View of the Acropolis from across the Agora (market). The Acropolis has been the focal point of Athens at every stage of its development starting some 5000 years ago. It was leveled by the Persians in the 5th century BC. Around 440 Pericles rebuilt the whole Acropolis in a massive public works project. What you see today dates predominately from that rebuilding. It was done in an amazing short time (10 years or so) and included works from the best architects of the time. The result was a masterpiece of which only the skeleton can be seen today. The Agora was the markletplace and the center of ancient bustling Athens. Here Plato and Socrates debated. It was excavated by Americans in the early 20th century. The result is a pleasant field of column parts and building foundations. Sadly, a large chunk of old Ottoman Athens was destroyed by the work. The Plaka is what remains, the charming tangle of streets directly below the Acropolis.