The Acropolis - Katerina Servi

One of the most important monuments of human civilisation and
the new architectural jewel of Athens are both presented through
informative, easy to read texts in a fully illustrated edition
with colour representations and detailed site plans. This brand
new book begins with a look at the history of Athens and the
Acropolis. Starting at prehistoric times, this historical
overview describes the town's development, from a quite modest
Mycenaean settlement to one of the most powerful city-states of
the classical era, the one that gave birth to democracy and
theatre, and then its downfall to a small, provincial fortified
town of the Byzantine Empire. At the same time, the reader can
follow the historical steps of the Acropolis itself, originally a
fort, which was transformed to the most glamorous shrine of the
city, only to become a fort again, after the end of the ancient
world. Then, there is a short account of the Athenian myths,
especially the ones concerning the town's patron deity, Athena.
After discovering the exciting past of the town and the sacred
rock, the reader will get to know the temples, buildings in
general, that were constructed at the top of the Acropolis during
the archaic and classical era of Greece. Parthenon, the
masterpiece of Pheidias, Iktinos and Kallikratis is, of course,
the highlight, but there were other important and architecturally
innovative structures there, such as the Propylaea and the
Erechtheion. This part of the book gives a very good idea of how
the ancient hill looked, with all its buildings and its
uncountable offerings: statues that ancient Athenians were
bringing to their goddess Athena as a present. Then, the reader
will have the chance to learn everything about the very important
south slope of the Acropolis, with the famous theatre of
Dionysus, and enjoy an imaginary walk at the north and east
slopes of the ancient rock.
The second part of the book is devoted to the admittedly
impressive new Acropolis Museum. The reader can "navigate"
through the different levels of the museum exhibition, using the
book as a guide which gives interesting information and
highlights the most important exhibits. "Moschoforos", the Kore
of the Acropolis, the Caryatids, Parthenon's frieze are only a
few of the ancient pieces of art that this book presents, through
captivating pictures and texts. In conclusion, The Acropolis, the
New Acropolis Museum is a valuable reading for all those who want
to explore and understand one of the major archaeological sites
of the world and it's brand new Museum.