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Tourism Attractions
The Acropolis, crowned by the Parthenon, stands sentinel over the capital of Greece, Athens, and is visible from almost everywhere in the city. Pericles set about transforming the Acropolis into a city of temples after being informed by the Delphic oracle in 510 BC that it should become a province of the gods. The city was a showcase of colossal buildings, lavishly coloured and gilded, and of gargantuan statues, some of bronze, others of marble plated with gold and encrusted with precious stones. Now in ruins, the cool grandeur of the bare marble is still breathtaking. Beside the Parthenon, which is unsurpassed in its grace and harmony, is the Erechtheion, immediately recognisable for its much-photographed Caryatids, the six maidens who take the place of columns. The Ancient Theatre of Dionysos, where every Athenian citizen took their turn in the chorus of Greek tragedies, is on the southern slope of the Acropolis.Greece is a country made of many islands. Some bigger islands have their own culture and nature. The main islands of Greece are Crete, Rhodes, Peloponnese, Chios and Lesvos.Crete, Greece's largest island, was the centre of the Minoan culture, Europe's first advanced civilisation, which flourished from 2800 to 1450 BC. The palace of Knossos, just outside Crete's largest city, Iraklio, is the most magnificent of Crete's Minoan sites. |
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