Editing Acropolis of Athens (section)

==History==
[[File:View of the Acropolis of Athens from Mt Lycabettus on April 22, 2022.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|The Acropolis of Athens as seen from [[Mount Lycabettus]]<br /><small> The wooded [[Pnyx|Hill of the Nymphs]] is half-visible on its right, and Philopappos Hill on the left, immediately behind. The [[Philopappos Monument]] is seen here where, in the distant background, the coast of [[Peloponnese]] meets the waters of the [[Saronic Gulf]].</small>]]<!-- Please note, the Parthenon is not an acropolis, but rather sits upon one -->

===Early settlement===
The Acropolis is located on a flattish-topped rock that rises {{cvt|150|m|ft}} above sea level in the city of [[Athens]], with a surface area of about {{cvt|3|ha}}. While the earliest artifacts date to the Middle [[Neolithic]] era, there have been documented habitations in [[Attica]] from the Early Neolithic period (6th millennium BC).

There can be little doubt that a [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] [[megaron]] palace stood upon the hill during the late [[Aegean civilization|Bronze Age]]. Nothing of this structure survives except, probably, a single limestone column base and pieces of several sandstone steps.<ref name="Castleden">{{cite book |last=Castleden |first=Rodney |date=2005 |title=Mycenaeans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kfi0dAlfJaoC&pg=PA64 |publisher=Routledge |pages=64– |isbn=978-1-134-22782-2}}</ref> Soon after the palace was constructed, a [[Cyclopean]] massive circuit wall was built, 760 meters long, up to 10 meters high, and ranging from 3.5 to 6 meters thick. From the end of the [[Helladic chronology|Helladic IIIB]] (1300–1200 BC) on,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Iakovidis |first=Spyros |title=The Mycenaean Acropolis of Athens |publisher=The Archaeological Society at Athens |year=2006 |location=Athens |pages=197–221}}</ref> this wall would serve as the main defense for the acropolis until the 5th century.<ref>Hurwit 2000, pp. 74–75.</ref> The wall consisted of two [[parapet]]s built with large stone blocks and cemented with an earth mortar called ''emplekton'' (Greek: ἔμπλεκτον).<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De%29%2Fmplektos ἔμπλεκτος] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610052406/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3De%29%2Fmplektos|date=2021-06-10}},
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library.</ref> The wall uses typical Mycenaean conventions in that it followed the natural contour of the terrain and its gate, which was towards the south, was arranged obliquely, with a parapet and tower overhanging the incomers' right-hand side, thus facilitating defense. There were two lesser approaches up the hill on its north side, consisting of steep, narrow flights of steps cut in the rock. [[Homer]] is assumed to refer to this fortification when he mentions the "strong-built house of [[Erechtheus]]" (''[[Odyssey]]'' 7.81). At some time before the 13th century BC, an earthquake caused a fissure near the northeastern edge of the Acropolis. This fissure extended some 35 meters to a bed of soft marl in which a well was dug.<ref>Hurwit 2000, p. 78.</ref> An elaborate set of stairs was built and the well served as an invaluable, protected source of drinking water during times of siege for some portion of the Mycenaean period.<ref>[http://www.hydriaproject.net/en/cases/athens/acropolis_hill/mycenaean.html "The springs and fountains of the Acropolis hill"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728143221/http://www.hydriaproject.net/en/cases/athens/acropolis_hill/mycenaean.html |date=2013-07-28}}, Hydria Project. Retrieved 2 December 2012.</ref>
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===Archaic Acropolis===
{{Redirect|Temple of Athena Polias|the temple in Priene|Temple of Athena Polias (Priene)}}
[[File:Primitive Acropolis with the Pelargicon.jpg|thumb|upright=2.2|Primitive Acropolis with the Pelargicon and the Old Temple of Athena.]]
[[File:Aufriß des alten Athena-Tempels.jpg|thumb|Elevation view of a proposed reconstruction of the Old Temple of Athena. Built around 525 BC, it stood between the Parthenon and the [[Erechtheum]]. Fragments of the sculptures in its pediments are in the Acropolis Museum.]]

Not much is known about the architectural appearance of the Acropolis until the [[Archaic Greece|Archaic era]]. During the 7th and the 6th centuries BC, the site was controlled by [[Cylon (ancient Athenian)|Kylon]] during the failed Kylonian revolt,<ref name="Pomeroy1999">{{cite book |last=Pomeroy |first=Sarah B. |author-link=Sarah B. Pomeroy |title=Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INUT5sZku1UC&pg=PA163 |year=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-509742-9 |pages=163–}}</ref> and twice by [[Peisistratos]]; each of these was attempts directed at seizing political power by ''[[coup|coups d'état]]''. Apart from the [[Hekatompedon temple|Hekatompedon]] mentioned later, Peisistratos also built an entry gate or [[propylaea]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/448916/Peisistratus |title=Peisistratos |last=Starr |first=Chester G. |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=2 December 2012 |archive-date=31 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731080315/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/448916/Peisistratus |url-status=live }}</ref> Nevertheless, it seems that a nine-gate wall, the [[Enneapylon]],<ref>[http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=8242 "Acropolis fortification wall"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128012957/http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=8242 |date=2012-11-28 }}, Odysseus. Retrieved 2 December 2012.</ref> had been built around the acropolis hill and incorporated the biggest water spring, the [[Klepsydra (Akropolis)|Clepsydra]], at the northwestern foot.

A temple to [[Athena|Athena Polias]], the [[tutelary deity]] of the city, was erected between 570 and 550 BC. This [[Doric order|Doric]] limestone building, from which many relics survive, is referred to as the Hekatompedon (Greek for "hundred–footed"), Ur-Parthenon (German for "original Parthenon" or "primitive Parthenon"), H–Architecture or Bluebeard temple, after the pedimental three-bodied man-serpent sculpture, whose beards were painted dark blue. Whether this temple replaced an older one or just a sacred precinct or altar is not known. Probably, the Hekatompedon was built where the Parthenon now stands.<ref>Hurwit 2000, p. 111.</ref>
[[File:The Capture of the Acropolis by the Persians.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|[[Achaemenid destruction of Athens|Destruction of the Acropolis]] by the armies of [[Xerxes I]], during the [[Second Persian invasion of Greece]], 480–479 BC]]

Between 529 and 520 BC yet another temple was built by the [[Pisistratus|Pisistratids]], the [[Old Temple of Athena]], usually referred to as the Arkhaios Neōs (ἀρχαῖος νεώς, "ancient temple"). This temple of Athena Polias was built upon the [[Wilhelm Dörpfeld|Dörpfeld]] foundations,<ref>Hurwit 2000, p. 121.</ref> between the [[Erechtheion]] and the still-standing Parthenon. The Arkhaios Neōs was destroyed as part of the [[Achaemenid destruction of Athens]] during the [[Second Persian invasion of Greece]] during 480–479 BC; however, the temple was probably reconstructed during 454 BC, since the treasury of the [[Delian League]] was transferred in its [[opisthodomos]]. The temple may have been burnt down during 406/405 BC as [[Xenophon]] mentions that the old temple of Athena was set afire. [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] does not mention it in his 2nd century AD ''Description of Greece''.<ref>{{in lang|el}} [http://www.eie.gr/archaeologia/gr/02_DELTIA/Old_Temple_of_Athena.aspx] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230004407/http://www.eie.gr/archaeologia/gr/02_DELTIA/Old_Temple_of_Athena.aspx|date=2011-12-30}}, Retrieved 5 June 2012.</ref>

Around 500 BC the Hekatompedon was dismantled to make place for a new grander building, the [[Older Parthenon]] (often referred to as the Pre-Parthenon or Early Parthenon). For this reason, Athenians decided to stop the construction of the [[Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens|Olympieion]] temple which was connoted with the tyrant Peisistratos and his sons, and, instead, used the [[Piraeus]] limestone destined for the Olympieion to build the Older Parthenon. To accommodate the new temple, the south part of the summit was cleared, made level by adding some 8,000 two-ton blocks of limestone, a foundation {{cvt|11|m|0}} deep at some points, and the rest was filled with soil kept in place by the retaining wall. However, after the victorious [[Battle of Marathon]] in 490 BC, the plan was revised and marble was used instead. The limestone phase of the building is referred to as Pre-Parthenon I and the marble phase as Pre-Parthenon II. In 485 BC, construction stalled to save resources as [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes]] became king of Persia, and war seemed imminent.<ref>Manolis Korres, [http://www.eie.gr/archaeologia/En/chapter_more_3.aspx ''Topographic Issues of the Acropolis''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218042410/http://www.eie.gr/archaeologia/En/chapter_more_3.aspx|date=2020-02-18}}, Archaeology of the City of Athens; Retrieved 7 June 2012.</ref>
The Older Parthenon was still under construction when the Persians invaded and sacked the city in 480 BC. The building was burned and looted, along with the Ancient Temple and practically everything else on the rock.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact;jsessionid=7EAE195E7827EA194D2FFC77288CE706?name=Athens%2C+Pre-Parthenon&object=Building "Athens, Pre-Parthenon (Building)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821080259/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact;jsessionid=7EAE195E7827EA194D2FFC77288CE706?name=Athens,+Pre-Parthenon&object=Building |date=2020-08-21 }}, ''Perseus Digital Library''. Retrieved 3 December 2012.</ref><ref>Dörpfeld, W: ''Der aeltere Parthenon'', Ath. Mitt, XVII, 1892, pp. 158–189. {{in lang|de}}.</ref> After the Persian crisis had subsided, the Athenians incorporated many architectural parts of the unfinished temple (unfluted column drums, triglyphs, metopes, etc.) into the newly built northern [[curtain wall (fortification)|curtain wall]] of the Acropolis, where they served as a prominent "war memorial" and can still be seen today. The devastated site was cleared of debris. Statuary, cult objects, religious offerings, and unsalvageable architectural members were buried ceremoniously in several deeply dug pits on the hill, serving conveniently as a fill for the artificial plateau created around the Classical Parthenon. This "[[Perserschutt|Persian debris]]" was the richest archaeological deposit excavated on the Acropolis by 1890.<ref>Kavvadias, Panagiotis, Kawerau, Georg: ''Die Ausgrabung der Akropolis vom Jahre 1885 bis zum Jahre 1890'', Athens, 1906 {{in lang|de}}.</ref>

===The Periclean building program===
[[File:The Parthenon in Athens.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Parthenon]], as seen from the north-west in 1978]]

After winning at [[Battle of the Eurymedon|Eurymedon]] during 468 BC, [[Cimon]] and [[Themistocles]] ordered the reconstruction of the southern and northern walls of the Acropolis. Most of the major temples, including the [[Parthenon]], were rebuilt by order of [[Pericles]] during the so-called [[Age of Pericles|Golden Age of Athens]] (460–430 BC). [[Phidias]], an Athenian sculptor, and [[Ictinus]] and [[Callicrates]], two famous architects, were responsible for the reconstruction.<ref>[http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Ictinus_and_Callicrates_wi.html "Ictinus and Callicrates with Phidias"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104070801/http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Ictinus_and_Callicrates_wi.html |date=2013-01-04 }}, ''Architecture Week''. Retrieved 3 December 2012.</ref>

During 437 BC, [[Mnesicles]] started building the [[Propylaea (Acropolis of Athens)|Propylaea]], a monumental gate at the western end of the Acropolis with [[Doric order|Doric]] columns of [[Pentelic]] marble, built partly upon the old Propylaea of Peisistratos.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/386642/Mnesicles |title=Mnesicles |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=6 December 2012 |archive-date=20 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220065801/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/386642/Mnesicles |url-status=live }}</ref> These colonnades were almost finished during 432 BC and had two wings, the northern one decorated with paintings by [[Polygnotus]].<ref name="McCulloch1841">{{cite book |last=McCulloch |first=John Ramsay |title=A Dictionary, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical: Of the Various Countries, Places and Principal Natural Objects in the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ufYRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA205 |year=1841 |publisher=Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans |pages=205–}}</ref> About the same time, south of the Propylaea, building started on the small Ionic [[Temple of Athena Nike]] in Pentelic [[marble]] with [[tetrastyle]] porches, preserving the essentials of Greek temple design. After an interruption caused by the [[Peloponnesian War]], the temple was finished during the time of [[Nicias]]' peace, between 421 BC and 409 BC.<ref name="Mark1993">{{cite book |last=Mark |first=Ira S. |title=The Sanctuary of Athena Nike in Athens: Architectural Stages and Chronology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0kaLJOgRoRoC&pg=PA72 |year=1993 |publisher=ASCSA |isbn=978-0-87661-526-3 |pages=72– |access-date=2016-05-29 |archive-date=2023-02-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217134536/https://books.google.com/books?id=0kaLJOgRoRoC&pg=PA72 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Erechtheum Acropolis Athens.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Erechtheion]], viewed from the south-west, looking across the remains of the Old Temple in 2015]]

Construction of the elegant temple of [[Erechtheion]] in Pentelic marble (421–406 BC) was by a complex plan which took account of the extremely uneven ground and the need to circumvent several shrines in the area. The entrance, facing east, is lined with six Ionic columns. Unusually, the temple has two porches, one on the northwest corner borne by Ionic columns, the other, to the southwest, supported by huge female figures or [[caryatid]]s. The eastern part of the temple was dedicated to [[Athena Polias]], while the western part, serving the cult of the archaic king [[Erechtheus|Poseidon-Erechtheus]], housed the altars of [[Hephaestus]] and Voutos, brother of Erechtheus. Little is known about the original plan of the interior, which was destroyed by fire during the first century BC and has been rebuilt several times.<ref>[http://www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/erechtheion.html Thomas Sakoulas, "Erechtheion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131004205/http://www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/erechtheion.html |date=2013-01-31 }}, Ancient-Greece.org. Retrieved 7 December 2012.</ref><ref>[http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=973Ioanna Venieri, "Erechtheion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129125700/http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=973Ioanna |date=2014-11-29 }}, Odysseus. Retrieved 7 December 2012.</ref>

During the same period, a combination of sacred precincts including the temples of Athena Polias, [[Poseidon]], [[Erechtheus]], [[Cecrops I|Cecrops]], [[Herse]], [[Pandrosos]] and [[Aglauros]], with its Kore Porch (Porch of the Maidens) or Caryatids' Balcony was begun.<ref>[http://www.calvin.edu/academic/clas/pathways/acropoli/aere3.htm "The Acropolis of Athens"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402231011/http://www.calvin.edu/academic/clas/pathways/acropoli/aere3.htm |date=2012-04-02 }}. Retrieved 9 February 2013.</ref> Between the temple of Athena Nike and the Parthenon, there was the [[Brauroneion|Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia]] (or the Brauroneion), the goddess represented as a bear and worshipped in the [[deme]] of Brauron. According to Pausanias, a wooden statue or ''[[xoanon]]'' of the goddess and a statue of [[Artemis]] made by [[Praxiteles]] during the 4th century BC were both in the sanctuary.<ref>[http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/content/sanctuary-artemis-brauronia-0 "The Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924083719/https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/content/sanctuary-artemis-brauronia-0 |date=2020-09-24 }}, Acropolis Museum. Retrieved 9 February 2013.</ref>
[[File:Propylaea-athens.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Propylaea (Acropolis of Athens)|The Propylaea]] in 2005]]

Behind the Propylaea, Phidias' gigantic bronze statue of [[Athena Promachos]] ("Athena who fights in the front line"), built between 450 BC and 448 BC, dominated. The base was {{cvt|1.50|m|0}} high, while the total height of the statue was {{cvt|9|m|0}}. The goddess held a lance, the gilt tip of which could be seen as a reflection by crews on ships rounding Cape [[Sounion]], and a giant shield on the left side, decorated by [[Mys (artist)|Mys]] with images of the fight between the [[Centaur]]s and the [[Lapiths]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Mikalson |first=Jon D. |title=Ancient Greek Religion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_0Xa5uL8ZOEC&pg=PA73 |access-date=9 February 2013 |year=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-5819-3 |pages=73–}}</ref> Other monuments that have left almost nothing visible to the present day are the [[Chalkotheke]], the [[Pandroseion]], [[Pandion's sanctuary]], Athena's altar, Zeus Polieus's sanctuary and, from Roman times, the circular [[Temple of Roma and Augustus]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Brouskarē |first=Maria S. |title=The monuments of the Acropolis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gj5oAAAAMAAJ |access-date=9 February 2013 |year=1997 |publisher=Ministry of Culture, Archeological Receipts Fund |pages=56–57 |isbn=978-960-214-158-8}}</ref>

===Hellenistic and Roman Period===
[[File:Acropolis 3D.stl|thumb|upright=1.2|3-D model of the Acropolis in 165 AD (click to rotate)]]

During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, many of the existing buildings in the area of the Acropolis were repaired to remedy damage from age and occasionally war.<ref name="autogenerated54">Travlos, John, ''Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Athens'', London: Thames and Hudson, 1971. p. 54.</ref> Monuments to foreign kings were erected, notably those of the [[Attalid|Attalid kings]] of Pergamon Attalos II (in front of the NW corner of the Parthenon), and Eumenes II, in front of the Propylaea. These were rededicated during the early Roman Empire to Augustus or Claudius (uncertain) and [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa|Agrippa]], respectively.<ref>Hurwit 2000, p. 278.</ref> Eumenes was also responsible for constructing a [[Stoa of Eumenes|stoa]] on the south slope, similar to that of [[Stoa of Attalos|Attalos]] in the [[Athenian agora|agora]] below.<ref>[http://www.greek-thesaurus.gr/the-acropolis-the-stoa-of-Eumenes.html "The Stoa of Eumenes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602034512/http://www.greek-thesaurus.gr/the-acropolis-the-stoa-of-Eumenes.html |date=2012-06-02 }}, The Acropolis of Athens. Greek Thesaurus. Retrieved 9 February 2013.</ref>

During the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty|Julio-Claudian period]], the Temple of Roma and Augustus, a small, round edifice about 23 meters from the Parthenon, was to be the last significant ancient construction on the summit of the rock.<ref>Hurwit 2000, p. 279.</ref> Around the same time, on the north slope, in a [[Cave Sanctuaries of the Akropolis|cave]] next to the one dedicated to [[Pan (god)|Pan]] since the Classical period, a sanctuary was founded where the [[Archons#Ancient Greece|archons]] dedicated to [[Apollo]] on assuming office.<ref>Nulton, Peter, ''The Sanctuary of Apollo Hypoakraios and Imperial Athens'', Archaeologia Transatlantica XXI, 2003.</ref> During 161 AD, on the south slope, the Roman [[Herodes Atticus]] built his grand amphitheater or [[Odeon of Herodes Atticus|odeon]]. It was destroyed by the invading [[Herulian]]s a century later but was reconstructed during the 1950s.<ref name="Steves2011">{{cite book |last=Steves |first=Rick |title=Rick Steves' Greece: Athens & the Peloponnese |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1zNtIHutGTwC&pg=PA115 |access-date=9 February 2013 |year=2011 |publisher=Avalon Travel |isbn=978-1-61238-060-5 |pages=115–}}</ref>

During the 3rd century, under threat from a Herulian invasion, repairs were made to the Acropolis walls, and the [[Beulé Gate]] was constructed to restrict entrance in front of the Propylaea, thus returning the Acropolis to use as a fortress.<ref name="autogenerated54"/>

===Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Period===
[[File:Venetian siege of Acropolis.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.8|Depiction of the Venetian siege of the Acropolis of Athens during 1687.]]

During the [[Byzantine]] period, the Parthenon was used as a church dedicated to the [[Virgin Mary]].<ref>[http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Parthenon/ "The Partenon"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702195954/http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Parthenon/ |date=2017-07-02}}, Ancient Greece. Retrieved 9 February 2013.</ref> During the Latin [[Duchy of Athens]], the Acropolis functioned as the city's administrative center, with the Parthenon as its cathedral, and the Propylaea as part of the ducal palace.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Melton |first1=J. Gordon |last2=Baumann |first2=Martin |title=Religions of the World, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v2yiyLLOj88C&pg=PA233 |date=21 September 2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-204-3 |pages=233–}}</ref> A large tower was added, the [[Frankish Tower (Acropolis of Athens)|Frankopyrgos]] (Frankish Tower), demolished during the 19th century.<ref name="Neils2005">{{cite book |last=Neils |first=Jenifer |title=The Parthenon: From Antiquity to the Present |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gA81kINAI9cC&pg=PA346 |date=5 September 2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-82093-6 |pages=346–}}</ref>

After the [[Ottoman Greece|Ottoman conquest of Greece]], the Propylaea were used as the garrison headquarters of the Turkish army,<ref>Hellenistic ministry of culture, [http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2384 History of the Acropolis of Athens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024154934/http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2384|date=2019-10-24}}.</ref> the Parthenon was converted into a [[mosque]] and the [[Erechtheum]] was turned into the [[governor]]'s private [[harem]]. The buildings of the Acropolis suffered significant damage during the 1687 siege by the Venetians in the [[Morean War]]. The Parthenon, which was being used as a gunpowder [[Magazine (artillery)|magazine]], was hit by [[artillery]] and damaged severely.<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/404 "Acropolis, Athens: Long description"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216234908/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/404 |date=2020-12-16}}, UNESCO. Retrieved 9 February 2013.</ref>
[[File:49. Athènes. Acropole. Côté O. MET DP-13897-003.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|1842 [[daguerreotype]] by [[Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey]] (the earliest known photography of the site)]]
[[File:Akropolis by Leo von Klenze.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|Idealized reconstruction of the Acropolis and [[Areios Pagos]] in Athens, [[Leo von Klenze]], 1846.]]

During subsequent years, the Acropolis was a site of bustling human activity with many Byzantine, Frankish, and Ottoman structures. The dominant feature during the Ottoman period was a [[Parthenon mosque|mosque]] inside the Parthenon, complete with a minaret.

The Acropolis was besieged thrice during the [[Greek War of Independence]]—two sieges from the Greeks [[Siege of the Acropolis (1821–1822)|in 1821–1822]] and one from the Ottomans [[Siege of the Acropolis (1826–1827)|in 1826–1827]]. A new bulwark named after [[Odysseas Androutsos]] was built by the Greeks between 1822 and 1825 to protect the recently rediscovered [[Klepsydra (Akropolis)|Klepsydra]] spring, which became the sole fresh water supply of the fortress.

===Independent Greece===
[[File:Francis Frith, The Acropolis, 1839–98, Albumen silver print, 15.2 x 20.6 cm, MoMA, 187.1972.png|thumb|The Acropolis (photo using albumen silver print) by 19th century photographer [[Francis Frith]]]]
After independence, most features that dated from the Byzantine, Frankish, and Ottoman periods were cleared from the site in an attempt to restore the monument to its original form, "cleansed" of all later additions.<ref>[http://www.nicholasreeves.com/item.aspx?category=Writing&id=281 Nicholas Reeves and Dyfri Williams, "The Parthenon in Ruins"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090806054926/http://www.nicholasreeves.com/item.aspx?category=Writing&id=281|date=2009-08-06}}, ''British Museum Magazine'', No. 57, 2007, pp. 36–38. Retrieved 9 February 2013.</ref> The [[Parthenon mosque]] was demolished in 1843, and the [[Frankish Tower (Acropolis of Athens)|Frankish Tower]] in 1875. German [[Neoclassicism|Neoclassicist]] architect [[Leo von Klenze]] was responsible for the restoration of the Acropolis in the 19th century, according to German historian Wolf Seidl, as described in his book ''Bavarians in Greece''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/english/historic-ties-the-bavarian-greek-renaissance/23503774.html?ticket=ST-1971567-H5cWlRHnrWscUT9llj96-cas01.example.org|title=Handelsblatt|website=www.handelsblatt.com}}</ref> 

Some antiquities from the Acropolis were exhibited in the [[old Acropolis Museum]], which was built in the second half of the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Titi |first=Catharine |author-link=Catharine Titi |title=The Parthenon marbles and international law |date=2023 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-031-26356-9 |location=Cham |at=52}}</ref>

At the beginning of the [[Axis occupation of Greece]] in 1941, German soldiers raised the Nazi [[Reichskriegsflagge|German War Flag]] over the Acropolis. It would be taken down by [[Manolis Glezos]] and [[Apostolos Santas]] in one of the first acts of resistance. In 1944 Greek Prime Minister [[Georgios Papandreou]] arrived on the Acropolis to celebrate liberation from the Nazis.