We're walking the ancient Acropolis in Athens today. Join us on a virtual stepbystep tour from the entrance gate to the very top just like you would as a visitor.

Make sure you’ve closed captions (CC) turned on for fun facts and tourist advice.

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Key stops on today's walking tour include (click on the time to jump to that location)

00:10 Entrance Gate
01:30 Theatre of Dionysus
04:45 Asklepieion of Athens
10:32 Odeon of Herodes Atticus
12:44 Monument to Agrippa
13:56 Temple of Athena Nike
14:30 Propylaea
15:15 Parthenon
19:07 The Erechtheion

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=== Key notes from today's walk turn on closed captions (CC) to read in realtime ===

Welcome to today’s walk! A few top tips for visiting before we get started

1. Time your visit well get there when it opens if you want to avoid the crowds or head there just before sunset as the sight is staggeringly beautiful though just be aware you’ll be sharing it with hundreds of others!

2. We suggest allowing two hours for your visit depending on how many selfies you want to take
We came through the main gate (which wasn’t busy) but there’s also a side gate which usually has smaller lines if you walk around the bottom of the hill

3. Check out the ticket options for an extra 5€ (30€ rather than 25€) you can buy a combination ticket. This gets you into the Acropolis and seven other sites. It’s valid for five days but you can only enter each site once. Top tip buy the combination pass from one of the other less busy sites to skip the Acropolis ticket lines

4. Take plenty of water and sunscreen as there’s limited cover at the top!

5. Finally, download a free audiotour there’s plenty online and it’s great for providing some history and context to your visit. Try Rick Steve’s free version which we’d recommend.

== 01:30 Theatre of Dionysus ==

This dates back to the mid to late sixth century BC. This ancient theatre may not look so huge today but the seats stretched right up the hill. It seated a massive 17,000 spectators and hosted Greek (and later Roman) tragedies and comedies.

Theatre was enormously popular in ancient Greek society but only men were allowed to perform so they played the role of women too. They wore huge masks to show different emotions which could be seen from way up the hill.

== 04:45 Odeon of Herodes Atticus ==

This is a stone Roman theatre built in 161 AD by the Greek Herodes Atticus in memory of his Roman wife. You need to imagine it with a roof made from Cedar wood. The theatre was used for concerts and could seat up to 5,000 people. It still hosts major events today though just try to avoid days when it rains! Past performers have included Elton John and Andrea Bocelli.

== 12:30 Top of Acropolis Hill ==

We’re now at the top of Acropolis Hill. There are three main things to look out for here

1. Straight ahead is the Propylaea the gateway to the Acropolis
2. To the left is a tall pedestal the monument to Agrippa
3. And on the right is the Temple of Athena Nike

The entrance into the Acropolis was controlled by the Propylaea. The monument to Agrippa is an empty pedestal today but previously hosted a bronze lifesized statue dedicated by the city of Athens to Marcus Agrippa, soninlaw of Augustus. The Temple of Athena Nike is dedicated to the goddess Athena Nike and built around 420 BC. Nike means “victory” in Greek. The statue of Athena held a helmet in one hand a symbol of war; and a pomegranate in the other a symbol of peace.

== 15:15 Parthenon ==

We’re now exiting the Propylaea and straight ahead you can see the Parthenon the most famous temple. This was again dedicated to Athena whom the people of Athens considered their patron.

Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak but had a number of iterations. This one started after the battle of Marathon

In history, it has not just been a Greek temple. Under Turkish rule it became a mosque and in the fifth century AD it was converted into a church. A large part of it was destroyed in 1687 by the Venetians. It’s currently undergoing restoration today so apologies for the background noise!

The Parthenon was designed by architects Iktinos and Kallikrates and has eight columns on the front and back and 17 columns along the sides. Marble statues were at each of the corners and sculptures telling the life of the goddess Athena cover the pediments.

== 19:07 The Erechtheion ==

We’re now walking across towards The Erechtheion. It was considered the most sacred site of the Acropolis. It is a temple dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon.

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