The history of the walls of the Acropolis of Athens and the natural history of secondary fracture healing process.

During its long and adventurous history, the Acropolis of Athens has been a site of many dramatic events. It suffered its most disastrous destruction during the Persian wars. Under the command of King Xerxes, the Persians invaded Athens and ruined the Temple of the Parthenon and the walls of the Acropolis. After their victorious sea battle at Salamis, the Athenians, led by Themistocles, returned home and tried to repair the damage. Their priority still was to defend their city by restoring the walls of the Acropolis. Materials of all kinds were salvaged from the ruins of the Acropolis and used for an immediate reconstruction of the walls. Later, when the Athenians became the leaders of the Greek world, it was decided that the walls should be rebuilt in a proper artistic way. Themistocles suggested that a small section of the walls, which had formerly been a part of the urgent restoration, should remain in place so as to remind the citizens of this historical event. This is a characteristic example of the biological and mechanical adaptation of fracture callus to musculoskeletal function. After a period of urgency with the fixation of a fracture by means of a primitive secondary callus formation, the broken limb gradually returns to its usual function. Increased mechanical loading enhances the remodelling of the callus and the replacement of woven bone with lamellar bone.