The Acropolis at Dawn
Settlement and construction on the Acropolis of Athens dates back to thousands of years BC, but most was destroyed by Persians when they invaded Athens in 480 BC. The Greek statesman Pericles led its rebuilding during Athens’ “Golden Age” to create the buildings that stand today, including the Parthenon, the iconic landmark of Greece, and one of the most famous landmarks in Europe. Originally housing a 40-foot-tall statue of the goddess Athena and a treasury, the Parthenon has survived many threats and uses imposed on it over the millennia. It has been a brothel, a Christian church, a mosque, and an armory for the Turks. In 1687, a Turkish gunpowder cache exploded and ruined much of