The parthenon in Athens

The Acropolis in Athens is an exceptional cultural site, which is known throughout the world, and therefore very popular with tourists. The clever tourist will get up early to see the monument as soon as it opens at 8 o'clock in order to avoid the hoards of tourist groups who arrive around 10. And he or she won't regret having to get up early. The almost surreal vision of the Parthenon bathing in the soft light at dawn is well worth it.

The Parthenon temple was built in 440 BC on the highest part of the Acropolis. The work was built under the direction of Phidia, who sculpted most of the works on the site.

The Parthenon has seen many major changes throughout its history: destroyed by the Persians, transformed into a church by the Christians, and then into a mosque by the Turks, and finally, looted by Lord Elgin an English man.

Despite all these trials and tribulations, the architectural genius of the site is still quite obvious: the slightly bulbous columns lean almost imperceptibly toward the inside of the construction to make the ensemble appear more slender. The corner columns are larger in diameter than the others so that they don't appear smaller than the others due to their corner position.

The unbelievable pollution in the Capitol has forced curators to place a number of pieces inside museums. Therefore, you'll want to visit the Acropolis museum behind the Parthenon, open from Monday to Friday from 10:30 to 6:30 and on the weekend from 8 to 2:30.

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