10 interesting facts about the Acropolis, which you did not know

Until now, the Acropolis and other masterpieces of ancient Greek architecture have reached a single-tone light. But in fact the Greeks of antiquity were very fond of bright shades. Therefore, during the heyday, the temples of the Acropolis were covered with colorful murals and stucco molding, and then under the influence of the sun, wind, etc. the paint was just faded.

The Acropolis was built on top of a hill as a fortress, where the townspeople could hide, if Athens captures the enemy. In addition, it was convenient to follow the location of the enemy from here. After many centuries, during the national liberation war of the XIX century, the Acropolis was again used for its intended purpose.

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Many marble statues and decor were removed from the Acropolis back in the XIX century. The culprit was the British ambassador in Constantinople — Lord Elgin. It was he who collected most of the Greek heritage and transported the monuments to his homeland. Of course, the Greeks considered this to be robbery and barbarism. But Elgin acted out of noble motives — he saved monuments of art! Although later he sold them to the British Museum for 35,000 pounds. Historians and archaeologists are still struck by the technique in which the temples of the Acropolis are built. Each detail is carved from pure marble and precisely tailored to its place. Moreover, all blocks and parts are connected together without a fastening solution!

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When building temples, the Greeks used their own measurement system. It was based on the lengths of different parts of the body: a finger, a foot, a palm, an elbow, etc. And this is long before the creation of the Vitruvian Man & raquo; Da Vinci!

According to historians, the most terrible damage to the Acropolis was in 1827, when during the siege of Athens, the Turkish core fell into the Erechtheion temple. .jpg"/>

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During the same period of the national liberation war, a tragicomic event occurred. The Turkish garrison took refuge in the Acropolis, and there it was discovered by Greek soldiers. The Turks could not shoot for a long time, because they ran out of ammunition. Then they began to destroy the columns of the temples in order to take out the lead rods and cut them into bullets. The Greeks shocked by this barbarity provided ammunition for their enemies to stop destroying the shrine.

The main gate of the Acropolis — Propylaea — became a prototype for the Roman triumphal arches, which now exist in many European cities. And the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin — almost an exact copy of the Propylaeans.

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Acropolis — this is not one building, but a complex of 21 historical monuments. Among them the Parthenon, Hecatompedon, the Erechtheion, the statue of Athena Promachos, the gate of the Propylaea, the temple of Nicky Ateros, the Athenian altar, the Sanctuary of Zeus Poliei, the Odeon of Herod Atticus, the Dionysus Theater and others.

The Parthenon was built in honor of the patroness of the city & mdash ; the goddess of wisdom Athena. The Greeks loved and honored her so much that at the end of the construction they freed all the slaves who participated in it.

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