ANHS1600 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Acropolis Of Athens, Greeks, New Acropolis
15 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Lecture – Monuments of Empire
20/04/16
Further readings: (RECCOMENDED FOR ESSAY)
Aleander Rubel, 2014. Fear and Loathing in Ancient Athens: Religion and Politics During
Peloponnesian War. Translated by Michael Vickers and Allina Pitfor (Routledge). Chapter 7
Michael Scott. 2014. Delphi and Olympia: The Spatial Politics of Panhellenism in the Archaic and
Classical Periods. (Cambridge). Esp. Chapter 4.
Lecture components:
- The 5th Century Athenian Acropolis – The ‘Periclean’ Building Programme → Referenced in context
to Athens imperial ambitions
- Using that to explore politics, power and architecture and how it relates in a religious context.
- Brief exploration of how the politics of empire translate into the monumental landscape at Delphi
Athens in Mind and Memory:
- Athens is the lens through which we understand Ancient Greece and interpret Greek Archaeology
and the acropolis, including the famous Parthenon temple, dominates perceptions of both the
ancient and modern city. These two factors are vital to Athenian history.
- Athens is not Greece, it has its own political and social history.
Classical Athens: Heart of Empire
- Mountainous
- Port of Piraeus was a really important part → It was fortified to link it to Athens.
- Shared borders with many other states and closely connected to many battle sites of the Persians
- It has resources → Lorian Silver mine (For coins), Mt. Pentelicos → Marble for building program
Acropolis is heart of the ancient and the modern city of Athens. It also became the cultural and
religious heart of the centre.
The Acropolis of Athens: (Content)
- Pre classical history
- Main elements of “Periclean Building Programme”
- Symbolic relations
- Imperial statement
Key Question: What is “imperial” about a programme of sacred construction? – Everyone had an
acropolis and sacred buildings. What made this one so special? The lecture further looks into this.
The Pre-Classical Acropolis of Athens – c.480
- Temple of Athena Parthenos – under construction
- Old temple of Athena Polias
- All of this predates Pericles
- Persians destroy all of this.
- “Pre-Parthenon” temple – Signs of incomplete construction, burning. Important in helping our
chronology.
- These buildings were left like this after. Not much was done to fix the Acropolis in the 470s and
460s.
The Pre classical Acropolis of Athens – the 460s:
- Cimon (or Kimon), Victor of Eurymedon (Who was an essential Athenian statesman of this time):
Started work tidying up Acropolis by building terrace walls (with booty of Eurymedon?). He left the
temples as a permanent legacy. He incorporated pieces of the damage on display as a sort of ‘war
memorial’.
- Temples burned by Persians left untouched
- New retaining walls incorporated pieces of the archaic temples to Athena, destroyed by Persians,
so as to be clearly visible from the Agora (market place) below as a permanent war memorial. On the
East end there were the columns of pre Parthenon and on the west the Frieze of old temple of
Athena.
Why was preserving the memory of invasive destruction so important?
- Sense of violation and loss was a key role
- Heavy political meaning
- It was a sacred landscape that was destroyed
- Identity for opposition really comes out – They realise what is means to be Greek / Athenian and
not be under the Persian rule
- Fear of future invasion and the process of self-reflection showing what it meant to Greece which
gave legitimacy to create the Delian league
- In the next 20 years we start to see a shift and an immediate reaction of fear and reflection to the
political exploitation of an ever knowing Persian threat by the Athenians in order to give legitimacy
to Athens actions → Showed in the iconography of the time
The 470s-450s: The Delian League:
- Founded in 477 B.C., Athens as leader – (‘first among equals’ premise)
- Delos as neutral meeting place
- People had to contribute funds or ships and men
Purpose:
1- Be ready should Persia attack again
2- Wreak vengeance for earlier destructions by Persia
Key moments in the League’s ongoing ‘War on Terror’:
- Victory in Eurymedon ‘469’ B.C.
- Defeat in Egypt, 454 B.C
- Victory in Cyprus, 450 B.C.
This is where we begin to see the shift of Athens into an imperial empire.
The New Acropolis: The Periclean Building Programme, 447-405 B.C.
c. 448 B.C.: Pericles, elected strategos (general) in Athens – many years in succession.
He proposed a programme of construction on the Acropolis: magnificent new buildings worth of
Athens “big league” status
- to be funded from accumulated reserves
Plutarch → Emphasises the pleasure and astonishment of this building programme. Argues that this
is the only testimony to Athens legacy. Talks about how people were critical of the whole process →
Document Summary
Fear and loathing in ancient athens: religion and politics during. Translated by michael vickers and allina pitfor (routledge). Delphi and olympia: the spatial politics of panhellenism in the archaic and. The 5th century athenian acropolis the periclean" building programme referenced in context to athens imperial ambitions. Using that to explore politics, power and architecture and how it relates in a religious context. Brief exploration of how the politics of empire translate into the monumental landscape at delphi. Athens is the lens through which we understand ancient greece and interpret greek archaeology and the acropolis, including the famous parthenon temple, dominates perceptions of both the ancient and modern city. These two factors are vital to athenian history. Athens is not greece, it has its own political and social history. Port of piraeus was a really important part it was fortified to link it to athens. Shared borders with many other states and closely connected to many battle sites of the persians.
