Hills of Athens

1 Acropolis

It may well be the most famous hill on Earth, but is the Acropolis really a hill?

A geologist would state that the limestone capping the Acropolis is the Cretaceous-aged (specifically Cenomanian-Turonian) Tourkovounia (cf. Athens’ 7^th hill) formation. The two are separated by 30 million years. This means, counter-intuitevely, that the upper rock layer of Acropolis is older than the lower rock layer (ie the opposite of what the principle of superposition would imply). 

Because the sandstone/marl of the Athens schist is more susceptible to erosion in the arid climate of Greece than is the Tourkovounia limestone, the result resembles a hill. The hill used to be larger,  but the sides partly eroded over time.

Acropolis is the bedrock on which Athens was built – its vitally strategic location sparked the city’s very existence. From this lofty vantage point, every epoch and religion has left an indelible mark. Ancient temples…Christian churches…Even mosques under Ottoman rule. Yet the Acropolis’ identity remains indelibly tied to Classical Greece. It is the birthplace of democracy, philosophy, theater – it is where Solon, Pericles, and Socrates lit the torch that illuminated Western civilization.

The modern Acropolis museum is not located on the hill, but in Makrygianni area, where you can admire both.

Acropolis is a symbol of Athens but also of the West and western ideals. Had there been no Solon and Cleisthenes, there would have been no Socrates and Plato, no Pericles and Parthenon, no Aristotle and Alexander, no Rome, no Christianity and Neoplatonism, no Renaissance and Enlightenment.

Acropolis metro station is the fastest way to get to the Acropolis, through Areopagitou str.

Acropolis may be the symbol of democracy, but Pnyx was the hill where all really happened. But both hills offer you the essence of feeling like an ancient Athenian.

2 Pnyx

Just west of the Acropolis lies the path to Athens’ democratic heart. It was on Pnyx hill that citizen assemblies convened, orators like Demosthenes, Themistocles or  Pericles swaying the masses with rousing speeches.

While moving towards Saint Dimitrios Loumpardiaris, from Areopagitou str. church, you may turn left for Filopappou and right for the Pnyx.

The Pnyx is a small, rocky hill surrounded by parkland, with a large flat platform made of eroded stone. It was the meeting place of one of the world’s earliest known democratic legislatures, the Athenian ekklesia tou dimou (people’s assembly). Here still lies the flat stone platform, the “vima”, the place from where orators strived to convince Athenians on how to decide about the city’s affairs.

In Pnyx the equal right of speech was expressed with the initial question – an open invitation “Tís agoreúein boúletai?” (Greek: “Τίς ἀγορεύειν βούλεται;“, “Who wishes to speak to the Assembly?”).

The Pnyx was later protected by a defense wall built during the Hellenistic period.

3 Hill of the Nymphs 

From Pnyx you may walk to the Athens National Observatory Hill or the Nymph hill.

It’s another rocky mountain, opposite the temple of Thisseio, connected with Mouson Hill (Philopappou and Pnyx). At the top of the hill the National Observatory was built, following in the footsteps of the 5th century BC astronomer Meton. You can have a walk and either move down to Thiseio or back to Pnyx.

This hill is very close to the Areopagus, where Apostle Paul gave a speech to the Athenians to Athenians about Jesus Christ.

4 Areopagus

Areopagus (cf. Arepagitou st.) is related to God Ares’s myth and the trial for the murder of the Poseidon’s son. In Aeschylus’ Eumenides (458 BC), the Areopagus is the site of Orestes’ trial for the murder of his mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, a famous homeric myth.

It is the same hallowed spot where the Apostle Paul delivered his famous sermon introducing Christianity: “Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.” (Areopagus sermon, 17:24). There were religious constructions on the top of the hill, which were demolished by an earthquake in 1601. The rest were removed during King Otto’s reign.

The demolition of the modern houses on the north slope of the Areopagus and the excavation of the ancient Agora have freed the hill from the clutter of its surroundings and it now stands clear and visible on all sides. In the classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods the hill slopes were occupied by private houses, but in Mycenaean and Geometric era the area was used as a cemetery. The most important relics of the Mycenaean era are the royal chamber tombs, a short distance down the hill from the Archbishop’s seat.

Today the civil and criminal Court of Cassation bears the name of Areios Pagos.

5 Philopappou or Mouson hill

After Nymph Hill, Muses Hill (also known as Museion or Mousson Hill) follows. It owes its name to Philopappos, a man of aristocratic and well-connected origins. Philopappos’ death in 116 AD caused great sadness to his sister, the citizens of Athens, and possibly the imperial family. To honor his memory, Balbilla, along with the citizens of Athens, erected a tomb structure on the hill, southwest of the Acropolis. His marble tomb is known as the Philopappos Monument or in Greek “Mnimeio Philopappou”, and from it, the hill became known as “Philopappos Hill”.

The bombardment from Philopappos Hill caused most of the damage to the Parthenon during the 6th Venetian-Turkish War, when Morosini’s bombing of Athens was said to have hit the building from there (although some sources suggest it was from the Ioannis Theologos church in Plaka). Today, the hill is named after the Philopappos Monument, a Roman official’s tomb. On its south side, there is also the Dora Stratou Theater. On its west side, there is the place known as Socrates’ Prison, which is not easily found but definitely worth visiting.