Erechtheion, Athens

8/14/2019 Erechtheion, Athens

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Erechtheion, AthensThe Erecththeion (or Erechtheum) is an ancient Greek temple on the north sideof the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It is notable for a design that is at once elegantand unusual.

Myth and MysteryAccording to Greek mythology, the god Hephaestus once tried to rape Athena, the

virgin goddess and patron of the city. Unsuccessful, he impregnated the earth

instead, resulting in the birth of the demi-god Erichtonios. Raised by Athena,

Erichtonios became an early king of Athens and is regarded as the ancestor of all

Athenians.

History

The temple as seen today was built between 421 BC and 407 BC, but it is believedto be a replacement for an older temple, since it is on the site of some of the mostancient and holy relics of the Athenians:

• the Palladion, which was a xoanon (wooden effigy) of AthenaPolias (Protectress of the City) that fell from heavenaccording to myth

• the tomb of Cecrops

• the tomb of Erechtheus

• the marks of Poseidon's trident and the salt water well (the"salt sea") that resulted from Poseidon's strike, and

• the precincts of Herse, Pandrosus and Aglaurus (the threedaughters of Cecrops) and of the tribal heroes Pandion andBoutes.

Within the foundations lived the sacred snake of the temple, which represented thespirit of Cecrops and whose well-being was thought essential for the safety of thecity. The snake was fed honey-cakes by the priestesses of Athena Polias, who were

by custom the women of the ancient family of the Eteoboutadae. The snake's

occasional refusal to eat the cakes was thought a disastrous omen.

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Parthenon, AthensThe Parthenon (Greek: Παρθενων) in Athens is the most famous surviving

building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world.

The Parthenon has stood atop the Acropolis of Athens for nearly 2,500 years andwas built to give thanks to Athena, the city's patron goddess, for the salvation of Athens and Greece in the Persian Wars. The building was officially called theTemple of Athena the Virgin; "Parthenon" comes from the Greek word parthenos, "virgin."

Throughout its long life, the Parthenon has functioned most importantly as a Greek temple, but has also been a treasury, a fortress, a church, and a mosque. Today, it isone of the most recognizable icons and popular tourist attractions in the world.

History

Replacing an older temple destroyed by the Persians, the Parthenon wasconstructed at the initiative of Pericles, the leading Athenian politician of the 5thcentury BC. It was built under the general supervision of the sculptor Phidias, whoalso had charge of the sculptural decoration. The architects were Iktinos andKallikrates. The purpose of the building was to house a 40-foot-high statue of Athena Parthenos sculpted by Pheidias.

Construction began in 447 BC and the building was substantially completed by438 BC, but work on the decorations continued until at least 433 BC. Some of thefinancial accounts for the Parthenon survive, and show that the largest single

expense was transporting the stone from Mount Pentelicus, about 16km fromAthens.

In 454 BC, the Delian League's treasury was moved from the Panhellenicsanctuary at Delos to the Acropolis. The Parthenon served as the most importanttemple of ancient Greek religion for nearly a thousand years.

The temple was still intact in the 4th century AD, but by that time Athens was nomore than a provincial city of the Roman Empire with a glorious past. Sometime inthe 5th century the great statue of Athena was looted by one of the Emperors, andtaken to Constantinople, where it was later destroyed, possibly during the sack of the city during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

Shortly after this the Parthenon was converted to a Christian church dedicated tothe Theotokos (Virgin Mary). The conversion of the temple to a church involvedremoving the internal columns and some of the walls of the cella, and the creationof an apse at the eastern end. This inevitably led to the removal and dispersal of some of the sculptures. Those that depicted pagan gods were probably removeddeliberately, and may have been destroyed.


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In 1456 Athens fell to the Ottomans, and the Parthenon was converted again, into amosque. Contrary to subsequent mythology, the Ottomans were generallyrespectful of ancient monuments in their territories, and did not wilfully destroy theantiquities of Athens, though they had no actual program to protect them. In timesof war they were willing to demolish them to provide materials for walls and

fortifications. A minaret was added to the Parthenon, but otherwise it was notdamaged further. European visitors in the 17th century testified that the buildingwas largely intact.

In 1687 the Parthenon suffered its greatest blow when the Venetians attackedAthens, and the Ottomans fortified the Acropolis and used the Parthenon as a

powder magazine. On September 26 a Venetian shell exploded the magazine andthe building was partly destroyed. The internal structures were demolished,whatever was left of the roof collapsed, and some of the pillars, particularly on thesouthern side, were decapitated. The sculptures suffered heavily. Many fell to the

ground and their pieces were later made souvenirs. After this the building fell intodisuse.

By the late 18th century many more Europeans were visiting Athens, and the picturesque ruins of the Parthenon were much drawn and painted, helping to arousesympathy in Britain and France for Greek independence. In 1801 the Britishambassador at Constantinople, the Earl of Elgin, obtained a permit from theSultan to make casts and drawings of the antiquities on the Acropolis, to demolishrecent buildings if this was necessary to view the antiquities, and to removesculptures from them. He took this as permission to collect all the sculptures hecould find. Some he prised from the building itself, others he collected from the

ground, still others he bought from local people.

Today these sculptures are in the British Museum, where they are known as theElgin Marbles. Other sculptures from the Parthenon are in the Louvre in Paris andin Copenhagen. Most of the remainder are in the Acropolis Museum which standsa few meters southeast of the Parthenon. A few can still be seen on the buildingitself. The Greek government has been campaigning for many years, so far unsuccessfully, for the British Museum sculptures (which it calls the ParthenonMarbles) to be returned to Greece.

When independent Greece gained control of Athens in 1832, the minaret was

removed from the Parthenon and all the medieval and modern buildings on theAcropolis removed. The area became a historical precinct controlled by the Greek government. Today, the Parthenon attracts millions of tourists every year, whotroop up the path at the western end of the Acropolis, through the restoredPropylaea, and up the Panathenaic Way to the Parthenon, which is surrounded by alow fence to prevent damage.

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Erechtheion, Athens