The (), as it is called in the
German language
German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...
, is the collection of ancient votive and architectural sculptures that belonged to the
Acropolis of Athens
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 Greek architecture, ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, ...
before being destroyed during the
second Persian invasion of Greece, which took place between 480 and 479 BCE. After defeating the
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
, the
Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
cleared and buried what was left of the Acropolis following the
Persian destruction of Athens and subsequently rebuilt the city. A team of French, German, and Greek archaeologists discovered and excavated what would become known as the in the 19th century, and a number of the collection's artifacts are on display at the
Acropolis Museum.
History
Greco-Persian Wars
The residents of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
had been evacuated, and did not return until the Greek coalition routed the Persian army from the city. During the year-long Persian occupation, the Athenian city-state was sacked;
Greek temples
Greek temples (, semantically distinct from Latin language, Latin , "temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, since the Ancien ...
and other structures of significance were looted, vandalized, or razed to the ground. The desecrated items were buried ceremoniously by the Athenians after the
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
was expelled from their city. Later, the top of their Acropolis was cleared and their temples were rebuilt, with new works of sculpture having been created to be dedicated for the new temples.
Excavations at the Acropolis
Due to the burial, the artifacts' remains were preserved for more than 2000 years. They were first excavated by the French archaeologist
Charles Ernest Beulé between 1863 and 1866. The remainder was discovered by Greek archaeologist
Panagiotis Kavvadias and German architects
Wilhelm Dörpfeld and
Georg Kawerau between 1885 and 1890. The collection includes the
Kritios Boy, the
Calf Bearer, and the
Angelitos Athena, among others.
Remains from the ''Perserschutt''
File:ACMA 681 Kore Antenor 1.JPG, The Antenor Kore
File:The Euthydikos Kore (detail).jpg, The Euthydikos Kore (detail)
File:Grecia Arcaica kouros 7 Moscoforo jpg.jpg, The Moscophoros
File:002MA Friso.jpg, Part of the damaged Hekatompedon pediment ( Three-bodied daemon)
File:ACMA 679 Kore 2.JPG, The Peplos Kore
File:009MA Kritios.jpg, The Kritios Boy
File:Kouros' Head to horse, Acropolis' museum, Athens.jpg, The Rampin Rider
File:Chariot and Hoplites (3417114575).jpg, Chariot and hoplites, built into the Themistoclean Wall
See also
*
Archaic Acropolis
*
Korai of the Acropolis of Athens
Notes
References
*
Panagiotis Kavvadias,
Georg Kawerau: ''Die Ausgrabung der Akropolis vom Jahre 1885 bis zum Jahre 1890'', Athens, 1906
* Jens Andreas Bundgaard: ''The Excavation of the Athenian Acropolis 1882—1990. The Original Drawings edited from the papers of Georg Kawerau'', Copenhagen, 1974
* Astrid Lindenlauf: ''Der Perserschutt auf der Athener Akropolis'' (
Wolfram Hoepfner: ''Kult und Kultbauten auf der Akropolis'', International Symposium, 7–9 July 1995, Berlin) Berlin, 1997, pp. 45–115
* Martin Steskal: ''Der Zerstörungsbefund 480/79 der Athener Akropolis. Eine Fallstudie zum etablierten Chronologiegerüst'', Antiquitates – Archäologische Forschungsergebnisse, Bd. 30. Verlag Dr. Kovač, Hamburg, 2004,
{{Acropolis of Athens
5th-century BC Greek sculptures
1863 archaeological discoveries
1880s archaeological discoveries
1890s archaeological discoveries
Acropolis of Athens
Archaeological discoveries in Attica
Greco-Persian Wars
Archaic Greek art