Acropolis

Acropolis (pronounced uh-krop-uh-lis)

(1) A citadel or high fortified area in an ancient Greek city.

(2) The Acropolis, the citadel of Athens on which the Parthenon, the Erechtheum and other structures stand.

1655-1665: From the Ancient Greek Ἀκρόπολις (Akrópolis) (Acropolis), the construct being ἄκρος (ákros) (highest; tip; topmost; summit; elevated part of a Greek city) + πόλις (pólis) (city).  The primitive Indo-European root was ak- (be sharp, rise (out) to a point, pierce) + polis (city), the plural being acropoles.  The Latinized was acro + polis and the plural form either acropolises or acropoleis.  Acropolis is a proper noun and acropolitan is an adjective; the noun plural is acropolises or acropoleis.

The ruin which overlooks Athens is often referred to as “the Acropolis” but that word actually describes the high hill on which the building sits.  An acropolis was an elevated promontory (usually fortified with a citadel) which formed the hub of many cities in Antiquity, a layout chosen because possession of the high-ground is a classic maxim of military planning when constructing a defensive position.  The ancient temple is correctly called the Parthenon although the term “The Acropolis of Athens” remains common.  It’s now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The site of a number of previously-built temples, the Parthenon was built during the rule of Pericles (circa 495-429 BC) in the Golden Age of Athens (460-430 BC).  Construction took some fifty years and Pericles didn’t live to see it finished and although dominated by the main structure, the acropolis is actually the site of a number of temples and statues.  The Parthenon has been re-purposed over the centuries as power and territorial possession changed.  It’s been a pagan temple, a Christian Church, a residence for Episcopalian clergy, a Mosque, a grain store, a barracks and a munitions powder munitions depot and it was while being used for this latter purpose that the greatest damage in a thousand years was caused.  In a 1687 Venetian siege during the Morean War (1684-1689), the gunpowder magazine suffered a direct hit from an artillery shot and a massive explosion ensued, destroying most of the temple’s internal structure.

It’s from the Parthenon that in 1801, the seventh Earl of Elgin (Thomas Bruce, 1766-1841) removed many of the sculptures, later selling them to the British Museum where a number remain, known as The Elgin Marbles.  Their continued presence in the UK has been a source of dispute between the British and Greek governments for over a century.  The position in London has always been they were a lawful purchase, approved in writing by the local representative of the ruling power in Constantinople.  The view in Athens is they are looted art treasures which should be returned; the Greek Government insisting they should be called The Parthenon Marbles.  The marbles still in Greek hands are on display at the Acropolis Museum in Athens, the display space designed to accommodate those now in London.

The Parthenon, Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee.

Designed by architect William Crawford Smith (1837–1899), the Parthenon which stands in Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.  A full-scale reproduction of the original, it's now an art museum and in the Treasury Room are displayed plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles, cast from the original sculptures.  In the nineteenth century, Nashville was one of a number of cities around the world often styled "the Athens of the South" and this doubtless had some influence on the choice of the building as the exposition's centerpiece but while some of the other structures erected for the event were in the style of buildings from antiquity, the Parthenon was the only one to use exact dimensions.

The 1897 structure was intended to last only for the duration of the exposition and was thus built with plaster, wood & brick but such was the local support for its retention it was left standing, soon beginning to deteriorate.  By 1920 however it was a noted tourist attraction and had become accepted as a feature of the city so, on the same foundations, it was rebuilt in concrete, the project completed in 1931.  Concrete however doesn't possess the same qualities of durability as granite and marble so for the replica to maintain its appearance and structural integrity, progressive replacements of components will be required, engineers noting the essentially modular nature of the construction means it may never need wholly to be re-built.