Beulé Gate

The Beulé Gate is the late Roman defensive entrance to the Acropolis which leads to the stairway up to the monumental Classical Greek gateway of the Propylaia. It is unique among Athens' ancient monuments in being named after an archaeologist, Charles Ernest Beulé (1826-1874), who excavated it and the stairs up to the Propylaia in 1852.

The Beulé Gate was built in 280 AD, following a devastating attack by the east Germanic Heruli tribe in 267 AD (usually referred to as the Herulian invasion), at a time of continuing threat from wandering Gothic tribes. It consists of two massive, unequally sized towers (or pylons), between which was the gateway, and was aligned with the axis of the Propylaia, which itself had been built in alignment with the Parthenon.