The 70,000 sq.m. archaeological site of the Slopes of the Acropolis extends around the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis. After the Acropolis itself, the Slopes were the most important religious centre of ancient Athens. The sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus on the South Slope, established in the 6th Century BC, was the site of the Great or City Dionysia celebrations. Here too was the theatre of Dionysus, one of the world’s most ancient theatres, where the works of the Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were performed. The same archaeological area is also home to the Odeion of Pericles, ancient Athens’ first roofed building for musical contests, the sanctuary of the healing god Asklepius founded in the 5th century BC, the Stoa given to the city in 160 B.C. by the king of Pergamon, Eumenes II, various monuments donated by sponsors of theatrical performances such as the Monument of Lysicrates, and the Odeion of Herodus Atticus, built in the 2nd century AD. With the predominance of Christianity, especially during the 5th century AD, many buildings on the South Slope were reconsecrated as Christian monuments. The East Slope is dominated by the cave of Aglauros, where the Athenian youths (ephebes) took the oath to protect the sanctuaries and sacred institutions of the city. One of the most important monuments of the North Slope is the spring of Klepsydra, in front of which ran the last section of the Panathenaic Way. On this side of the rock there are three cave sanctuaries dedicated to the cults of Pan, Zeus and Apollo, the cave with the Mycenaean spring, the sanctuary of Aphrodite and Eros and the Medieval church of Saint Nicolas.- - - - - EndFragment - - - - -