History of the Acropolis

Geology

The Acropolis rock is part of a Late Cretaceous limestone ridge (Higgins) that cuts through the Attica plateau in the northeast to the southwest axis and includes the Likavitos hill, the Philopappos (Museum) hill, the hill of the Nymphs, and the Pnyx.

The rock rises from the basin about 70 meters and levels to a flat top 300 meters long by 150 meters wide. Its flat top is due to the numerous landfills that have accommodated construction of fortifications and temples since the Mycenaean era.

With its many shallow caves, the abundant percolating water springs and steep slopes, the Acropolis was a prime location for habitation and worship for Neolithic man.

Geography

Acropolis in Greek literally means “the highest point of the town”.

While virtually every city had an Acropolis, like Mycenae and Tyrins, the Athenian citadel became synonymous with the word in the minds of most people during the last two millennia.

The Acropolis is located in Southern Europe, in the city of Athens, in the Attica prefecture of Greece.

The City of Athens

Athens was a thriving Mycenaean center that very early in its existence became the center of a “synoikismos”, an alliance and peaceful coexistence of all the adjacent towns.

According to legend, king Theseus united the towns into one administrative entity, and this synoikismos appears to be instrumental in the city’s survival when all other Mycenaean centers were destroyed around 1200 BCE by invading hordes from mainland Greece, or due to a possible invasion of tribes from the North (what many refer to as the Doric invasion).

While all other Mycenaean centers, including mighty Mycenae, were deserted during this period, Athens was the only town to remain inhabited and active. According to tradition, the city owes its survival to the heroic personal sacrifice of king Kordos.

In subsequent years Athens was ruled not by one king but by a group of men, the Aristocrats. Administrative functions moved away from the Acropolis towards other parts of the city where later the Agora developed.

The Acropolis then became exclusively a place of worship and never hosted another ruler, partly because the new realities of city administration made it inconvenient, and partly because the Athenians wanted to eliminate all references to a monarchy.

Key Legendary Characters

In constructing the early history of the Acropolis of Athens, it is necessary to consult some of the legends that guided its development over the years.

Erechtheus

Erechtheus was a legendary king of Athens who was also a deity. His parents were Gaea and Hephaestus, and he was the great-grandfather of Deaedalos and an ancestor of Theseus. It is after him that the Erechtheion was named.

Kekrops

Kekrops (circa 1600 – 1100 BCE) according to the Athenian legends, was the mythical king of Athens who organized Attica into twelve towns according to Strabo: Aphidna, Brauron, Dekelia, Eleusis, Epakria, Kekropia, Kephisia, Kytherros, Tetrakomoi, Tetrapolis, Thorikos, and Sphettos. In these legends, Kekrops is usually associated with a snake.

Theseus

Theseus was the son of Aegeas (the man who gave his name to the Aegean sea). He is credited with many deeds, most important of which are the slaying of the Minotaur (perhaps symbolizing Athenian freedom from Minoan hegemony), and the unification of all the tribes of Attica into a synoikismos (unity of communities) with Athens at its capital.

Athena

The goddess of fertility and nature that the Mycenaeans worshiped was eventually replaced by the goddess Athena around 1000 BCE. Athena gave her name to the city of Athens, and she displayed dual nature.

As Athena Polias she was the goddess of wisdom, protecting nature and fertility, while as Athena Pallas, she was a war-maker and a virgin (parthenos).

During the Geometric period (900-700 BCE) she was worshiped at a small temple that was built at the center of the Acropolis, a little to the south of the later Erechtheion. This temple sheltered a Xoanon (wooden statue) that was believed to have fallen from the heavens (Diipetes) as a gift to the city of Athens.

Poseidon

Poseidon, the god of the sea and of earthquakes (of which Greece enjoys many) eventualy replaced the prehistoric Erechtheus, although Erechtheus continued to be worshiped alongside Athena on the Acropolis.

How Athens Got its Name

According to a popular myth, Athena and Poseidon competed for the honor of being the patron of the city. The myth describes how the gods provided gifts in order to gain the people’s favor.

Poseidon hit the Acropolis rock with his trident at the place where the Erechtheion was built later, and from the wounded earth a majestic horse arose as a gift to the citizens.

The city however was named after Athena, for she gave the gift of the olive tree. 

The myth is indicative of a struggle between major religious currents during the Archaic period in Athens and although Athena dominated worship, ultimately the two gods coexisted peacefully upon the Acropolis rock through temples and legends.

This battle of the gods is depicted in the sculptural arrangement at the west pediment of the Parthenon.