The Parthenon atop the Acropolis hill in Athens, surrounded by ancient stone ruins and lush green trees

Filopappou Hill

2.11.2020
Greece, Places
Athens

The Philopappos Hill / Filopappou Hill is a hill in the city center of Athens and one of the most popular tourist destinations. It rises to a height of 147 meters and gives a great view of the Acropolis in the north and in the south a wide outlook towards the ocean.

Stone staircase ascending a sunlit hillside lined with trees, flowering shrubs, and Mediterranean vegetation

sunlit stone path winding uphill through olive trees on a dry hillside

The hill was known as Mouseion (hill of the muses). This goes back to the Greek belief that the hill was inhabited by the nine muses and that Musaeus, a poet and disciple of Orpheus, was buried here.

Pale blue plumbago flowers blooming on a sunlit garden shrub

Cityscape view of Athens with dense white buildings, foreground rooftop terrace with chairs, cypress and olive trees, and a mountain under an overcast sky

Panoramic view of Athens from a hillside walking path with a pedestrian in the foreground

Athens cityscape viewed through pine tree branches with a rocky hill rising above the white buildings

Wide panoramic view of Athens from a rocky hilltop overlooking dense urban buildings toward the sea

Dense urban cityscape of tightly packed apartment buildings stretching across rolling hills under a hazy overcast sky

Panoramic view of Athens cityscape with dense white buildings stretching toward a mountain under an overcast sky

Panoramic view of Athens cityscape from a wooded hillside with dense white buildings and distant mountains

Stone path through olive trees on a hillside overlooking a distant city

View of Athens from Filopappou Hill showing rocky path and Mediterranean vegetation overlooking dense urban cityscape

Rocky Mediterranean hillside with pine tree and exposed limestone formations under partly cloudy sky

Ancient marble monument with two niches containing headless seated statues against a cloudy sky

In honor of the Roman senator Philopappos, who was seen in Athens as an important benefactor, the Athenians built a monument on the top of the hill. The monument was complated in completed in 119 AD and has a height of twelve meters.