Acropolis Athens Facts
How high, how old, who built what, and what it costs to go in. Every figure comes from the Ministry of Culture or the Acropolis Museum, and each table names its source. Comparing the best acropolis tour athens? Start with the numbers.
The Acropolis in numbers
A natural rock 160 m high, reached only from the west, with a single ticket that covers the top and its slopes. These are the figures visitors ask about most.
| Fact | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Height of the rock | 160 m | Ministry of Culture |
| Way up | From the west only | Ministry of Culture |
| Ticket, Acropolis and Slopes | €30 full, €15 reduced | Ministry of Culture |
| Ticket use | Once: no re-entry after you leave | Ministry of Culture |
| Opening time | 08:00 every open day | Ministry of Culture |
| Latest closing | 20:00 in summer, last entry 19:30 | Ministry of Culture |
| Closed | 1 Jan, 25 Mar, 1 May, Easter Sunday, 25–26 Dec | Ministry of Culture |
| Lift | About 25 m, opened in 2020 | Ministry of Culture |
| Route to the lift | 350 m from a gate north of the Main Entrance | Ministry of Culture |
| Ancient path around the rock | About 1 km (the peripatos) | Ministry of Culture |
| Parthenon built | 447 BC, finished fifteen years later | Acropolis Museum |
| Parthenon material | Pentelic marble, roof included | Acropolis Museum |
| Caryatids on the Erechtheion | Six; five in Athens, one in London | Acropolis Museum |
| Acropolis Museum | About 300 m south-east of the Parthenon | Acropolis Museum |
The monuments on the plateau, by builder and date
Four buildings from Pericles' programme stand on the top, and three later structures sit among them. You pass them in this order: up through the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike on your right, the Parthenon ahead, then the Erechtheion on the north side.
| Monument | Built | Builder | What to look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Propylaea | Classical, 5th century BC | Mnesikles | The gateway you climb through |
| Temple of Athena Nike | c. 420 BC | Kallikrates | The bastion south of the gateway |
| Parthenon | 447 BC, fifteen years | Iktinos and Kallikrates; Pheidias oversaw | The whole temple is marble, roof included |
| Erechtheion | Last twenty years of the 5th century BC | Mnesikles | The porch of the Caryatids |
| Arrhephorion | — | — | A small square building by the north wall |
| Temple of Rome and Augustus | 27 BC | — | A round temple east of the Parthenon |
| Beulé Gate | After the 3rd century AD | — | The west gate below the Propylaea |
The Parthenon was the temple of Athena Parthenos. Its inner chamber held her gold-and-ivory statue by Pheidias; the back room, which the Athenians called the “parthenon”, gave the building its name. The Erechtheion had to hold the older cults of Athena and Poseidon-Erechtheus on uneven ground, which is why it looks like no other Greek temple.
Want the monuments explained on the spot?
A licensed guide takes you through these four buildings in about two hours. Each tour says whether the €30 ticket is in the fare.
The south slope: Theatre of Dionysus and Odeon of Herodes Atticus
The south slope was a busy place in its own right: sanctuaries, theaters and springs. It is covered by the same ticket as the top. The Theatre of Dionysus grew out of a circle for ritual dances in the 6th century BC and was rebuilt in stone around 330 BC. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus at the west end sits outside the fenced site, so you see it from the path above.
| South slope monument | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Theatre of Dionysus | 6th century BC; stone theater c. 330 BC | Rebuilt in stone under Lycurgus |
| Odeon of Pericles | Mid-5th century BC | A square hall for music contests, east of the theater |
| Sanctuary of Asklepios | 420/419 BC | Founded by an Athenian named Telemachos |
| Choregic monument of Thrasyllos | 320/319 BC | Closed a cave mouth above the theater |
| Stoa of Eumenes II | 197–159 BC | A two-storey stoa given by the king of Pergamon |
| Odeon of Herodes Atticus | AD 162 | Built in memory of his wife Regilla |
The walls: Mycenaean, Themistokles and Kimon
The rock has been fortified for more than three thousand years. The walls you see today mostly date from after the Persian sack.
| Wall | When | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Mycenaean wall | 13th century BC | Traces south-east of the Propylaea |
| Wall of Themistokles | After 480 BC | The north side, with pieces of the burned temples built in |
| Wall of Kimon | After 480 BC | The south side, above the theaters |
| Late Roman wall | After the 3rd century AD | The west approach and the Beulé Gate |
| Rizokastro | 13th century AD | Around the base, from the Odeon to the theater |
| Hasekis wall | 1778 | Enclosing the whole south side |
Dates that changed the rock
The story behind each date is told on the history of the Acropolis.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 480 BC | Persians sack the Acropolis and burn its temples |
| 447 BC | Work on the Parthenon begins |
| 27 BC | Temple of Rome and Augustus built |
| AD 162 | Odeon of Herodes Atticus built |
| 1645 | Lightning ignites gunpowder in the Propylaea |
| 26 September 1687 | Venetian bombardment destroys the Parthenon |
| 1801–1802 | Elgin removes sculpture |
| 1822 | Acropolis handed to the Greeks |
| 1979 | The Caryatids are moved indoors |
| 20 June 2009 | The Acropolis Museum opens |
| 2020 | The Acropolis lift opens |
Ticket and hours facts
Hours step down every fortnight from 1 September to 31 October, so a September slot closes earlier than a July one.
| Ticket or hours fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| Acropolis and Slopes | €30 full, €15 reduced |
| Acropolis Museum | €20 general, €10 reduced |
| Ancient Agora | €20 full, €10 reduced |
| Acropolis, summer | 08:00–20:00, last entry 19:30 |
| Acropolis, winter | 08:00–17:00, last entry 16:30 |
| North Slope | 08:30–15:30 |
| Free days, Acropolis | 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, last weekend of September, 28 October |
Sources: Hellenic Ministry of Culture, odysseus.culture.gr (Acropolis of Athens, South Slope of the Acropolis, Ancient Agora); Acropolis Museum (museum building, museum history, the Parthenon Gallery, the Erechtheion).
Next: read the history of the Acropolis, plan the day on visiting the Acropolis, or compare every fare on Acropolis Athens Tours.