he succeeded Actaeus as king, he chose the summit of a hill to establish the capital of Actaea, of Attica. Easily defensible, offering a great view, the perfect choice. And so Athens was born with Kekrops its first credited king, though at this time it was called Kekropia. And although we are indeed talking about the Acropolis here, Akkros meaning highest, Polis meaning city or city-state, it would technically have just been the polis as pretty much the whole city would have been on the hilltop at this time. Now we can't forget that in the ancient texts we are still in the time of the gods, and it was when Kekrops was king that the gods began descending from Olympus to offer patronage to the emerging cities of men and women blossoming on earth. So coveted was this patronage that the gods would go to great lengths to win it fighting amongst themselves, and Athena had her eye on Kekropia. But alas, so did another, and this one moved just a little bit faster. Poseidon, god of the sea, was first to land on the Acropolis. And with a mighty blow of his trident in the centre of the Acropolis, he created what is now called the Erechtheis Sea. This was his gift to the city, a source of salt water drawn up by a spring on the Acropolis. Athena arrived soon after, and taking a more diplomatic approach, asked Kekrops to be her witness as she offered her gift. She planted an olive tree next to Poseidon's spring. Poseidon and Athena both turned to the council of Olympus to see who would be granted patronage, and Kekrops, realising Athena would be the better guardian with the added value of olives to the he said that she was first to arrive with a gift. Athena was appointed patron deity of the city, and Poseidon was rejected, and he was not at all pleased. Nevertheless, while Kekropia then became Athens, Poseidon would still be honoured with his temple on the Acropolis. The city continued to blossom under Kekrops' rule, but meanwhile, in the realm of the gods, a typically horrific event occurred. Athena, coming to Hephaestus for a routine checkup on her weapons, was suddenly the target of his abject lust. She fled to Athens, but he chased her, and while he failed to defile her, he did somehow, you know, finish, and a little bit of this finish landed on her before hitting the ground on the Acropolis. So she remained the virgin goddess, Parthenon alludes to her name as a virgin, at the same time, she did sort of bear a At the point where the semen of Hephaestus landed, a child sprang up. This was Erechtheus. Athena cherished and raised him as her own. A child under Kekrops, he matured under the reign of Kekrops' son, Cronyos. At this time, the devastating flood which saw Greek culture reborn under the leadership of Deucalion's sons occurred, and while Cronyos fled to survive, Athena likely protected Erechtheus. Cronyos was deposed by Deucalion's second son, not Helene, the more famous progenitor of all Greece, but Amphictheon. But with Athena's love and protection, Erechtheus deposed Amphictheon in turn, and as king, would become as revered as Kekrops, and the snake, throwback to Kekrops and his half-snake body here, was his symbol, which would be immortalised under Athena's shield. He possibly founded the Panathaic festival and built a huge wooden statue of his mother on the Acropolis. It's also possible that the royal court of Athens was at this time built, alluded to in Homer, as Erechtheos Pukinon Domon, the sturdy house of Erechtheus, into which Athena herself would go. This court, the home from home of Athena, became known to the Athenians on the Acropolis as the Archeos Neos, the ancient temple of Athena Polyas, Athena of the City. Over the following centuries, as we move into the mortal age, through the bronze age and Mycenaean period, great walls were built around the Acropolis, known even now as Cyclopean walls, to protect the growing city. Under the rule of the tyrant Pisistratus, in the 6th century BCE now, a new temple was commissioned near the temple of Athena Polyas. It was a six-column peripteros in typical Doric style. It was known to the ancients as the Hecatomperos, meaning 100 feet long, even if it was slightly larger still. The inscriptions and frescoes from its limestone blocks left to us depict legendary battles of Heracles, Triton, lions and snakes. German archaeologists called this building the Urparthenon, the original Parthenon, and with that we're getting closer to the ultimate landmark seen today on the Acropolis. But before then, we have to take a pit stop at the year 490 BCE, when the Archons of Athens decommissioned the Hecatomperos in order to upgrade it to what we call the Preparthenon. It was possibly built to honour the victory of 10 years into its building though, disaster struck. Xerxes I broke through the hot gates of Thermopylae and his Persians poured into Greece, and Attica was left open for plunder. The first of the Persians who raced up the city first battered down the gates and slaughtered the pleading citizens, and when all had been slain, they sacked the temple and burned down the entire Acropolis. The house of Erechtheus, Athena's statue, the temple of Athena Polyas, all progress lost. But never fear, a few decades later and Pericles is here. With Athens now a prime power once more in Greece, having dominated the Persians at Salamis and in command of the Delian League, Pericles saw reason to celebrate and materialise Athenian hegemony. On top of the ruins of the temple of Athena Polyas, he built the Erechtheion, where Athena and Poseidon contended. Where Erechtheus' statue of Athena once stood, he built the grand, gigantic even, golden statue of Athena Nikea, Athena of Victory. And on top of the Hecatonparos and Pre-Parthenon, he had the Parthenon built, the cultural marvel we still see today, all thanks to the master supervision of one Pheidias might I add. These works are all, even if just partly visible today, a long-standing reminder of ancient prowess. But what I hope to have added today to this incredible archaeological plateau in Athens is a history of heroic proportions that displays the richness of Athenian culture from its neolithic origins, to its mythological importance, to its military achievements, and ultimately, to its, touch wood, eternal legacy. If you'd like to support some more, possibly offer a small donation, then my Patreon page is linked in the description. It grants you early access to videos, glimpses of works in progress, what's happening next on the channel, and other regular classically themed posts. 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