To The Acropolis!!

The day we went to the Acropolis was like a dream come true for me. I studied ancient Greek art and architecture in my AP Art History class way back in high school, and ever since then I have been dying to see these pieces and buildings in person. As we went up the hill the first site we came to was the Theater of Dionysos. Here there were special seats/thrones for VIPs and scupltures taken from other buildings to decorate the stage.

Right before we left for our trip most of the scaffolding was taken off the Parthenon, which I was so happy about. The Parthenon is the main temple on top of the Acropolis dedicated to the goddess Athena. The greatest demage to the Parthenon occured in 1687 due to the conflict between the Venetians and the Turks. Seeing the Parthenon in person and being up on the Acropolis was truly heavenly.

The sculptural reliefs that decorate the entire perimeter of the Parthenon have seen better days but are still breath taking. The originals are in the Acropolis museum, or in other museums around the world such as the British Museum (much to the displeasure of the Greeks).

The other buildings that sit atop the Acropolis include the Temple of Athena Nike and the Erechteion.

The Temple of Athena Nike was covered in scaffolding which was really sad, but that only means that next time I come to Athens it will be in better condition :). My favorite piece of classical Greek art actually came from the Temple of Athena Nike. It is a relief sculpture that is an amazing example of wet drapery. The piece is called Nike adjusting her sandle. I would have a picture of it but you weren't allowed to take pictures in the Acropolis museum.So make sure you look it up yourself because it is beautiful!

The Erechteion has the famous caryatid columns. The attention to detail in classical Greek Art can really be seen in these caryatids. They are sculptures in the round, which means that you can walk all the way around the scuplture and see something from every side. Even the back of the caryatids are intensely detailed from the drapes in the dresses to the braiding of the hair.

The new Acropolis museum was built in a very modern and minimalist style. I think this really helped showcase the classical pieces because your attention was focused on the artifacts not the structure itself. Another cool aspect of the museum was that on the first floor it had glass floors in some areas which allowed you to see through to the current excavations of ancient Athens. The thrid floor was also the same size as the Parthenon itself. They did this so that the relief sculptures around the perimiter of the Parthenon could be displayed the way they were meant to be.