The Acropolis is a historic site in Athens, Greece. This temple is the most famous building from ancient Greece and is still used today for various religious festivals. It was built on top of a hill overlooking the city and features some of the most impressive architecture ever seen! The Acropolis stands at 400 feet and reaches a height of over 300 feet. It is made out of limestone with an enormous base that features 24 columns. During the 5th century BC, it was used as a citadel and reached its pinnacle during the time of Pericles in the 4th century BC.

Its construction began in 174 B.C. and was completed by the Roman emperor Hadrian in 131 A.D. Its unusually tall columns and ambitious layout made the temple one of the largest ever built in the ancient world. The long side featured 20 columns each and the short sides 8 (octastyle dipterous). These were placed in double rows lengthwise and in triple rows on each short side. The columns are topped by highly decorative Corinthian capitals carved from two huge blocks of marble. Inside the cella were gigantic chryselephantine statues of Zeus and of the temple's main benefactor, Hadrian, who was accorded a status equal to that of the great Greek god. The temple suffered over the centuries and much of its material was reused in other buildings, so today only 15 of the columns remain standing. The site shows evidence of habitation since the Neolithic period.

The heart of ancient Athens, the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social activity, the religious and cultural center, and the seat of justice. The site was occupied in all periods of the city's history. It was used as a residential and funerary area as early as 3000 BC. After a series of remodelings, it got its rectangular shape in the 2nd century BC, but suffered damage from the various invasions over the centuries and was gradually abandoned. From Byzantine times until after 1834, when Athens became the capital of the independent Greek state, the Agora was redeveloped as a residential area, and work is still continuing. To uncover the entire Agora area it was necessary to demolish some 400 modern buildings. In the 19th century the four colossal figures of Giants and Tritons on the facade of the Gymnasium were restored. The Stoa of Attalos was rebuilt as a museum and the Byzantine church of Agioi Apostoloi, built around 1000 AD, was restored.

The Roman Forum is situated right in the center of modern-day Athens. The Forum was built at the end of the 4th century B.C and included temples, public squares and basilicas. This central location allowed for easy travel to the rest of Ancient Greece, as well as to Italy and other parts of Europe. The most important building in the Forum was the Temple of Castor and Pollux, which was a part of the great public square. It is also where Julius Caesar’s statue once stood. The Roman Forum was separated into two major areas. One is the public square, which was the most important part of it, and the second area is where all of the temples were located. There were three main temples in this area: one to Jupiter and Juno on the east side of the Forum; one to Minerva on the south side; and finally, there was the temple to Mars on the west.

Built between 426 and 421 BC to replace older temples whose remains are preserved inside the bastion. The small Ionic temple had a frieze carved in relief with different thematic representations on each side. The east side depicted a gathering of gods around Zeus enthroned, while the other sides featured scenes of warfare between Greeks and Persians or Greeks with other Greeks. The south side depicted the victorious battle of the Greeks against the Persians at Marathon in 490 BC, led by the Athenians. Few sculptural remains of the pediments of the temple are preserved.

Visit the incredible Acropolis Museum with a local tour guide