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The Temple of Athena Nike is built on what was originally a Mycenaean outwork.
It stands on a platform, eight meters high, which projects to the west.
A few previous versions of the temple existed, with the final version being
built in 427-424 BC by Kallikrates. The temple would later be thrown down
by the Turks in order to use the platform as an artillery position. In the
19th century, the temple was painfully rebuilt piece by piece, and then again
torn down for a more stable rebuilding in the 20th century.
In myth, it was from this spot that Aegeus watched for his son Theseus who had
gone to defeat the minotaur. Theseus had said that he would fly a white flag
on his ship when he returned if he lived. His crew would fly his usual black
flag if he had been defeated. After vanquishing the minotaur, Theseus forgot
to change his sail. His father, seeing the black sail, was consumed by grief and
leaped from the height into the sea, which was named the Aegean sea after him.
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