Classical Athens-Guided tour

· Acropolis  
· Theatre of Dionysus, the performing venue for the famous ancient Greek tragedies and comedies introduced at the time
· Acropolis museum, that displays masterpieces of art with a focus on the Archaic and the Parthenon gallery.
· Ancient Agora (Market), the economic, administrative and social center of the city.
· Temple of Hephaestus, the best preserved ancient Greek temple
· Portico of Attalus, which nowadays houses the museum of the ancient market

· Classical choice, especially for your first time in Athens!
· We have selected the best local licensed guides

· Acropolis of Athens (Ancient Greek: ἡ Ἀκρόπολις τῶν Ἀθηνῶν, romanized: hē Akrópolis tôn Athēnôn; Modern Greek: Ακρόπολη Αθηνών, romanized: Akrópoli Athinón) is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, “highest point, extremity”) and πόλις (polis, “city”). The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. During ancient times, the Acropolis of Athens was also known more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king.

While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as early as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495–429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the buildings whose present remains are the site’s most important ones, including the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians, during the Morean War, when gunpowder stored by the, then, Turkish rulers in the Parthenon was hit by a Venetian bombardment and exploded.
 
· Agora was the heart of ancient Athens, the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social activity, the religious and cultural center, and the seat of justice.
The site was occupied without interruption in all periods of the city’s history. It was used as a residential and burial area as early as the Late Neolithic period (3000 B.C.). Early in the 6th century, in the time of Solon, the Agora became a public area.

After a series of repairs and remodeling, it reached its final rectangular form in the 2nd century B.C. Extensive building activity occurred after the serious damage made by the Persians in 480/79 B.C., by the Romans in 89 B.C. and by the Herulae in A.D. 267, while, after the Slavic invasion in A.D. 580, it was gradually abandoned. From the Byzantine period until after 1834, when Athens became the capital of the independent Greek state, the Agora was again developed as a residential area.

First excavation campaigns were carried out by the Greek Archaeological Society in 1859-1912, and by the German Archaeological Institute in 1896-97. 1890-91, a deep trench cut for the Athens-Piraeus Railway brought to light extensive remains of ancient buildings. In 1931, the American School of Classical Studies started the systematic excavations with the financial support of J. Rockefeller and continued until 1941. Work was resumed in 1945 and is still continuing. In order to uncover the whole area of the Agora, it was necessary to demolish around 400 modern buildings covering a total area of ca. 12 hectares.

In the 19th century, the four colossal figures of Giants and Tritons at the facade of the Gymnasium were restored by the Greek Archaeological Society. During 1953-56, the Stoa of Attalos was reconstructed to become a museum and in the same period, the Byzantine church of Aghioi Apostoloi, built around A.D. 1000, was restored by the American School. Between 1972 and 1975, restoration and preservation work was carried out at the Hephaisteion; the area was cleared of the vegetation, and the roof of the temple was repaired in 1978 by the Archaeological Service.