Ancient Greece

Leonidaion

The Leonidaion, situated at the south-west corner of the sanctuary, outside the sacred precinct of the Altis, was a large and luxurious hostel for distinguished visitors to the Olympic Games. It was built in approximately 330 BC and was remodeled twice in Roman times....

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The Lion's Gate at Mykenae

The Lions Gate at Mykenae. It was the main entrance to the Acropolis and its opening was closed by a double door with sheets of bronze. The relief consists of two confronting lions, their heads made from different material. The structure is dated to 1250 BC....

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The Acropolis

The Acropolis was both the fortified citadel and state sanctuary of the ancient city of Athens. Although the great building programs of the 5th century B.C. have disturbed or covered many of the earlier remains, there is still a great deal of archaeological evidence attesting to the importance of the Acropolis in all periods of time. In the Late Br...

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Theatre of Dionysus

Located on the southeast slope of Athens' acropolis as part of the precinct of Dionysus, the Theatre of Dionysus Eleutheris is the oldest theatre in Greece. In addition to being the oldest, it was also the most prolific, for most tragedies were written for performance at the theatre at Athens. Due to additions and reconstructions to the theatre sin...

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The Temple of Hera

The temple of Hera, one of the oldest monumental temples in Greece, stands in the north-west corner of the sacred precinct of the Altis, on the south slopes of Kronios hill, protected by a powerful terrace wall. It was dedicated to the Olympian sanctuary by the inhabitants of Skillous, an ancient city of Eleia. Pausanias relates that the temple was...

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Palaestra

Pompeii palaestra seen from the top of the stadium wall. The depression center left was filled with water and used for swimming practice and mock naval battles. To the right (partially obscured by a tree trunk) is a line of carbonized tree stumps, the remains of the trees (each one hundreds of years old) of the palaestra burned in the volcanic erup...

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Parthenon, Athens

The Parthenon (Greek: Ãáñèåíùí) in Athens is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. The Parthenon has stood atop the Acropolis of Athens for nearly 2,500 years and was built to give thanks to Athena, the city's patron goddess, for the salvation of Athens and Greece in the Persi...

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The Temple of Epicurean Apollo

at Vasses of Figaleia. In the region of Arcadia there are places of great beauty, equally charged with history, both classical and more recent. The most extraordinary monument of the area is the very well preserved temple of Epicurean Apollo, at Vasses of Figaleia. Figaleia, the ancient town of Arcadia, it was built, according to the tradition, by ...

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The Temple of Olympian Zeus

The building of the Temple of Olympian Zeus actually began in the 6th Century by Peisistratos but work was stopped either because of a lack of money or because Pisistratus's son, Hippias, was overthrown in 510 BC. The temple was not finished until the Emperor Hadrian completed in 131 AD, seven hundred years later. There were other attempts to conti...

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