Ancient Greece was among the most important civilisations ever to emerge from the ancient world, and it left behind plenty of evidence of its architectural genius and deep and varied culture. From sprawling theatres and ancient temples to Bronze Age palaces and relics of Roman conquest, these are the most impressive ancient sites you can still see in Greece today.

Click through this gallery for the very best ancient history sites in perhaps the world's best ancient history destination...

The Acropolis of Athens sits proudly above the city, and is probably the most recognisable ancient Greek site in the country. At its centre lies the Parthenon temple, which was built between 447 and 432 BC at the height of Greek power as a shrine to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, warfare and handicraft. It's not hard to see why it attracts around three million people a year – the magnificent marble columns still dwarf visitors and panoramic views over Athens splay out in all directions.

Dating back to the 4th century BC, the ancient theatre at Epidaurus is one of the best-preserved in Greece – a testament to incredible ancient craftsmanship. A two-hour drive from Athens, it sits beside the holy ancient sanctuary of Asclepius and is surrounded by the rolling hills of the Peloponnese. The views from the top of the theatre steps will take your breath away and the acoustics are so powerful that you can hear the slightest whisper from the stage. For an extra special trip, visit during the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, when the stage once again hosts works by ancient Greek playwrights like Euripides, Aristophanes and Sophocles.

During excavations on Crete in 1900, British archaeologist Arthur Evans discovered the oldest throne room in Europe, alongside many other ruins. Once the seat of the ultra-ancient Minoan civilisation, the Palace of Knossos is a complex multi-storey labyrinth spanning roughly 215,000 square feet (20,000sqm), and was the mythical setting for Theseus and the Minotaur. Adorned with frescoes of griffins, the throne room was built for ceremonial purposes and is not to be missed – it dates back to the 15th century BC.

Delphi was the home of the oracle and the centre of the Greek world, and today the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia retains many echoes of this past grandeur. The sanctuary was the gateway to the site – 'pronaia' literally meaning 'the one before' – and was the first temple visitors would see en route to the larger Temple of Apollo up the hillside. The site contains ruined temples, altars and a circular tholos, and offers incredible views down the valley. Delphi is a three-hour bus from Athens and is often done as a day trip, though an overnight stay and an early start rewards you with an empty site glittering in the dawn light.

Among the most significant ruins in the whole of Greece, and set at the site of the ancient Olympic games, the Temple of Zeus was once used to honour the king of the Olympian gods. Only 15 of its original 104 columns still stand, but the temple was once the largest in the country, taking around 13 years to complete. The temple once held the 40-foot-tall (12m) Statue of Olympian Zeus – one of the seven wonders of the ancient world – which has long-since been destroyed. Despite its poor condition, the temple's scale is still astonishing.

This tiny, rocky island has some of the most densely-packed ruins in the ancient Greek world. Once known as 'the most sacred of all islands', legends state that this is where the sun god Apollo and his twin sister Artemis, goddess of hunting and the moon, were born. Delos was also a thriving port, rich from goods and pilgrims, and may at one time have been the largest slave market in the world. The entire island is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is usually visited as a day trip from nearby Mykonos, as you can't stay overnight.

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Perched on a cliff above the Aegean Sea, this breathtaking temple stands at Sounion on the southernmost point of the Greek mainland outside the Peloponnese. It’s dedicated to Poseidon, the god of the ocean, and probably used to house a 20-foot-tall (6m) bronze statue of him in the hall of worship. Constructed in the mid-5th century BC, 18 20-foot-tall (6m) white-marble pillars remain standing, which look dazzling at sunset. In the 19th century, English poet Lord Byron was so taken with the ruins that he carved his name into one of the columns.

The Romans conquered Athens, along with the rest of Greece, in 146 BC. Founded first by Julius Caesar and then Augustus, the stunning ruins of the Roman Agora were once home to a large open-air courtyard, a fountain and a series of shops. The most impressive surviving site is probably the Tower of the Winds (pictured), an eight-sided monument that's a clock, sundial, weather vane and compass all in one.

Not all Greece's ruins date back to ancient times. Dominating the top of a 1,000-foot-high (300m) hill on the island of Kos stands the castle of Palio Pyli – only abandoned in the 19th century, probably due to a plague epidemic. What remains of the castle dates from the 11th to 15th centuries, and was built by the Byzantines, the successors to the Eastern Roman Empire. Unlike many ruins in Greece, the castle has a small cafe to refresh you after your ascent, with panoramic views overlooking the island's northern coast.

Dedicated to the Greek god of metal-working, the temple of Hephaestus in Athens is one of the best-preserved temples in Greece. From the 7th century AD until 1834 it served as the Greek Orthodox church of St George Akamates, and its history of continued use and maintenance is a large part of why it remains largely intact. Originally built in the mid-5th century BC, the marble monument is everything you'd expect from a Greek temple, with 13 columns down each side and six at each end, topped by a layer of decorative panels and a triangular pediment.

Also known as the Portara of Naxos (usually translated as 'the Great Door'), the Temple of Apollo is probably the most breathtaking spectacle on the island of Naxos. One of Greece's most mysterious sites, this huge marble gate is all that remains of an unfinished 6th-century-BC temple, and endures because its 20-tonne parts were likely too heavy to move. Today it proudly frames one of the world's most beautiful sea views – visit at sunset for an enchanting experience.

Another component of the magnificent Athens Acropolis, the spectacular Erechtheion temple is startlingly well-preserved. Likely commissioned by legendary Greek statesman Pericles and built in the late-5th century BC, the temple is known for its caryatids – six columns sculpted to resemble female figures that hold up the porch. Four of the six original statues are on display in the adjoining Acropolis Museum. Only fragments remain of the fifth statue – also in the museum – while the final statue can be found in London's British Museum.

These incredible archaeological finds were discovered almost by accident

Tucked away on the eastern shores of the Gulf of Corinth, these small but spectacular ruins are well worth a stop. In ancient times this mysterious space was a sanctuary dedicated to the Greek goddess Hera, and it now contains the ruins of at least two temples in her honour, plus houses, altars and stoas (covered walkways). The coastal views are enchanting and it’s only a short walk to the picturesque Melagavi Lighthouse.

Corinth was one of the wealthiest cities in ancient Greece and it boasts the remains of one of the oldest Doric temples in Greece – the Temple of Apollo, dating back 2,600 years. Honouring Apollo – seen by many as the most handsome of the gods – the temple was a symbol of the city's prosperity. Sitting atop a rocky hill, seven of the temple's 42 limestone columns remain standing, and the luscious foliage surrounding the site means it offers some of the most attractive views in the country.

Located on the island of Aegina, this vast temple still boasts 25 of its original 32 columns. It was constructed around 500 BC and was the second temple built on the site after the first was destroyed by a fire around a decade earlier. The now obscure deity of Aphaia was a local goddess worshipped almost exclusively on the island. A short ferry ride from Athens, Aegina isn't as busy as some of Greece's other islands, so the temple is a great place to mix history and tranquillity.

Known to locals simply as 'Herodeon', this gorgeous amphitheatre was built by the Romans on the southwest slope of the Athens Acropolis in the 2nd century AD. The building's three-tiered arches reflect its Roman heritage and it was originally part-covered with a wood and tile roof. The ruins were renovated in the 1950s, and today host performances during the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, from ballet to Greek tragedy. Frank Sinatra and Luciano Pavarotti have performed here, among others, and the theatre also hosted the 1973 Miss Universe pageant.

These incredible ancient finds quite literally changed history

An important port during the Greek colonisation of Cyrene in North Africa, Itanos is a city-harbour six miles (9km) from the town of Palekastro in eastern Crete. The site was occupied roughly from the 10th century BC until the 6th century AD, and today the area hosts a large archaeological site with views over the Aegean Sea. A patchwork of ruined buildings make up what was once the city centre, while recent archaeology has focused on a necropolis to the north of the city. Visit at sunset for excellent ocean views.

Located on a tiny island just off Crete's northeast coast are the ancient ruins of Mochlos, a stone's throw from a mainland village of the same name. The island was first excavated by Richard Seager in 1908, who found tombs and pit graves dating back to the Bronze Age, and excavations have since unearthed Minoan, Mycenaean and Hellenistic ruins spanning 4,000 years of history. Some suggest that Mochlos was not an island in Minoan times, but was instead a harbour connected to the rest of Crete via a narrow strip of land. Today, head back to shore to enjoy spectacular beaches and lovely tavernas.

Renowned for its massive walls and towering Lion Gate, and for being home to the semi-mythical Agamemnon's tomb, this Bronze Age city is an integral part of ancient Greece's story. For around four centuries during the second millennium BC Mycenae was the most powerful city in Greece, made famous by the work of ancient poet Homer, who wrote in The Iliad and The Odyssey of "well-built Mycenae, rich in gold". Legend has it that a cyclops helped build its walls – still standing today about an hour and a half's drive from Athens.

Set in a valley in the foothills of Mount Tomaros, a few miles from the modern-day city of Ioannina in the northwest of mainland Greece, is the oracle shrine at Dodona. Mentioned in The Iliad, initially the shrine was dedicated to Gaia (mother earth) and later to Zeus, and for a while it was second in importance only to Delphi. Today visitors can see a well-preserved Greek theatre, the foundations of multiple temples and the remnants of an ancient stadium. An attractive site surrounded by mountains and forests, the views are excellent too.

Located in the Peloponnese and home to the Nemean games – one of the four Panhellenic games of ancient Greece alongside the Olympic games – this historic site's magnificent stadium can still be seen today. The site was a sanctuary rather than a city, as seen in the still partly standing Temple of Zeus, in whose honour the games were held. The ruined bathhouse also contains washbasins likely once used by athletes. Nemea also gave the world the constellation Leo – in Greek mythology it represents the Nemean lion that Hercules had to kill as the first of his 12 labours, and whose skin he would wear for the rest of his journey.

In the ancient town of Aptera in Crete stand the Roman cisterns used to supply water to the surrounding area's public and private bathhouses. The Romans were well-known for their superb plumbing and the cisterns have endured remarkably well, a testament to the skill of their builders. Aptera was an important Cretan city state but fell to the Romans in the 1st century BC. Near the cistern you'll find the ruins of an ancient theatre, 3rd-century-BC fortifications and a monastery constructed with material taken from the ancient city.

On the west side of the old town of Rhodes, overlooking the island’s west coast, is a hill known as Monte Smith. Atop this hill you'll find the ruined upper town of Rhodes, also known as the acropolis, most of which dates to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. The key monuments in this archaeological treasure trove include the Temple of Apollo, the Temple of Athena and Zeus, an ancient stadium and an odeon that could fit around 800 people. There's still a lot of excavation work to be done, and much of the city's ancient grandeur remains underground.

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