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ACROPOLIS!ACROPOLIS!Know YourKnow Your
ACROPOLIS FACTS:Established for the patron Goddess Athena as early as the Archaic period(650-480 BC)
THREE MAJOR SITES:
PARTHENON
ERECHTHEION
TEMPLE of ATHENA NIKE
The PROPYLAIAThe Propylaia is the entranceway into the Acropolis
Designed by Mnesikles and began construction in 437 BCE
The PROPYLAIAThe Propylaia is the entranceway into the Acropolis
Designed by Mnesikles and began construction in 437 BCE
PROPYLAIA
TEMPLE of ATHENA NIKE
PARTHENON
The PARTHENONConstructed by the order of Pericles to house & honor Athena
The PARTHENONThe centerpiece of the sculptural program of the Parthenon was the monumental statue of Athena in the main cella of the temple. The statue was made of gold and ivory, and was approximately 38 feet tall. Although no longer around, Ancient copies and literary descriptions have allowed scholars to produce fairly accurate reconstructions. The one here is from the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
The marble decoration of the Parthenon is now in the British Museum in London ("Elgin Marbles"). This is a fragment, showing reclining gods who
are waiting for the beginning of a great procession.
The TEMPLE of ATHENA NIKENike means "Victory" in Greek, and Athena was worshiped in this form, as goddess of victory, on the Acropolis. Her temple was the earliest Ionic temple on the Acropolis. Here 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 of Athena Nike was an expression of Athens' ambition to be the leading Greek city state in the Peloponnese.
Artist’sRendering of
what the Temple of
Athena Nike probably
looked like in it’s prime.
The ERECHTHEIONBuilt between 421-406 BC, the Erechtheion is situated on the most sacred site of the Acropolis. It is said to be where Poseidon left his trident marks in a rock, and Athena's olive tree sprouted, in their battle for possession of the city. Named after Erechtheus, one of the mythical kings of Athens, the temple was a sanctuary to both Athena and Poseidon. The south is the Porch of the Caryatids, the maiden statues which the originals are now in the Acropolis Museum. (One of the 6 is still part of the Lord Elgin marbles collection in the British Museum.)
