m9u2 reading

M9 Unit 2 Witnessing timeReading partThe Acropolis nowBy Valia kastsisNO one has had a greater impact on Western civilization than the ancient Greeks. they were responsible for many advances in philosophy, science, mathematics, art, architecture, theatre, politics and sport. the Western or Roman alphabet is a Greek invention, as is the marathon, which is a long distance race named for a Greek messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens to report a victory at the battle of Marathon in 490 bc. For a period of about 300 years, the Greek civilization made advances in various fields that have influenced the world for more than 2,500 years already , and will continue to do so.In particular, we associate ancient Greek civilization with the capital city of Athens, the greatest symbol of which is the Acropolis.The Acropolis was constructed in the 5th century BC at a high altitude above the city in honor of Athena,the goddess of Athens.The greatest architects and sculptors of the time designed theThe greatest architects and sculptors of the time designed the monument on the hill called the Sacred Rock in the center of the city. It was built there so that it was convenient for everyone to get to , and because it was on the hill ,the Acropolis could be seen from every part of the city. Inside of the Acropolis, there are three main temples to Athena: the Parthenon, the Erechtheum and the Temple of Nike.The Temple of Nike is the smallest among the three. It used to a 13 – metre – high – gold –covered of the goddess of Victory.The Parthenon, the largest of all three, was built between 447 and 432 BC and contained a gold and ivory statue of Athena.The Erechtheum is famous for the six female statues used as columns at its entrance.The building of the Acropolis were made of marble, a very smooth，strong stone. However, throughout history, few ancient monuments have completely avoided damage.It has been damaged partly by natural forces like earthquakes, and partly by man, although the greatest destruction of all has been caused by the latter.In 1458, the Turks defeated the Greeks and seized control of Athens .Later , they used Parthenon as a warehouse to store their supply of gunpowder.Then in 1687, an attack from Italy caused a huge explosion and a large part of the building was destroyed.For centuries , people also stole from the ruins and used the stones for other buildings. The last major destruction of this kind occurred with the theft of many of the best sculptures in 1801,when an Englishman , Lord Elgin, started to take them to London, and later sold them to the British government.In 1816, these sculptures were transferred to the British Museum.They are still on display there under the title of ‘ Elgin Marbles’, and this has caused some friction between Greece and Britain as the Greek government has never given up asking for the return of these marble statues.In 1832 , Greece was recognized as an independent country and three years later, In 1835, the new government began a serious effort to restore the Acropolis.Unfortunately, some of the construction that was carried out over the following 100 years was not successful. In fact.the restoration was so bad that it made some of the buildings less secure than they been before. The buildings have als been damaged by the millions of the people who visit the site each year. Some damage had been caused unintentionally by people simply walking around the site and some has been caused deliberately . There is also the problem of industrial pollution air of any city in the world , and acid rain is damaging some of the marble of the Acropolis.In a gesture to help preserve history, the Greek government established a committee in 1975 to undertake the complete, professional restoration of the Acropolis.In 1987, the monument received a World Heritage listing from UNESCO.After that, much progress was made in reconstructing the monument, particularly with the large amount of work in preparation for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.The committee is continuing its work and hopes to bring the Acropolis back to its former glory.Poor restoration work has to be fixed , especially some sections which might fall dow. A stead cleaning programme must follow in order to protect the marble from air pollution, as well as from natural things such as plant roots and bird droppings.As a part of this process, statues have been removed from the open air and stored in a protected museum.The committee is also undertaking important educational work based on the consensus of the members that the best form of conservation is the prevention of damage.They believe that the prevention of damage from ignorance and from people not caring about protecting the monument is very important. Therefore, the committee is teaching people how to avoid damaging important historic buildings like the Acropolis. By learning about damage prevention, people will be able to enjoy this historic monument for generations to come.。