The Acropolis in Athens was a sacred hill dedicated to the goddess Athena that held important structures like the Parthenon. The Parthenon was designed by Pheidias and built almost perfectly out of marble with 46 surrounding pillars. Other temples in Athens included the Erechtheion, Hephaisteion, and Olympeion dedicated to various gods. Pheidias also designed statues for the Parthenon and Olympia. Greek architecture used three pillar styles - the plain Doric, spiral Ionic, and leafy Corinthian. Athenians excelled not just in architecture but also arts like sculpture decorating temples and pottery depicting everyday life that was traded widely.

1. GREEK ART/ARCHITECTURE BY: PRESTON, MONICA, JUSTIN, HANNAH, CAITLAN R., and ELIJAH

2. THE ACROPOLIS The Acropolis is a sacred hill dedicated to the goddess, Athena. Towering 200 feet above the great Greek city of Athens, it held the Parthenon and inside it, there was a golden/ivory statue of the patron-goddess Athena. The actual term “Acropolis” can be used to describe any type of citadel whether, it’s Roman, Jerusalem, or even parts of Asia Minor. Pheidias was the name of the man who designed the Parthenon. The Parthenon was built almost perfectly. Standing 60 feet tall, was made entirely out of marble, and had 46 pillars surrounding it.

3. The Buildings of Athens Other temples in the city of Athens were: The Erechtheion (dedicated to both Athena and Erechteus, a legendary king of Athens), the Hephaisteion (dedicated to Hephaisteion, the god of crafts), and the Olympeion (dedicated to the king of gods, Zeus). One sculptor, named Pheidias, was the one who designed the Parthenon, sculpted the gold/ivory sculpture of Athena which stood up on the top of the Acropolis, and designed the Statue of Zeus at Olympia. There were different styles that were used to decorate the pillars holding up the buildings. The first order was the Doric order, which were plain rectangular pillars. The second order was the Ionic order, which had pillars with a swirl-type top like a ram’s horns. The third order was the Corinthian order which had pillars with leaves sprouting from the top.

4. The Cultural Athenian Arts Athenians were not only architectural, but they were also very artistic. Many of them were sculptors. The sculptors made creations to be used as decoration for the temples. Most temple statues, were mostly made of marble or bronze. Statues were made of gods, goddesses, heroes, and Olympic winners and were used to decorate the city. Pottery was also one of the admired Greek arts.The Greeks used it as a trade item all over the Mediterranean. It was mainly used to transport perishable foods such as: wine, olive oil, grain, or even perfume. They were also used in cooking/eating in a religious festival. The pots are helpful today because they are painted with pictures of everyday life, athletic events, religious festivals, or mythological events.