When was the Erechtheion built?
The Erechtheion, designed by the architect Mnesikles, was a complex building constructed in the last twenty years of the 5th century BC. It replaced the “Archaios Neos” (Ancient Temple) of Athena Polias, part of which had been destroyed by the Persians sixty years earlier.
What was the purpose of the Erechtheion in ancient Greece?
The Erechtheion was built as a replacement for the “Old Temple” (the foundations of which now lay between it and the Parthenon), and to house all the shrines and rituals that once took place there. The east end of the Erechtheion was dedicated to Athena Polias (protector of the earth and fertility)...
What makes the Erechtheion a luxurious building?
The Erechtheion is a “remarkably luxurious” building in the detailing of its mouldings. Lotus- palmette chains (anthemion) decorate the column capitals and epicranitis of the temple.
Who was the architect of the Erechtheum?
The temple as seen today was built between 421 and 406 BC. Its architect may have been Mnesicles, and it derived its name from a shrine dedicated to the legendary Greek hero Erichthonius. The sculptor and mason of the structure was Phidias, who was employed by Pericles to build both the Erechtheum and the Parthenon.
Why was the Erechtheion built?
The Erechtheion (or Erechtheum) is an ancient Greek temple constructed on the acropolis of Athens between 421 and 406 BCE in the Golden Age of the city in order to house the ancient wooden cult statue of Athena and generally glorify the great city at the height of its power and influence.
What God was the Erechtheion built for?
The Erechtheion was named after the demi-god Erechtheus (Cartwright). The primary function for the Erechtheion was to to house the ancient wooden cult statue of Athena, but also served other purposes as discussed below (Cartwright).
Who was the Erechtheion dedicated to?
Athena PoliasThe western part of the Erechtheion was dedicated to the worship of Athena Polias, while the eastern part was devoted to Poseidon-Erechtheus. Sacred spots devoted to different deities, including the tomb of Cecrops and Erectheus and a saltwater spring, co-existed in one building.
Who built the temple of Erechtheion?
architect MnesiklesThe Erechtheion, designed by the architect Mnesikles, was a complex building constructed in the last twenty years of the 5th century BC. It replaced the “Archaios Neos” (Ancient Temple) of Athena Polias, part of which had been destroyed by the Persians sixty years earlier.
Who was the Parthenon dedicated to?
the goddess Athena ParthenosThe Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens was built between 447 and 438 BC as a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena Parthenos. The word parthénos (παρθένος) meant 'maiden, girl' or 'virgin, unmarried woman'. A reconstruction of how the Acropolis may have looked in ancient times, including the Parthenon.
What is special about the Erechtheion?
Erechtheion: A Temple Built on a Sacred Site The Erechtheion had a distinctive and intricate architectural plan, in order to avoid disturbing several sacred sites on its grounds. These sites included a saltwater well, known as the Erechtheion Sea, and the sacred olive tree of Athena.
What was the Parthenon used for?
All experts agree that early on the Parthenon was used as a treasury. In subsequent centuries the building was transformed into a Byzantine church, a Roman Catholic cathedral, and later a mosque.
Who do the Caryatids of the Erechtheion represent?
the women of CaryaeAccording to a story related by the 1st-century-bc Roman architectural writer Vitruvius, caryatids represented the women of Caryae, who were doomed to hard labour because the town sided with the Persians in 480 bc during their second invasion of Greece.
Is the Erechtheion the same as the Parthenon?
While the Parthenon's exterior encompasses the original Doric column, the Erechtheum was built and stylized with a number of different ionic columns that make the Erechtheum so distinct. The Parthenon is the largest building on the Acropolis dedicated to Athena Parthenos, goddess of wisdom and the goddess of Athens.
Who is the Erechtheion named after?
Erechtheus, kingSince its construction on the Acropolis' north side between 421 and 406 B.C., when it replaced an earlier temple to Athena, the Erechtheion—named after Erechtheus, king of Athens and foster son of Athena—has had a complicated history of use, reuse, destruction, and renovation that mirrors the history of the city.
What was the Parthenon used for?
All experts agree that early on the Parthenon was used as a treasury. In subsequent centuries the building was transformed into a Byzantine church, a Roman Catholic cathedral, and later a mosque.
What was the Temple of Athena Nike used for?
The Temple of Athena Nike, on the southwest bastion of the Acropolis, is smaller than the other buildings behind it but no less impressive. It was completed in 420 BCE during the restoration of Athens after the Persian invasion of 480 BCE and was designed to greet those visiting Athena's complex.
What was the Propylaea used for?
Definition. Propylaea is the name given to monumental gates or entranceways to a specific space, usually to a temple or religious complex and as such they acted as a symbolic partition between the secular and religious parts of a city. Less complex examples with a single entrance are known as a propylon.
What was the old temple of Athena used for?
The temple of Athena Nike, as with all Greek temples, was considered a home of the deity, represented in its statue, and was not a place where regular people would enter.
When was the Erechtheion built?
The building accounts for the classical Erechtheion from 409-404 have survived allowing an unusually secure dating of the construction of the temple. Nevertheless, the question remains when was the building project inaugurated? There is no primary evidence for when construction began which is conjectured to be either the 430s, or 421 during the Peace of Nikias. The latter is broadly the consensus view, the rationale being that this lull in the long Peloponnesian war would have been the most convenient time to begin a major construction project and that there was a likely hiatus in building during the Sicilian disaster of 413. Alternatively, dates as early as the mid-430s and as late as 412 have been put forward. Work seems to have ended in 406/5 and the last accounts were from 405/4 though some mouldings were never finished and some of the bosses of some stone blocks were not chiselled off.
Where is the Erechtheion?
The Erechtheion or Erechtheum ( / ɪˈrɛkθiəm, ˌɛrɪkˈθiːəm /; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Greek: Ερέχθειο) is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens in Greece which was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon .
What is the interior layout of the Erechtheion?
There is no wholly satisfactory account of the interior layout of the Erechtheion in antiquity. The points of contention are whether and where there was an internal dividing wall, and whether the building had two storeys as suggested by Pausanias' description of it as a διπλοῦν... οἴκημα. The conventional view of the reconstruction of the interior of the Erechtheion naos is that it was divided in two in imitation of the opisthodomos of the archaic temple of Athena Polias and that the altar of Athena was in the west half of the chamber and the altars of Erechtheus, Poseidon and Boutes in the other. Alternatively, that the Erechtheion was a replacement for the east cella of the archaic Temple of Athena and would have had an east cross wall.
Why were the Caryatids removed?
In 1800 one of the caryatids and the north column of the east porch together with the overlying section of the entablature were removed by Lord Elgin in order to decorate his Scottish mansion , and were later sold to the British Museum (along with the pedimental and frieze sculpture taken from the Parthenon). Athenian legend had it that at night the remaining five Caryatids could be heard wailing for their lost sister. Elgin attempted to remove a second Caryatid; when technical difficulties arose, he tried to have it sawn to pieces. The statue was smashed, and its fragments were left behind. It was later reconstructed haphazardly with cement and iron rods. A piece of a carved female figure sculpture identified as belonging to the Erechtheion frieze was acquired by English Architect Sir John Soane and is currently on display at Sir John Soane's museum in Holborn, London.
What was the first fire in the Parthenon?
The first recorded fire that the classical building suffered was perhaps 377/6, a second more severe fire took hold sometime in 1st century BC or earlier followed by a campaign of repair. The Erechtheion along with the Parthenon suffered a further major destruction at some point in the 3rd or 4th century A.D, whether this was due to Herulian or Visigoth attack or a natural disaster is unclear. After which, Julian the Apostate undertook the reconstruction of the Parthenon as a pagan temple in circa A.D. 361 and 363, at which point the Parthenon was the only attested site of the cult of Athena on the akropolis, implying that the Erechtheion had been abandoned. In the post-classical period, the Erechtheion was subject to a number of structural changes that must be assumed to be have been prompted by the building's adaption to Christian worship. The first was its conversion to a pillared hall with a groin-vaulted roof at some point in the 4th century. In the late 6th or 7th century, the Erechtheion was converted into a three-aisled basilica church with the West Corridor serving as the narthex. The central portion of the east foundations was removed to make room for a curved apse. In the 12th century, the basilica was renovated. The round apse was enlarged and was given straight sides on the exterior. The chancel screen was extended to the North and South Walls. During the Frankish occupation (1204- 1458), the Erechteion was deconsecrated and changed to a Bishop’s residence, probably for the Catholic bishops of Athens who held mass in the Latin Cathedral of Our Lady in the Parthenon. With the advent of Ottoman control and the adaption of the akropolis plateau to a garrison, the Erechtheion took on its final incarnation as the Dizdar 's harem. This final period of the building's use also witnessed the beginning of traveller's accounts and architectural recording of the structure along with its despoilation by antique collectors. Perhaps the greatest damage to the edifice came with the siege of 1826/27 when the maiden porch and west facade were felled by cannon fire and the masonry joints were scavenged for lead. This ruined state is the condition of the site that prompted the first major anastylosis of the Erechtheion by Kyriakos Pittakis between 1837 and 1840.
What is the erectheum associated with?
The Erectheum was associated with some of the most ancient and holy relics of the Athenians, such as the Palladion, a xoanon or "wood-carven effigy" of Athena Polias (Protectress of the City), and some of the holiest sites: the marks of Poseidon 's trident and the salt water well (the "salt sea") called the Erechtheis that resulted from Poseidon's strike; and the sacred olive tree planted by Athena in her successful rivalry with Poseidon for the city; the supposed burial places of the mythical kings Kekrops and Erechtheus; the sacred precinct to Kekrops' daughter Pandrosus; an altar to the tribal hero Boutes. The shrine ( heroön) to Pandion is included as part of the Erectheum by some scholars.
What are the two figural sculptural programmes on the Erechtheion?
There are two figural sculptural programmes on the Erechtheion; the frieze and the caryatids of the Maiden porch.
When was the Erechtheion completed?
Work did not start until 421 BC, eight years after his death, and was completed around 406 BC.
Who were the cults in the Erechtheion?
Immersed in myth and legend, the Erechtheion was home to several cults, including those of Poseidon, Athena and, of course, Erechtheus himself.
What is the name of the building with the statues of women?
The Erechtheion is a distinctive building whose large columns are statues depicting women. These statues are known as Karyatides, derived from the fact that they were inspired by the women of Karyes in Lakonia.
Why was the Acropolis built on two levels?
The most unusual monument of the Acropolis, the temple was ingeniously built on several levels to compensate for the uneven bedrock. The main temple is divided into two cellae, one dedicated to Athena, the other to Poseidon, representing their reconciliation after the contest.
How many columns are there in Poseidon's cella?
Poseidon’s cella, the northern porch, is accessible by a small set of stairs against the boundary wall. It consists of six Ionic columns. Myth states that the fissure in the floor was left either by Poseidon’s trident in his contest with Athena, or by Zeus’ thunderbolt when he killed the mythical king Erechtheus.
What was the last public building on the Acropolis?
Except for a small temple of Rome and Augustus, which is no longer in existence, the Erechtheion was the last public building erected on the Acropolis in antiquity.
Who took the Temple of Elgin to London?
In the early 19th century, Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of Elgin, took several sections of the temple to London. Later, in the early 20th century, it was somewhat restored. This article was most recently revised and updated by Robert Lewis, Assistant Editor.
Why was the Ionic Temple interrupted?
When the building was about half-finished, work was suddenly interrupted, probably because of the disastrous Athenian expedition to Sicily (415–413 bce ), but it was….
What is the Acropolis of Athens?
Athens: The Acropolis of Athens. …of the caryatids from the Erechtheum, a temple of Athena called after a shrine dedicated to the legendary king Erechtheus or to Poseidon Erechtheus, but replaced it with a plaster cast.
What was the Erechtheion dedicated to?
The Erechtheion was complex in form as well as in religious content. The western part of the Erechtheion was dedicated to the worship of Athena Polias, while the eastern part was devoted to Poseidon-Erechtheus. Sacred spots devoted to different deities, including the tomb of Cecrops and Erectheus and a saltwater spring, co-existed in one building.
What is the Erechtheion?
Mavrommatis, S., The Erechtheion [Το Ερέχθειο], The photographic documentation of the restoration works of the monuments of the Athenian Acropolis [Η φωτογραφική τεκμηρίωση των έργων αποκατάστασης των μνημείων της αθηναϊκής Ακρόπολης], Chartes magazine Vol.4, April 2019
When was the Acropolis restoration service established?
Finally in 1975 , the Acropolis Restoration Service was established; rendered as a ‘rescue operation’ that aimed to undo the damage caused by the errors of previous restorations. The restoration team was formed of young scholars, architects, civil engineers, chemical engineers and an archaeologist, all working under the supervision of experienced academic professors.
What was the challenge of the Propylaea?
The challenge for the architect, who is considered to be Mnesicles, to whom the Propylaea is also attributed, was manifold: The building was intended to be placed on a slope at the edge of the hill, next to the remains of a Doric temple; older than the temple was a Mycenaean palace which retained the tomb of the first king of Athens, Cekrops; the old temple of Pandrosus also stood in the way, and nearby rose Athena’s sacred olive-tree, its branches overspreading the altar of Zeus Herceius, all of which were enclosed by a high wall that ran along the west and north sides.
Overview
The Erechtheion (latinized as Erechtheum /ɪˈrɛkθiəm, ˌɛrɪkˈθiːəm/; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Greek: Ερέχθειο) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple-telesterion on the north side of the Acropolis, Athens, which was primarily dedicated to the goddess Athena. The building, made to house the statue of Athena Polias, has in modern scholarship been called the Erechtheio…
History
The classical Erechtheion is the last in a series of buildings approximately on the mid-north site of the Acropolis of Athens, the earliest of which dates back to the late Bronze Age Mycenaean period. L.B. Holland conjectured that the remains under the Erechtheion was the forecourt of a palace complex similar to that of Mycenae. The scant evidence of the period LHI includes potsherds and scraps of a wall under the foundations of the Ionic temple. From the remainder of the shaft-grav…
Architecture
Externally, the temple is an Ionic hexastyle, prostyle pronaos which faces east. The building is in Pentelic marble with a blue Eleusinian limestone frieze. The temple’s walls were constructed in ashlar isodomic masonry. The east porch doesn’t exhibit any entasis, but the stylobate is curved. The naos is apparently divided in two, with the floor of the western part of the building three meters lower than t…
Sculpture
There are two figural sculptural programmes on the Erechtheion; the frieze and the korai of the Maiden porch.
The entablature of the naos and north porch has a frieze of blue Eleusinian limestone that was decorated with white Pentelic marble figures attached by means of iron dowels. This "cameo-like" effect of the contrasting stones was u…
Cult objects
It seems that the Erechtheion served as a reliquary for an assortment of religious items rather than being dedicated to a single deity as was usually the case. However, if we are to try to discern an overall theme then it can be argued the Erechtheion is the expression of the autochthonic nature of Athenian identity. Its cults encompass the birth of Erichthonius from the soil of Attica, t…
Scholarship and conservation
Travellers' accounts of the Erechtheion are relatively scarce before the 18th century when relations between the Ottoman Empire and Europe began to improve and access to Greece opened up. Moreover, the building north of the Parthenon was not identified with Pausanias' description of the Temple of Athena Polias until Spon and Wheler's account of the topography of the acropoli…
Bibliography
• Boulter, Patricia (1970). "The Frieze of the Erechtheion". Antike Plastik (10): 1–7.
• Camp, John M. (2001). The Archaeology of Athens. Yale.
• Harris, Diane (1995). The Treasures of the Parthenon and Erechtheion. Oxford.
• Hurwit, J. (1999). The Athenian Acropolis: History, Mythology, and Archaeology from the Neolithic Era to the Present. Cambridge.