DESKTOP 2434 - PLAKA, ATHENS

Pláka (Greek: Πλάκα) is the old historical neighbourhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture. Pláka is built on top of the residential areas of the ancient town of Athens. It is known as the "Neighbourhood of the Gods" due to its proximity to the Acropolis and its many archaeological sites.

Pláka is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists around the year, and is under strict zoning and conservation regulations, as the only neighbourhood in Athens where all utilities (water, power, cable television, telephone, internet, and sewage) lie underground in fully accessible, custom-made tunnelling. Excavations have proven that Adrianou Street is the oldest street in Athens still in continuous use with exactly the same layout since antiquity.

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DESKTOP 2124 - ACROPOLIS

Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for at least 5000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC, and its cultural achievements during the 5th century BC laid the foundations of western civilisation.

During the early Middle Ages, the city experienced a decline, then recovered under the later Byzantine Empire and was relatively prosperous during the period of the Crusades (12th and 13th centuries), benefiting from Italian trade. Following a period of sharp decline under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Athens re-emerged in the 19th century as the capital of the independent and self-governing Greek state.

Athens is rich in ancient sites and buildings, including the areopagus, the acropolis (seen below), the agora, various amphitheatres and various athenaea (temples of Athena, like the Parthenon), as well as numerous other architectural remains, and monuments, statuary and objects of everyday life. The Acropolis Museum, the National Archaeological Museum and numerous other museums and galleries also have objects and remains of the ancient city.

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DESKTOP 1686 - ATHENS

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DESKTOP 1510 - SOUNION TEMPLE

Cape Sounion (Modern Greek: Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο, transliterated Akrotírio Soúnio) is a promontory located 69 kilometres south-southeast of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece. Cape Sounion is noted as the site of ruins of an ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea in classical mythology.

The remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea. The ruins bear the deeply engraved name of English Romantic poet Lord Byron (1788–1823). The site is a popular day-excursion for tourists from Athens, with the sunset over the Aegean Sea, as viewed from the ruins, a sought-after spectacle.

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DESKTOP 1372 - ATHENS ACADEMY

The Academy of Athens was erected at the expense of Simon Sinas on the basis of designs by Theophilus von Hansen; construction was supervised by Ernst Ziller. On plan the building is symmetrically organised and consists of three wings interconnected by two smaller lateral sections. The main wing houses the assembly chamber. It rests on a foundation of Piraeus stone that corresponds to the lower floor. The main floor is constructed entirely of marble.

The central wing is in the form of an Ionic temple with a colonnaded portico at each end, in visible imitation of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis. The side wings are lower in height and their façades are treated with pillars and an entablature. Two oversized Ionian columns flank the entrance portico, bearing statues of Athena, goddess of wisdom, and Apollo, god of light, that were sculpted by Leonidas Drosis. The main group on the Academy’s pediment, depicting the birth of Athena, is also his work.

The smaller pediments on the side wings, made of terracotta, are the work of Fr. Melnitzky (1875). The monumental assembly hall is adorned by the wall paintings of Christian Griepenkerl on the theme of the mythological cycle of Prometheus.

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DESKTOP 1169 - THESSEION, ATHENS

On the North side of the Western section of the Agora of ancient Athens stands the temple of the Thesseion, one of the best preserved ancient temples in Greece. It was built about 449 BC, by the architect Ictinus (who also designed the Parthenon on the Acropolis). The Thesseion has 34 Doric columns and its frieze depicts the labours of Hercules.

Originally dedicated to Hephaestus, the god of metallurgy and the practical crafts, the temple was surrounded by forges and foundries. In the Roman period it was surrounded by gardens. During the 14th century AD, the temple was converted into the church of St George. It is now restored and is part of the archaeological site of the ancient Athenian Agora.

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DESKTOP 1079 - ACROPOLIS, ATHENS

The Acropolis of Athens (Ancient Greek: Ἀκρόπολις; Modern Greek: Ακρόπολη Αθηνών Akrópoli Athinón) is an ancient citadel located on a high rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon.

The word acropolis comes from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, "highest point, extremity") and πόλις (polis, "city"). Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as "The Acropolis" without qualification.

While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site's most important buildings including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians in the Morean War when the Parthenon was being used for gunpowder storage and was hit by a cannonball.

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DESKTOP 943 - GREEK ART

Detail of an Ancient Greek bas relief sculpture from the Athens Archaeological Museum.

DESKTOP 917 - OLD ATHENS

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DESKTOP 371 - ATTIC SKY

The Academy of Athens was erected in the late 19th century at the expense of Simon Sinas on the basis of designs by Theophilus von Hansen; construction was supervised by Ernst Ziller. On plan the building is symmetrically organised and consists of three wings interconnected by two smaller lateral sections. The main wing houses the assembly chamber. It rests on a foundation of Piraeus stone that corresponds to the lower floor. The main floor is constructed entirely of marble.
 
The central wing is in the form of an Ionic temple with a colonnaded portico at each end, in visible imitation of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis. The side wings are lower in height and their façades are treated with pillars and an entablature. Two oversized Ionian columns flank the entrance portico, bearing statues of Athena, goddess of wisdom, and Apollo, god of light, that were sculpted by Leonidas Drosis. The main group on the Academy’s pediment, depicting the birth of Athena, is also his work. The smaller pediments on the side wings, made of terracotta, are the work of Fr. Melnitzky (1875).

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DESKTOP 348 - AGORA, ATHENS, GREECE

A view of the Tower of the Winds (ancient clock and weather station) in the ancient Agora, with a view of the Acropolis behind it.

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