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The Acropolis towers over Athens and the tall columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Photo: Joel Skidmore.


Acropolis (a-KROP-a-lis). The citadel of Athens. According to one version of the myth, it was from the Acropolis that King Aegeus hurled himself to his death believing that his son Theseus had been killed by the Minotaur. The Acropolis was still serving as a defensive stronghold in 1687, when the Venetians, bombarding the Turks, inadvertently exploded a store of gunpowder inside the Parthenon.

Also see an online video documentary about the Acropolis at archaeologychannel.org.