The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word Acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον and πόλις. The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. During ancient times the Acropolis of Athens was also more properly known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king.
The Acropolis of Athens, seen from Philopappos Hill
The Acropolis of Athens as seen from Mount Lycabettus The wooded Hill of the Nymphs is half-visible on its right, and Philopappos Hill on the left, immediately behind. The Philopappos Monument is seen here where, in the distant background, the coast of Peloponnese meets the waters of the Saronic Gulf.
Primitive Acropolis with the Pelargicon and the Old Temple of Athena.
Elevation view of a proposed reconstruction of the Old Temple of Athena. Built around 525 BC, it stood between the Parthenon and the Erechtheum. Fragments of the sculptures in its pediments are in the Acropolis Museum.
A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of city, meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
Reconstruction of the redoubt of Bibracte, a part of the Gaulish oppidum. The Celts utilized these fortified cities in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC.
Although much of Nice was ransacked during the 1543 siege of the city, Franco-Ottoman forces besieging Nice were unable to capture its Citadel. Citadels have often been used as a last defence for a besieged army.
The Royal 22nd Regiment's home garrison is the Citadelle of Quebec in Canada. The citadel is the largest still in military operation in North America.
Entrance to the armoured citadel of USS New Jersey