Lesser Buildings of the Acropolis
The Propylaea
- The Propylaea is a monumental gateway that serves as the entrance to the Acropolis
- It was built under the general direction of the Athenian leader Pericles
- Construction began in 437 BCE and was terminated in 432, when the building was still unfinished
- It was constructed of white Pentelic marble and gray Eleusinian marble or limestone
- The structure consists of a central building with two adjoining wings on the west (outer) side, one to the north and one to the south
- The core is the central building, which presents a standard six-columned Doric façade
- The columns echo the proportions (not the size) of the columns of the Parthenon
- The central building contains the gate wall, about two-thirds of the way through it
- The central passageway was the culmination of the Sacred Way, which led to the Acropolis from Eleusis
- Entrance into the Acropolis was controlled by the Propylaea. People who were not ritually clean were denied access to the sanctuary. In addition, runaway slaves and other miscreants could not be permitted into the sanctuary where they could claim the protection of the gods
- The state treasury was also kept on the Acropolis, making its security important
- This is the first building known to have both Doric and Ionic colonnades visible at the same time
- It is also the first monumental building in the classical period to be more complex than a simple rectangle or cylinder
- The wing on the north (to the left as one enters the Acropolis) was famous in antiquity as the location of paintings of important Greek battles
- Recent scholarship has taken the northern wing to have been a room for ritual dining
- As a result of the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta in 431 BCE, the Propylaea was never completed
The Temple of Athena Nike
- Nike means "Victory" in Greek
- Athena was worshiped in this form, as goddess of wisdom
- Her temple was the earliest Ionic temple on the Acropolis
- The temple is situated in a prominent position on a steep bastion at the south west corner of the Acropolis to the right of the entrance (Propylaea)
- The citizens worshipped the goddess in hope of a prosperous outcome in the long war fought on land and sea against the Spartans and their allies
- The Temple was an expression of Athens' ambition to be the leading Greek city state in the Peloponnese
- Unlike the Parthenon, the Nike Sanctuary was open, and could be entered from the Propylaea
- It is a tetrastyle (four column), Ionic structure, with a colonnaded portico at both front and rear facades (amphiprostyle)
- It was designed by the architect Kallikrates
- It was erected on top of the remains of an earlier sixth century temple to Athena, demolished by the Persians in 480 B.C.
- The total height from the stylobate to the top of the pediment (while the temple remained intact) was 23 feet
- The ratio of height to diameter of the columns is 7:1
- Constructed from white Pentelic marble, it was built in stages as war-starved funding allowed
- A statue of Athena Nike stood inside the small 5 m x 5 m naos
- It was supposedly made of wood, holding a helmet in her left hand and a pomegranate (symbol of fertility) in the right
- The friezes of the building's entablature were decorated on all sides and celebrate victory and sacrificing
- The temple was completed around 410 B.C.
The Erechtheon
- Built between 421 and 407 BC
- Architect may have been Mnesicles
- Derived its name from a shrine dedicated to the legendary Greek hero: Erichthonius
- Some say it was built in honor of the legendary king Erechtheus, who is said to have been buried nearby
- It was built entirely of marble from Mount Pentelicon
- Elaborately carved doorways and windows
- Columns were ornately decorated, painted, gilded and highlighted with bronze and multi-colored inset glass beads
- The famous "Porch of the Maidens“ is on its south side, with six draped female figures (Caryatids) as supporting columns
- Each one is sculpted in a manner different from the rest, and supports the architrave
- The temple itself was dedicated to Athena Polias and Poseidon Erechtheus
- Within the foundations lived the sacred snake of the temple, whose well-being was thought essential for the safety of the city
- The temple was later used as a church and possibly as a Turkish harem
- One of the caryatids was removed by Lord Elgin in order to decorate his Scottish mansion, and was later sold to the British Museum
- Athenian legend had it that at night the remaining five Caryatids could be heard wailing for their lost sister
- The five original Caryatids are displayed at the Acropolis Museum
- Within the new museum, the statue was reunited with its long-missing sandalled left foot, which was identified among rubble in the 1980s