Ancient Greek Ruins

Between 700 B.C. and the Roman occupation (146 B.C.) all the chief works of Greek architecture were produced. The period in which all the major masterpieces were erected extended from 480 B.C. to 323 B.C. That productive era includes the reign of Pericles in Athens, in which the architects Callicrates, Mnesicles, and Ictinus flourished and in which the Parthenon and other great works were produced

after the name of their "protectors".

•Hellene

•Note: Hellen was not the same person as Helen of Troy or Helenus, son of King Priam of Troy.

•Hellen is the mythological patriarch of the Hellenes, the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha (or sometimes Zeus), brother of Amphictyon and father of Aeolus, Xuthus and Dorus. His name is also another name for Greek, meaning a person of Greek descent or pertaining to Greek culture, and the source of the adjective "Hellenic". Each of his sons founded a primary nation of Greece - Aeolus the Aeolians, Dorus the Dorians; and Xuthus the Achaeans and Ionians. They conquered the Greek area of Phthia and subsequently spread their rule to other Greek cities. The people of those areas came to be called Hellenes,

•Greek cities were often built in the vicinity of a steep hill called an acropolis that served as a citadel and upon which the principal temples were located for safety. The Acropolis at Athens is the most widely known example.

Ancient Greek Ruins (Double Click Thumbnails to see Larger Pictures)