Rick Steves - Rick Steves Tour: Athens Acropolis & Acropolis Museum

Rick Steves Walks and Tours eBooks are straightforward, self-guided walking tours throughsome of Europes most popular destinations, designed for easy reference on your mobile deviceor eReader. Tours and Walks are available for must-see locations throughout London, Paris,Rome, Florence, Venice, Amsterdam, Budapest, Vienna, Athens, and Istanbul.

Rick Steves Tour: British Library, London

Rick Steves Tour: British Museum, London

Rick Steves Tour: National Gallery, London

Rick Steves Tour: National Portrait Gallery, London

Rick Steves Tour: St. Pauls Cathedral, London

Rick Steves Tour: Tate Britain, London

Rick Steves Tour: Tate Modern, London

Rick Steves Tour: Tower of London

Rick Steves Tour: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Rick Steves Tour: Westminster Abbey, London

Rick Steves Walk: Bankside, London

Rick Steves Walk: City of London

Rick Steves Walk: West End, London

Rick Steves Walk: Westminster & Whitehall, London

Rick Steves Tour: Carnavalet Museum, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Eiffel Tower, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Louvre Museum, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Orsay Museum, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Pompidou Center, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Versailles

Rick Steves Walk: Champs-Elyses, Paris

Rick Steves Walk: Historic Paris

Rick Steves Walk: Left Bank, Paris

Rick Steves Walk: Marais District, Paris

Rick Steves Walk: Montmartre, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Appian Way, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Borghese Gallery, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: National Museum of Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Palatine Hill, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Pantheon, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Pilgrims Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Roman Colosseum

Rick Steves Tour: Roman Forum

Rick Steves Tour: St. Peters Basilica, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Vatican Museum, Rome

Rick Steves Walk: Heart of Rome

Rick Steves Walk: Trastavere, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Accademia, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Ca Rezzonico, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Correr Museum, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Doges Palace, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Frari Church, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Grand Canal Cruise, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: St. Marks Basilica, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: St. Marks Square, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Venices Lagoon

Rick Steves Walk: Three Walks in Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Accademia, Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Bargello Museum, Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Duomo Museum, Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Medici Chapels, Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Museum of San Marco, Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Rick Steves Walk: Renaissance Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Anne Frank House, Amsterdam

Rick Steves Tour: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Rick Steves Tour: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Rick Steves Walk: Amsterdam City Center

Rick Steves Walk: Jordaan District, Amsterdam

Rick Steves Walk: Red Light District, Amsterdam

Rick Steves Tour: Hofburg Imperial Apartments, Vienna

Rick Steves Tour: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Rick Steves Tour: Ringstrasse Tram, Vienna

Rick Steves Tour: St. Stephens Cathedral, Vienna

Rick Steves Walk: Vienna City Center

Rick Steves Walk: The Castle Quarter, Prague

Rick Steves Tour: Athens Acropolis & Acropolis Museum

Rick Steves Tour: Ancient Agora, Athens

Rick Steves Tour: National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Rick Steves Walk: Athens City Center

Rick Steves Tour: Bosphorus Cruise, Istanbul

Rick Steves Tour: Chora Church, Istanbul

Rick Steves Tour: Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

Rick Steves Tour: Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Rick Steves Tour: Istanbul Archaeological Museum

Rick Steves Tour: Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

Rick Steves Walk: Historic Core of Istanbul

Rick Steves Walk: Istanbul New District

Rick Steves Walk: Istanbul Old Town Backstreets

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Even in this age of superlatives, its hard to overstate the historic and artistic importance of the Acropolis. Crowned by the mighty Parthenon, the Acropolis (high city) rises above the sprawl of modern Athens, a lasting testament to ancient Athens glorious Golden Age in the fifth century B.C.

The Acropolis has been the heart of Athens since the beginning of recorded time (Neolithic era, 6800 B.C.). This limestone plateau, faced with sheer, 100-foot cliffs and fed by permanent springs, was a natural fortress. The Mycenaeans (c. 1400 B.C.) ruled the area from their palace on this hilltop, and Athenathe patron goddess of the citywas worshipped here from around 800 B.C. on.

But everything changed in 480 B.C., when Persia invaded Greece for the second time. As the Persians approached, the Athenians evacuated the city, abandoning it to be looted and vandalized. All of the temples atop the Acropolis were burned to the ground. The Athenians fought back at sea, winning an improbable naval victory at the Battle of Salamis. The Persians were driven out of Greece, and Athens found itself suddenly victorious. Cash poured into Athens from the other Greek city-states, which were eager to be allied with the winning side.

By 450 B.C., Athens was at the peak of its power and the treasury was flush with money...but in the city center, the Acropolis still lay empty, a vast blank canvas. Athens leader at the time, Pericles, was ambitious and farsighted. He funneled Athens newfound wealth into a massive rebuilding program. Led by the visionary architect/sculptor Pheidias, the Athenians transformed the Acropolis into a complex of supersized, ornate temples worthy of the citys protector, Athena.

The four major monumentsthe Parthenon, Erechtheion, Propylaea, and Temple of Athena Nikewere built as a coherent ensemble (c. 450-400 B.C.). Unlike most ancient sites, which have layer upon layer of ruins from different periods, the Acropolis we see today was started and finished within two generationsa snapshot of the Golden Age set in stone.