The Greek city originally built around the Acropolis was Athens.
The Acropolis is a fortified rocky hill rising above Athens in the region of Attica. The word literally means “upper city,” and elevated citadels were common in ancient Greek settlements. Athens grew outward from this defensible and sacred center, with homes, marketplaces, political buildings, and roads spreading across the lower city.
People often use “Acropolis” and “Parthenon” interchangeably, but they are not the same thing. The Acropolis is the entire hilltop citadel and archaeological complex; the Parthenon is its most famous temple, dedicated to Athena. Other major structures include the Erechtheion, the Propylaea, and the Temple of Athena Nike.
The hill was inhabited by at least the Mycenaean period, and major surviving monuments were built during Athens’ fifth-century-BCE cultural and political peak. The Acropolis remains the defining landmark of modern Athens and a symbol of classical Greek civilization.