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Made of fine Pentelic marble, this arch is 18 m high, 12,5 m wide and 2,3 m in depth. Its architecture resembles a lot to similar Roman arches and it is crowned by pilasters of Corinthian rhythm. The design is fully symmetrical. The monument has two layers, at the centre of the lower layer there is an arched gate through which people could pass. Also there were two columns, which do not exist any more and connected by architraves between the two layers.
Two inscriptions are carved in the architrave, one on each side: the first on the side towards the Acropolis reads "This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus", the second on the other side, facing the new city reads "This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus". It is obvious that the ancient city formed new districts due to the expansion that was made by the Emperor.
In the 18th century, the Arch of Hadrian served as one of the seven gates in the defensive wall that the Turks built round the city against the attack of the Albanians raiders. Given that the monument was never fully protected, it has survived time in extraordinary condition. Unfortunately, in the recent decades, pollution has caused extensive discoloration of the original material and degradation of the inscriptions.
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