The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient fortress perched on a rocky hill above the city of Athens. It has the ruins of numerous important cultural and architectural structures, the most renowned of which is the Parthenon. There are several more acropoleis in Greece, and the name acropolis is general. The Acropolis of Athens was also known as Cecropia in ancient times, after the mythological serpent-man Cecrops, the purported first Athenian ruler. While evidence suggests that the hill was occupied as early as the fourth millennium BC, it was the famous statesman Pericles (c. 495–429 BC) in the fifth century BC who oversaw the creation of the most notable structures on the site, including the Parthenon, Propylaea, Erechtheion, and Temple of Athena Nike. During the Venetian bombardment of Athens in 1687 during the Morean War, gunpowder stockpiled in the Parthenon by the Ottomans was struck by a projectile and exploded, severely damaging the Parthenon and other structures.