The Acropolis

Mediterranean peoples have traditionally preferred to settle on high ground to avoid two main calamities: pirate raids on their shores, aiming to abduct women and children, and later, the plague of malaria, with its toxic breath. Neither the sound of guitars, the scent of oranges, shepherds' flutes, nor a blue moon could drive away malaria.

The nests perched atop rocky heights often bore small fortress-like structures at their summit, where kings resided, closer to the gods than to their people. Hundreds of such citadels, or Acropoleis, surrounded the Mediterranean Sea.

Today, we often associate the name Acropolis with the one in Athens, thanks to its unparalleled beauty. Its lavish decorations served as political propaganda aimed at the scattered Pan-Hellenic world. During its heyday, it wasn't inhabited by mortals but by gods and legendary founding rulers—only their tombs remained there. Its final form was the joint creation of Pericles and Phidias. Neither lived to see its completion: Pericles succumbed to the plague, and Phidias was exiled.

Four main buildings adorned the rocky platform in vivid colors. The Parthenon was the main temple dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the virgin goddess. The Propylaea, a monumental gateway resembling a fortress, housed a picture gallery in its northern wing. The Erechtheion, an unusual sanctuary complex, and the small but stunning Temple of Athena Nike, dedicated to their victorious protector, completed the ensemble. Scattered around stood numerous votive and thanksgiving statues, surrounding the 10-meter-high bronze statue of Athena in battle armor, the city's patron deity.

In 1458, the conquering Ottomans converted the Parthenon into a mosque, while the Erechtheion became a harem. Venice launched destructive campaigns against the city, and during the bombardment of the citadel, a cannonball struck the Parthenon. The gunpowder stored in its cella exploded, collapsing the structure. Since then, the Parthenon has lacked its roof and half a row of columns on both sides, leaving it gutted—a ruined temple. The western pediment's statues shattered as they fell to the marble floor. In 1801, the remaining eastern pediment sculptures were removed by the British ambassador.

The losses are staggering: of over fifty larger-than-life figures, only half remain, all in fragments and torsos. Of the ninety-two metopes adorned with reliefs, sixty survive, most badly damaged. Two-thirds of the 160-meter frieze encircling the outer cella wall also remains. Yet, admiration persists unabated. The Acropolis' glory was not undeserved, even in ancient times.

Nothing on the temple was mechanically uniform or geometrically regular. Rationality was infused with imagination. The stylobate of the column rows had a gentle curvature, and the columns leaned slightly inward and tapered upward—imperceptible to the naked eye.

The eastern pediment depicted the birth of Athena, while the western portrayed her contest with Poseidon. One struck water from the rock, the other an olive tree; Athena triumphed with the olive tree. The metopes symbolized the customary struggles between Hellenes and barbarians: unrestrained, destructive Titans against the measured Olympian gods, and Lapiths battling woman-abducting Centaurs, while Theseus fought the fierce Amazons encroaching on Athens.

Phidias' revolutionary concept integrated the mythological scenes traditionally depicted on the pediments and metopes with real-life Athens through the frieze, uniting them organically.

While the Parthenon is considered the most beautiful Greek temple, the Acropolis' most original structure is the multifaceted sanctuary complex of the Erechtheion. Built on uneven rocky ground with a three-meter height difference, the designer harmonized its parts to cater to Athens' diverse cults and ancestor worship. The sanctuaries honored not only Athena but also the tempestuous water god Poseidon, reflecting their twin cults on the Acropolis.

The Erechtheion, with its distinct architectural elements at varying heights, served as a versatile ritual center and spiritual lightning rod for the city's protection. Besides its ingenious structural solutions, the Ionic columns' beauty is unparalleled. On the temple's southern side stand six marble maidens—the Caryatids—holding the entablature. Though mere columnar supports with draped folds, they remain quintessential Greek daughters, even in stone. During Greece's 19th-century War of Independence, they were scarred by Turkish bullets, and today, they are threatened by the even more destructive forces of air pollution.

Cs. Szabó László "Görögökről", Európa könyvkiadó, Budapest, 1986