Acropolis Guided Tour with Skip-the-Line Access Evening Visit

The Acropolis hill (acro – edge, polis – city), so-called the “Sacred Rock” of Athens, is the most important site of the city and constitutes one of the most recognizable monuments of the world. It is the most significant reference point of ancient Greek culture, as well as the symbol of the city of Athens itself as it represents the apogee of artistic development in the 5th century BCE. During Perikles’ Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground.The Propylaea is the monumental entrances to the sacred area dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of the city. Built by the architect Mnesicles with Pentelic marble, their design was avant-garde. To the south-west of the Propylaea, on a rampart protecting the main entrance to the Acropolis, is the Ionian temple of Apteros Nike or Wingless Victory.The temple of Athena Nike, designed by the architect Kallikrates, was built between 426 and 421 BC on a bastion at the southwestern edge of the Acropolis. It replaced older temples whose remains are preserved inside the bastion. As the name implies, the statue of Athena Nike was situated in the temple as a symbol of victory. Nike usually had wings, but in this case, the statue did not have them, so it was named Athena Apteros, which means "wingless".It is the most important and characteristic monument of the ancient Greek civilization and still remains its international symbol. It was dedicated to Athena Parthenos (the Virgin), the patron goddess of Athens. It was built between 447 and 438 B.C.E. The temple is built in the Doric order and almost exclusively of Pentelic marble. It is peripheral, with eight columns on each of the narrow sides and seventeen columns on each of the long ones.The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon is a unique combination of the Doric metopes and triglyphs on the entablature and the Ionic frieze on the walls of the cella. The metopes depict the Gigantomachy on the east side, the Amazonomachy on the west, the Centauromachy on the south and scenes from the Trojan War on the north. The Parthenon, the Doric temple, the pinnacle of Pericles’ building program is beyond question the building most closely associated with the city of Athens, a true symbol of ancient Greek culture and its universal values.The elegant building known as the Erechtheion was erected in 421-406 BC. The name derives from Erechtheus, the mythical king of Athens, who was worshipped there. The temple was made of Pentelic marble, the frieze of Eleusinian grey stone with white relief figures attached to it and the foundations of Piraeus stone.The stone paving of this propylon was thought to preserve the traces made by Poseidon’s trident when it hit the ground and produced salt water. Finally, another door on the south facade of the western temple opened onto the porch of the Karyatides, a pi-shaped structure with six female statues instead of columns to support the roof. Five of them are in the Acropolis Museum and another in the British Museum those on the building are casts. The frieze probably depicted scenes related to the mythical kings of Athens.The Theatre of Dionysus is an ancient Greek theatre in Athens. It is built on the south slope of the Acropolis hill, originally part of the sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus. The first orchestra terrace was constructed on the site around the mid- to late-sixth century BC, where it hosted the City Dionysia.