On April 16th we went to the top of the Acropolis of Athens. The word acropolis means “city by the edge.” Although there are many acropolises in Greece, the Acropolis of Athens is the most well-known in the world. Historians have been able to find traces of civilization dating all the way back to the Neolithic Age, 7th millennium B.C. The Parthenon, one of the seven great wonders of the world, was built in the middle of the fifth century B.C. in the Golden Age of the Greek empire. The Parthenon was designed by Ictinus and Callicrates. The statue of Athena was built by Phidias. At the end of the century the Erechteion and the temple of Athena Nike were built. In the second century AD Herodes Atticus built a great theatre that is still currently used. The Parthenon and several other temples were converted into Christian churches in the Middle Ages. In the sixteenth century the Turks conquered Athens and turned the Parthenon into a mosque. While the Turks had control of Athens, they left gunpowder in the Parthenon. The gunpowder had exploded and took off the roof. The Parthenon is still currently roofless. The Greek government is in the midst of restoring the Parthenon, to keep alive the history it represents.
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