Philopappou Hill in Athens

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Philopappou Hill in Athens

In any season you choose to visit this hill, you will be pleased with the magnificent view of the Parthenon and the splendid monuments on the Acropolis. The walk on the hill has all the ingredients for an interesting experience in a place full of greenery. There is the "Prison of Socrates", the "Tomb of Cimone" and the Philopappou monument that was built by the Athenians in the second century BC in honor of benefactor, ruler of Syria, Gaius Julius Antiochus, also known by the name of Philopappou. The name, with a rather free translation, means "the beloved nephew of his grandfather." His grandfather was the last king of Commagene, Antiochus IV.
The monument is 12 meters high and is decorated with relief depictions of himself and his family.
Close by and opposite to the rock of Acropolis is the Pnice, which is the rhetorician tribune. In this semicircular square, around the sixth century BC, Athens citizens gathered to hear the famous speakers who spoke from the stone gallery placed at the center to exercise their democratic duties. It is said that the Pnice could accommodate up to 10,000 people. A little further away is the hill of Nymph of the homonymous sanctuary and where today there is the National Astronomical Observatory.