Built on a rocky hill, 156 meters above sea level, the Parthenon was the focal point of religious life on the Acropolis.

Steep and inaccessible from every side except the west, the hill had been inhabited since the 3rd millennium BC, not only because of its natural fortification but also due to the spring water flowing from its slopes. During the Mycenaean period, the settlement grew, and the Acropolis became a center of power. By the 8th century BC, it had taken on an exclusively sacred character, with the establishment of the cult of Athena Polias.