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The Acropolis of Athens is one of the most spectacular ancient sites in the whole world, a legacy of perhaps the most influential civilisation that has ever existed and a testament to the enduring ideas that underpin most of what we currently know and believe in the West. With many companies, such as Travel Zoo, now offering low cost holidays to Athens, visiting this unique site (now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is now easier than ever before.

Once you arrive in Athens you’ll notice it’s hard to miss the Acropolis: the name itself means high city. It’s an apt description – from practically anywhere in the city you can see the rock jutting above the skyline with the iconic pillars of the Parthenon visible on its flat summit. Twenty-one sites, varying in their state of preservation, have been identified on the mount – here’s a quick guide to two of main the monuments within the site.

When you first arrive at the Acropolis you will enter through the Propylaea, the impressive monumental gateway that leads into the site. Building on the Propylaea ended in 437 BC and it was still partially unfinished due to the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta in 431 BC. The gateway was consecrated so that people who passed through it were spiritually cleansed before entering the main sacred site. It also had a more prosaic function as it helped stop slaves and thieves from entering the Acropolis – both of which tried to enter on a regular basis. Slaves would try and enter in order to seek protection from the god and goddess to whom the monuments were sacred in the hope that the gods would declare them freemen of Athens. Thieves, on the other hand, would seek to enter in order to steal from the rich Athenians who frequented the site, while the more ambitious would set their eyes on the treasury, which was also built on the site.

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