The Acropolis was one of the many Mycenaean citadels that were built for the first time in the Neolithic age (Andronicos, 5). In the Mycenaean age, the Acropolis, called the "Old Temple", was dedicated to Poseidon, god of the spring, and to Athena, goddess of the olive-tree (Andronicos, 5).

In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Athens was an oligarchy, and then was governed by a tyrannt (Robertson, 3), a term adopted from the east, which does not necessarily imply a bad ruler. In the close of the 7th, and the beginning of the 6th century BC, Peisistratos was in control of Athens. He initiated the Panathenaic festival (a celebration of the birth of the goddess Athena), and he also revived the Acropolis by replacing the Mycenaean western gate into a Propylaia, and by building an altar to Athena Nike (Andronicos, 6).

The Greeks, however, were involved in the Peloponnesian war with the Persians. In 480 BC, in the battle of Thermopylai, the Persians invaded Athens, burned the city, its altars, including the Acropolis (Andronicos, 6; Rodenwaldt, 15). The old Archaic Acropolis was destroyed, and left in ruins. Shortly afterwards, however, the Greeks started the naval battle of Salamis, where the Persians were defeated, announcing the Greeks the winner of the Peloponnesian wars (Andronicos, 6; Rodenwaldt, 15). At that point, however, there were neither the time nor the money to restore the Acropolis, and thus the Acropolis was left in ruins.

To ensure the safety of Greece from the Persians, shortly after the battle of Salamis, Athens formed a confederacy, whose purpose was to collect tributes from all Greek city-states to strengthen the military. All the Greek polises started contributing money to the Confederacy (league) of Delos (Robertson, 4). In 454 BC, the league moved from Delos to Athens, right about the time when Pericles became the leader of Athens (Robertson, 4).

In 449, an official treaty was signed acknowledging that Athens (and Greece) defeated Persia (Robertson, 4). Such assurance for peace encouraged Pericles to propose to use the money from the league to revive Athens by building temples, buildings, theaters, and reviving the Acropolis (Andronicos, 7; Robertson, 4). Pericles was rightly convinced that Athens was the greatest city of its time, and it should be an ideal for the rest of the Greek world. Thus, he believed that the buildings and temples of Athens should convey its greatness in a manner worthy of Athens' position. Pericles attitude toward Athens is clearly expressed in his Funeral Oration recorded by Thucydides in The Peloponnesian War in book 2, paragraphs 34 to 46.

Pericles entrusted Pheidias with the reconstruction of the Acropolis. Under the supervision of Pheidias, the Mycenaean Propylaia was replaced by a monumental gateway. Secondly, a second new temple, the Parthenon, was built and dedicated to Athena Parthenos (=virgin). Thirdly, the small temple of Athena Nike was restored. Finally, the Erechtheion was revived. (Andronicos, 7).

After the Peloponnesian War was over, Athens power started to slowly decline (Robertson, 12), which greatly endangered the Acropolis. The Acropolis managed to withstand time, until Christianity entered Greece. In the late 1st century AD, the Erechtheum was converted into a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Hopper, 98). I find this ironic, since the Parthenon was dedicated to Athena Parthenos (=virgin). In the mid 5th century AD, the Erechtheum and the Parthenon were converted into churches (Rodenwaldt, 16). In the 6th century, an apse was accidenally thrown on the east, and the center of the western pediments collapsed, which led to the loss or destruction of many sculptural figures (Robertson, 13).

Thanks Dr. Solomon

In 1204 AD, after the Latin Crusades, parts of the Acropolis were converted into Roman churches (Rodenwaldt, 16). In the 15th century AD, the Turkish invaded Athens; in turn, they converted the Parthenon into a mosque, they even erected a minaret beside it (Robertson, 13; Rodenwaldt, 25). In the 17th century, two unfortunate incidents happened. First, in 1645, the Propylaia, which the Turks used as a powder magazine, was struck by lightning (Rodenwaldt, 25). In 1690, the Parthenon was not spared; the Venetians, at war with the Turks at the time, besieged the Acropolis, and bombed at the Parthenon, which was now the Turks' new powder magazine (Rodenwaldt, 25). Needless to say, unfortunately, the Parthenon was exploded destroying the roof and many of the pedimental structures, and the central metopes that survived thus far.

Finally, the Acropolis was spared from torture that history imposed on it for the last 1700 years! It was handed to archaeologists, who fortunately appreciated and respected it. Many archaeological teams removed all traces of later influence and careful excavations started (Rodenwaldt, 26). In 1799, Lord Elgin with the permission from the Turks, went to Athens and took what he wished from the remains of the Parthenon (Robertson, 13), and he paid for whatever he took. These remains were placed at the British Museum around 1816 (Haynes, 3), a place where they would be appreciated and admired (about time!).

Whatever Lord Elgin's motives to obtain many parts of the Acropolis were, thankfully, he was able to transport those precious pieces of stones safely to England. They are still preserved in the British Museum, and saved from pollution, not to mention further damages from wars and such. Recently, however, there has been some debate on whether the monuments retrieved by Lord Elgin belong to England, or should they be brought back to Greece.