Acropolis

Acropolis means 'the top of the city', and is used to describe a collection of important buildings on a hill or elevated land within the city walls. This was a common feature of many ancient cities, though now the Athens acropolis is the most famous. In Athens the site was used as early as the 14th century BC for the Mycenaean royal palace. Later it was converted into a place of sacred significance, and by the 6th century BC, it was dotted with temples and monuments. These were destroyed by the Persian invasion in 480BC. Under Perikles, some thirty years later, the Acropolis regained its majesty when the Parthenon was constructed.