Acropolis
the high part of any ancient Greek city, usually an eminence overlooking the city, and frequently its citadel. Notable among such citadels were the Acropolis of Argos, that of Messene, of Thebes, and of Corinth, but pre-emi- ACROSTIC upon a separate spur or butte of Hymettus. The hill rises out of the plain, a mass of rock about 260 feet high. The summit of this rock forms an uneven plain 500 by 1,150 feet at the maximum breadth and length. Within this area were reared, chiefly in the days of Pericles, remarkable specimens of architectural art. The buildings were grouped around two principal temples, the Parthenon and the Erechtheum. Between these temples stood the statue of Athena Promachos (fighter in front), by Phidias, the helmet and spear of which were the first objects visible from the sea. About these center pieces were lesser temples, statues, theaters, fanes, and odea (music halls). Among the famous buildings on the sides of the Acropolis were the Dionysiac theater and the Odeum of Pericles, and the Odeum, built by Herodes Atticus in honor of his wife, Regilla.
The ravages of accident and war and Athenian marble-merchants have largely destroyed and despoiled these classic works. See ATHENS.