The Areopagus Hill is a prominent, bare marble outcrop located northwest of the Acropolis. Its name translates to the Hill of Ares, and the stone surface has been polished to a slippery sheen by centuries of visitors climbing its base. In…
Hills Around the Acropolis
This walk climbs the quiet, pine-scented pathways of Athens's most historic peaks to reveal where ancient democracy, courts, and astronomy were born, away from the typical crowds.
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1. Areopagus Hill
2. Holy Church of Agia Marina Thisiou
The Holy Church of Agia Marina in the Thissio district is distinguished by a large central dome surrounded by four smaller domes at the corners. Built between nineteen twenty-four and nineteen twenty-seven on the Hill of the Nymphs, this…
3. National Observatory of Athens - Thissio Visitor Center
The National Observatory of Athens sits atop the Hill of the Nymphs, its cruciform, neoclassical building standing out for its four wings precisely aligned with the cardinal points of the horizon. Founded in eighteen forty-two as the first…
4. Pnyx Monument
The Pnyx is a hill in central Athens marked by a large, flat, semicircular terrace carved directly into the rocky hillside. West of the Acropolis, this site held the Athenian assembly, or ekklesia, beginning around five hundred seven BC.…
5. The Kimoneia (Kimon's Tombs)
The Kimoneia consists of two rectangular burial chambers carved directly into the bedrock on the northwestern slopes of the Hill of the Muses. This monument features a double tomb and represents the traditional resting place of the Olympic…
6. St Demetrios Loumbardiaris
The Church of Saint Demetrios Loumbardiaris is a small, vaulted, single-aisle basilica nestled within the woods at the base of Philopappos Hill. You can distinguish the structure by the geometric patterns of marble and ceramic fragments…
7. Prison of Socrates
The Prison of Socrates consists of a series of rooms carved directly into the bedrock on the slopes of Philopappou Hill. These chambers feature doorways facing east and a cistern at the rear, creating a cavernous appearance that has long…
8. Philopappos Monument
The Philopappos Monument is a two-story funerary structure of white Pentelic marble that stands at the summit of the hill now named after it. Built between one hundred fourteen and one hundred sixteen AD, the monument honors Gaius Julius…