The Acropolis and the Agora: The History of Ancient Athens' Most Important Sites

The Acropolis, which literally means “a city on the heights,” is a citadel whose currently surviving structures were mostly built during the 5th century B.C. in honor of Athena, the patron goddess of Athens. It functioned as a sacred precinct that contained the city's most important religious and municipal structures, many of which have remained relatively intact for over 2,000 years. The Propylaea (the gateway to the Acropolis), the Parthenon (the principal shrine to the goddess), the Ere...