Parthenon: the history of creation. Acropolis. Temples of the Acropolis: Parthenon, Erechtheion, Niki Apteros How did the temple of Athena Parthenon look like description

Athena patronizes those striving for knowledge, cities and states, sciences and crafts, intelligence, dexterity, helps those who pray to her to increase their ingenuity in a particular matter. At one time, she was one of the most revered and beloved goddesses, competing with Zeus, since she was equal to him in strength and wisdom. She was very proud of being a virgin forever.

Birth of Athena

She was born in an unusual way, like most divine creatures. According to the most common version, the Almighty Zeus heeded the advice given by Uranus and Gaia, after which he absorbed his first wife Metis-Wisdom at the time of her pregnancy. A son could be born who would overthrow the thunderer as a result. After absorption from the head of Zeus, his heiress, Athena, was born.

Description

The warrior goddess differed from her companions in the pantheon in that she had an extremely unusual appearance. Other female deities were gentle and graceful, while Athena did not hesitate to use the male attribute in doing business. So, she was remembered for wearing armor. She also had her spear with her.

Even the patroness of urban planning kept an animal near her, which was given a sacred role. She wore a Corinthian helmet, on top of which was a high crest. It is typical for her to wear an aegis that was covered with a goat skin. This shield was adorned with a head that the Winged One lost in the past and is the companion of Athena. The ancient Greeks considered the olive tree to be a sacred tree and associated it directly with this deity. The symbol of wisdom was the owl, which was not inferior in this responsible role to the snake.

According to legend, Pallas had gray eyes and blond hair. Her eyes were large. In addition to beauty, she also had good military training. She carefully polished her armor, was always ready for a fight: the spear was sharpened, and the chariot was ready to rush to the battle for justice. In preparation for the battle, she turned to the cyclops blacksmiths for help.

Shrines erected in her honor

She came to us from antiquity, but the goddess is still worshiped today. Athena is widely revered. The temple is the place where everyone can come and turn to her. People are trying to preserve these places of worship.

One of the most significant buildings glorifying the goddess can be considered a temple created by Pisistratus. Archaeologists excavated two pediments and other details. Hekatompedon was built in the sixth century. The size of the cella reached one hundred feet. It was found in the nineteenth century by German archaeologists.

On the walls of the building there were paintings from the mythology of the ancient Greeks. For example, there you can see Hercules in the fight against terrible monsters. An extremely picturesque place!

When it passed, the construction of the Opitodom, also dedicated to the warrior, began. The construction could not be completed, because the Persians soon attacked and sacked the city. Drums of columns from the northern walls of the Erechtheion were discovered.

The Parthenon is also considered one of the most significant monuments. This is a unique building erected in honor of Athena the Virgin. The building dates from the middle of the fifth century BC. The architect is considered to be Kallikart.

The Old Parthenon left behind several details that were used to build up the Acropolis. This was done by Phidias during the era of Pericles. In connection with the wide veneration of Athena, the temples in her honor were numerous and pompous. Most likely, many of them have not yet been found and will delight us in the future. Although even now there are a large number of buildings representing a rich historical heritage.

In Athens can be called an outstanding monument. It was built by Greek architects. The temple of Pallas Athena is located in the north - near the Parthenon on the Acropolis. It was built between 421 and 406 BC, according to archaeologists.

Athena inspired people to create a beautiful structure. The temple is a model In addition to the goddess of war and knowledge, within these walls you can worship the lord of the seas Poseidon and even the Athenian king Erechtheus, whom we can learn from legends.

Historical reference

When Pericles died, Greece began to build the temple of Athena, whose construction was not such an easy task and was completed at the time when the city collapsed.

According to legend, at the point where the building was built, the warrior goddess and Poseidon once argued. Everyone wanted to become the ruler of Attica. Information about the temple of Athena includes references to the most important relics of the policy kept here. Previously, the archaic Hekatompedon, which was built during the reign of Pisistratus, was assigned to this.

The temple was destroyed during the Greco-Persian confrontation. For this place, the goddess Athena also played a big role. The temple included her wooden idol, which was supposed to have fallen from the sky. Hermes was also revered here.

In the temple, great importance was attached to the flame of a golden lamp, which never died out. It was enough to pour oil into it only once a year. The temple was named in reference to the remains, which used to be the coffin of Erechtheus. In addition to all of the above, there were many other shrines, which, however, were not of such great importance.

Serving the Warrior Goddess

Temples and statues of Athena as one of the most important Greek deities are numerous and impressive. An olive tree was associated with the goddess, which was burned in 480, but it grew from the ashes and continued its life.

The tree grew near the temple-sanctuary dedicated to the nymph Pandrosa. Entering the holy place, one could look into the waters of the well, replenished from the salty water spring. It was assumed that the god Poseidon himself knocked it out.

Transfer of ownership of the temple

The goddess Athena did not always reign within these walls. The temple for some time belonged to Christians who held their services here during the existence of Byzantium.

Until the 17th century, the building was monitored, maintained and looked after. The damage was done when the year 1687 brought the troops of Venice to Athens. During the siege, the shrine was damaged. When Greek independence was restored, the fragments that had fallen were put back in their proper places. At the moment, nothing but the ruins, unfortunately, is left. You can still see the former features in the portico of Pandrosa, which is located on the north side.

Lord Elgin, who was sent by the British to Constantinople in 1802, received permission from Sultan Selim III to remove from the country all parts of the shrine found on which inscriptions or images could be found. One caryatid of the temple was transported to the territory of Britain. Now this relic, like the frieze of the Parthenon, is an exhibit of the British Museum.

architectural design

This sanctuary has an unusual asymmetrical layout. This is due to the fact that there was a difference between the heights of the soil on which the construction took place. From south to north, the level of the earth decreases. There are two cells. Each of them had to have an entrance. Relics of antiquity richly fill the structure. Parishioners entered from two entrances: northern and eastern. Ionic porticos were their decoration.

In the eastern part of the Erechtheion, which was located higher, there was a space dedicated to the guardian of the city, which was Athena-Polyada. The image of the goddess made of wood was kept here. When the Panathenaic passed, they made an offering to him of a new peplos. In the portico of this cella there are columns, whose number is six.

Interior view of the temple

In the western part of the temple one could see things and elements that glorified Poseidon and Erechtheus. On the front side, there is a restriction created by two ants. Between them - four semi-columns.

The presence of two porticoes is confirmed: north and south. The framing of the door entrance from the north included carvings that included rosettes. The south side is notable for the famous Portico of the Caryatids.

It was named after the six statues just over two meters high. They support the architrave. The composition of the statues includes Pentelicon marble. Today, they are replaced by copies. As for the originals, the British Museum became their repository. Lord Elgin imported one caryatid there.

Also the Acropolis Museum contains the rest. Pandrozeion - this was the name of the portico of caryatids. Pandrosa was the daughter of Cecrops. The building is named after her. As a plot on the basis of which the frieze was built, they took the myths that tell about the Cecropids and Erechtheus. Some remains of the monument have survived to this day. The sculptures, the material for which was Parian marble, were fixed in front of a dark background, which formed the Eleusinian material.

The Parthenon is a world-famous ancient temple, which is a monument of ancient architecture. It is located on the territory of the architectural complex of the Acropolis in Athens. The Parthenon Temple was built in honor of the goddess Athena, the patron goddess of the city. To date, the temple is half destroyed, and restoration work is underway.

The construction of the temple was carried out in the period from 447 to 438 BC. The main architect was Kallikrates, but Iktin's design was used in the construction. The decoration and decoration of the Parthenon was carried out in 438 - 431 BC by one of the greatest sculptors of the ancient period - Phidias.

Features of the architecture of the Parthenon.

Ancient Greece did not seek to overwhelm the viewer on a gigantic, superhuman scale. On the contrary, they relied on the features of the visual perception of shapes and sizes by human vision, and therefore tried to bring each part of their structure to a single, harmonious ensemble.

The Parthenon was built in the oldest of the architectural orders. At first glance, the columns of the building are located at an equal distance from each other. In fact, at the ends of the temple, the spans between the columns gradually and imperceptibly increased towards the center, which helped to give harmony to the structure.

The peculiarity of the perception of objects by the human eye is that against the background of a light sky, objects appear somewhat smaller or thinner. The ancient Greek architects were well aware of this, and used the technique of distorting lines to give the building a more perfect shape.

So, the columns are not strictly vertical, but slightly inclined inward towards the walls of the building, and this makes them look much taller and slimmer. In the arrangement of cornices, steps, ceilings, the imperfection of human vision is everywhere taken into account.

The exterior of the Parthenon is slightly curved, everything is done in such a way that all parts of the structure look perfectly correct and harmonious. For the Greeks, the columns personified the feathers of a bird, so the temple buildings were called "peripter" - which means "feathered" in translation.

The colonnade surrounded the temple with an air layer, which made it possible to make a soft, gradual and quite natural transition from an architectural object enclosed by walls to the space of nature. For the construction of the Parthenon, completed in the 5th century BC, the Greeks spared no effort and money.

Relief images.

The main holiday of the Athenians, Panathenaia, was celebrated annually for 5 days (from the 24th to the 29th day) of the month of Hecatombion, which fell on the period of July - August according to the modern calendar. The Panathenaic Games were cult solemn festivities in Ancient Hellas in honor of the goddess Athena.

At first, poetry was read, theatrical performances and sports competitions were held. Then people lined up in a procession and went to bring Athena peplos - a solemn gift, in the role of which clothes made of wool acted. The architectural ensemble of the Acropolis was located on a hill, and due to the peculiarities of its construction, it was designed for the leisurely and solemn movement of religious processions.

On marble relief. encircling the Pathenon building, naked youths are depicted preparing and caring for horses, and their comrades, who have already stepped on unsaddled animals. Girls in long robes drive the bulls with strong horns chosen for sacrifice.

The elders march importantly, calm and noble. The figures then come closer, that they move away from each other, or merge into picturesque groups. All movement is directed towards the eastern facade, where a relief is located above the entrance to the temple, completing the entire ensemble. The relief image shows the feast of the twelve most important gods revered in ancient Greece.

The gods in the relief image are presented in their usual, completely human form - that is, they do not exceed the participants in the procession neither in height, nor in appearance, nor in beauty, nor in the splendor of robes. The procession on the relief is perceived by the Greeks as an eternal procession, in which each participant of the festival was included.

Having circled the Parthenon, the procession approached the eastern facade, where in the center of the pediment the main ancient Greek god Zeus sat solemnly on the throne. Near Zeus is depicted a naked male figure with an ax in his hands, slightly leaning back. This figure depicted the god - the blacksmith Hephaestus, who had just cut the skull of the Lord of the Gods, and from it appeared the goddess Athena in armor and in a helmet, with the invariable attribute of wisdom - a snake.

To the right and left of Zeus were other gods. And in the corners of the pediment are depicted the heads of snoring horses. Noble animals entail the chariots of Helios - the god of the Sun and Selene - the god of the Moon. The faces of the gods are calm, but by no means indifferent, they are restrained, but composure stands for restraint. readiness for immediate action.

Statue of Athena.

In the Parthenon, meeting the procession, there was a 12-meter statue of the goddess Athena. The beautiful head of the goddess, with a low, smooth forehead and a rounded chin, was slightly tilted under the weight of a helmet and wavy hair. Her eyes were made of precious stones, and the masters managed to give them an attentive and testing expression.

The goddess in the form of a beautiful woman is the proud personification of Athens. The sculptor Phidias embodied in her image the desire for the common good, by which the Greeks meant justice. According to ancient mythology, Athena was once the chairman of the highest court of Greece - the Areopagus, and therefore the judicial system was under the auspices of Athena.

Thousands of plates of expensive material - ivory - were so skillfully fitted to the wooden base of Athena that it seemed as if the head and hands of the statue were carved from one piece of noble material. The slightly yellowish ivory hue looked delicate, and the statue's skin looked translucent, in contrast to the goddess's glittering gold robe.

The helmet, hair, and round shield were also made of embossed gold plates, all of which totaled more than one ton. On a golden shield, the battle of the Greeks with the warlike Amazons was engraved in low relief, and in the center of the battle, Phidias depicted himself in the form of an old man who raises a stone.

Peloponnesian War.

In the 5th century BC, the Greeks were a very proud people, and arrogantly considered other peoples to be people of a lower order. Gradually, the inhabitants of Athens began to oppose themselves not only to other peoples, but also to the rest of the Greeks living in other city-states throughout the country.

During the Persian wars, the Greeks endured all the hardships of the common struggle, but half a century later, the Athenians began to attribute the laurels of victory only to themselves. Allied policies responded to Athens with ever-increasing suspicion and barely restrained their indignation.

In 431 BC, the Peloponnesian War began between Athens and Sparta for supremacy over the other cities - the states of Ancient Hellas. At that time, Sparta was ruled by kings. The war was fierce, devastating and bloody, but for a long time the forces were approximately the same, so after 10 years peace was concluded.

The Parthenon (ancient Greek: Παρθενών; modern Greek: Παρθενώνας) is an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the Athenians considered their patroness. Construction began in 447 BC. when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It ended in 438 BC. e., although the decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. e. It is the most important surviving building of classical Greece and is generally considered to have its zenith in the Doric order. The decorative sculptures of the Parthenon are considered among the most successful in Greek art. And the Parthenon itself is a symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy and Western civilization, and one of the greatest cultural monuments in the world. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture is currently implementing a program of selective restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially destroyed structure.

The Parthenon, which historians refer to as the Pre-Parthenon, was destroyed during the Persian invasion of 480 BC. e. The temple was built archaeoastronomically, according to the Hyades star cluster. Despite the fact that the sacred building was dedicated to the goddess patronizing the city, in fact it was used as a treasury. At one time, it served as the treasury of the Delian League, which later became the Athenian Empire. In the last decades of the sixth century AD, the Parthenon, which was converted into a Christian church, was dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

After the Ottoman conquest in the early 60s of the 15th century, it was turned into a mosque. On September 26, 1687, due to the Venetian bombardment, the Ottoman ammunition, which was stored in the building, caught fire. As a result of the explosion, the Parthenon and its sculptures were seriously damaged. In 1806, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed some of the surviving sculptures, ostensibly with permission from the Ottoman Empire. They are now known as the Elgin or Parthenon marbles. In 1816 they were sold to the British Museum in London, where they are exhibited today. Since 1983 (at the initiative of the Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri), the Greek government has decided to return the sculptures to Greece.

Etymology

Originally, the name "Parthenon" comes from the Greek word παρθενών (parthenon), and was referred to in the sense of "rooms of unmarried women" in the house, and in the case of the Parthenon, perhaps only a separate room of the temple was first used. There is debate about what kind of room it was, and how it got its name. According to the work of Lidl, Scott, Jones "Greek-English Lexicon" it was the western cella of the Parthenon. Jamari Green believes that the Parthenon was the room in which the peplum was presented to Athena at the Panathenaic Games. It was woven by the harrephores, four girls who were chosen every year to serve Athena. Christopher Pelling argues that the Athena Parthenos may represent a separate cult of Athena, closely related, but not identical, to that of Athena Polias. According to this theory, the name Parthenon means "temple of the virgin goddess" and refers to the cult of Athena Parthenos, which was associated with this temple. The epithet "parthenos" (παρθένος), whose origin is unknown, means "virgin, maiden", but also "virgin, unmarried woman", and was mainly used in relation to Artemis, goddess of wild animals, hunting and vegetation, and Athena, goddess of strategy and tactics, craft and practical reason. There is also an assumption that the name of the temple refers to the virgins (partheno), whose highest sacrifice guarantees the safety of the city.

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The first instance in which the name Parthenon certainly refers to the entire building was found in the writings of the orator Demosthenes dated to the 4th century BC. In the 5th century, the building was considered as a structure, which was simply called ho naos ("temple"). It is believed that the architects Mnesicles and Kallikrates called it Hekatompodos ("one hundred feet") in their lost treatise on Athenian architecture, and in the 4th century and later, it was known as Hekatompedos or Hekatompedon, like the Parthenon; in the 1st century AD e. The writer Plutarch called the building Hecatompedon the Parthenon.

Because the Parthenon was dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, it was sometimes called the Temple of Minerva, the Roman name for Athena, especially in the 19th century.

Purpose

Although architecturally the Parthenon is a temple and is usually called that, however, in the generally accepted sense of the word, this is not entirely true. A small temple was found inside the building, on the site of an old one, probably dedicated to Athena, as a way to get closer to the goddess, but the Parthenon itself never accepted the cult of Athena Polis, the patroness of Athens; the cult image, which was washed in the sea and presented with peplos, was an olive xoan, located on an old altar in the northern part of the Acropolis.

The magnificent statue of Athena, by Phidias, was not associated with any cult and is not known to have ignited any religious fervor. She probably did not have a priestess, an altar, or a cult name. According to Thucydides, Pericles once referred to the statue as a gold reserve, emphasizing that it "consisted of forty talents of pure gold, and they could be taken out." The Athenian statesman thus assumed that the metal obtained from modern coinage could be used again without any disrespect. The Parthenon was then seen more as a large setting for a votive statue of Phidias than as a place of worship. Many Greek authors are said to have described in their writings the myriad treasures kept inside the temple, such as Persian swords and small statues made of precious metals.

Archaeologist Joan Breton Connelly has recently argued for the connection of the Parthenon's sculptural plan in presenting a series of genealogical accounts that trace Athenian features back through the ages: from the birth of Athena, through cosmic and epic battles, to the great final event of the Athenian Bronze Age, the war between Erechtheus and Eumolpus. She argues that the pedagogical function of the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon establishes and reinforces the Athenian foundations of myth, memory, values ​​and identity. Connelly's thesis is debatable, and some notable classics such as Mary Beard, Peter Green, and Harry Wheels have either questioned it or simply rejected it.

Early history

Old Parthenon

The initial desire to build a sanctuary of Athena Parthenos on the site of the current Parthenon was realized shortly after the Battle of Marathon (c. 490-488 BC) on a foundation of hard limestone, which was located on the southern part of the top of the Acropolis. This building replaced the Hekatompedon (i.e. "one hundred feet") and stood next to the archaic temple dedicated to Athena Polias. The Old Parthenon, or Pre-Parthenon as it is often called, was still under construction when, in 480 B.C. e. The Persians sacked the city and destroyed the Acropolis.

The existence of the proto-Parthenon and its destruction is known from Herodotus. The drums of its columns were visible at a glance and were built after the load-bearing wall north of the Erechtheion. Further material evidence of this structure was revealed during the excavations of Panagis Kavadias in 1885-1890. Their results led Wilhelm Dörpfeld, then director of the German Archaeological Institute, to claim that the original Parthenon contained an underground structure called Parthenon I, which was not exactly below the current building, as previously thought. Dörpfeld's observation was that the three steps of the first Parthenon consisted of limestone, two of porous, like the base, and the upper step of Karha limestone, which was covered by the lowest step of the Pericles Parthenon. This platform was smaller and was located just north of the final Parthenon, indicating that it was built for a completely different building, currently completely closed. The picture was somewhat complicated by the publication of the final excavation report in 1885-1890, which indicated that this underground structure was of the same age as the walls built by Kimon, and implied a later date for the first temple.

Floor plan of the Parthenon, photo: public domain

If the original Parthenon was indeed destroyed in 480, this raises the question of why the site remained in ruins for thirty-three years. One argument suggests an oath taken by the Greek allies before the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. e., according to which the sanctuaries destroyed by the Persians will not be restored. Only in 450, at the conclusion of the Peace of Callia, did the Athenians free themselves from this oath. The mundane fact about the cost of rebuilding Athens after the Persian sack is not as plausible as its reason. However, Bert Hodge Hill's excavations led him to propose the existence of a second Parthenon built during the reign of Cimon after 468 BC. e. Hill claimed that the Karha limestone step that Dörpfeld thought was the highest in Parthenon I was in fact the lowest of the three steps of Parthenon II, whose stylobate dimensions, according to Hill's calculations, were 23.51 by 66,888 meters (77.13 × 219.45 feet).

One of the difficulties in dating the proto-Parthenon is that at the time of the excavations in 1885, the archaeological method of seriation had not been fully developed; careless digging and backfilling of the site resulted in the loss of a large amount of valuable information. Attempts to discuss and comprehend the clay shards found in the Acropolis were realized in a two-volume work by Graf and Langlotz, published in 1925-1933. This inspired the American archaeologist William Bell Dinsmoor to attempt to set deadlines for the temple platform and five of its walls hidden under the re-terracing of the Acropolis. Dinsmoor concluded that the last possible date for Parthenon I was no earlier than 495 BC. e., which contradicts the earlier date established by Dörpfeld. In addition, Dinsmoor denied the existence of two proto-Parthenons and established that the only temple prior to the temple of Pericles was that which Dörpfeld called Parthenon II. In 1935, Dinsmoor and Dörpfeld exchanged views in the American Journal of Archeology.

modern building

In the middle of the 5th century BC. BC, when the Athenian Acropolis became the seat of the Delian League, and Athens was the greatest cultural center of its time, Pericles initiated an ambitious building project that continued throughout the second half of the century. During this period, the most important buildings that can be seen in the Acropolis today were built: the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon was built under the overall supervision of Phidias, who was also responsible for the sculptural decoration. The architects Iktin and Kallikrat began their work in 447 BC. BC, and by 432 the building was completed, but decoration work continued until at least 431. Some financial accounts of the Parthenon have survived which show that the biggest expense was to transport the stones from Mount Pentelikon, about 16 km (9.9 miles) from Athens, to the Acropolis. These funds were partly taken from the treasury of the Delian League, transferred from the pan-Hellenic sanctuary at Delos to the Acropolis in 454 BC. e.

Architecture

The Parthenon is an octastyle Doric temple surrounded by columns with Ionic architectural features. It stands on a platform or on a stylobate of three steps. Like other Greek temples, it has a lintel and is surrounded by columns bearing an entablature. At each end are eight columns ("octastyle"), and seventeen on the sides. Also at each end of the column are installed in two rows. The colonnade surrounds an internal stone structure - a cella, divided into two rooms. At either end of the building, the roof ends in a triangular pediment, originally filled with sculptures. The columns represent the Doric order with a simple capital, fluted shaft and no base. Above the architrave is a frieze of illustrated carved panels (metope) separated by a triglyph, which is typical of the Doric order. Around the cella and along the lintels of the internal columns there is a continuous sculptural frieze in the form of a bas-relief. This element of architecture is Ionic rather than Doric.

Measured on the stylobate, the base of the Parthenon measures 69.5 by 30.9 meters (228 by 101 feet). The cella was 29.8 meters long and 19.2 meters wide (97.8 x 63.0 ft) with an internal colonnade in two rows structurally necessary to support the roof. On the outside, Doric columns measured 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in diameter and 10.4 meters (34 ft) high. The diameter of the corner columns was slightly larger. In total, the Parthenon had 23 internal and 46 external columns, each containing 20 flutes. (A flute is a concave groove carved in the shape of a column.) The stylobate had a curvature that increased towards the center by 60 mm (2.4 in) at the east and west ends and by 110 mm (4.3 in) at the sides. The roof was covered with large overlapping marble tiles known as fluted tiles and tegula.

© website, photo: Parthenon today, July 2014

The Parthenon is considered the finest example of Greek architecture. John Julius Cooper wrote that the temple "has the reputation of being the most perfect Doric temple ever built. Even in antiquity, his architectural refinements were legendary, especially the delicate balance between the curvature of the stylobate, the slope of the cella walls and the entasis of the columns." Entasis refers to a slight decrease in the diameter of the columns as they rise, although the observed effect in the Parthenon is much more subtle than in early temples. The stylobate is the platform on which the columns stand. Like many other classical Greek temples, it has a slight parabolic increase in curvature to drain rainwater and strengthen the building against earthquakes. This may be why the columns were supposed to lean outward, but in fact they leaned slightly inward so that if they continued they would meet almost exactly a mile above the center of the Parthenon; since they are all the same height, the curvature of the outer edge of the stylobate is transferred to the architrave and roof: "The whole subsequent principle of creation is based on slight curvature," Gorham Stevens noticed this when he pointed out that the west facade was built somewhat higher than the south. It is not universally established what the entasis effect was supposed to be; it is possible that it served as a kind of "reverse optical illusion". Because the Greeks may have known that two parallel lines slope or curve outward when crossing converging lines. In this case, it seems that the ceiling and floor of the temple lean towards the corners of the building. In their pursuit of perfection, the designers may have added these curves, making up for the illusion by creating their own curves, thus negating this effect and allowing the temple to be as it was intended. It has also been suggested that it was used to "revitalize", in case a building without curves would perhaps have the appearance of an inert mass, but it should be compared with the more obvious curved predecessors of the Parthenon, and not with a conventionally rectilinear temple.

Some studies of the Acropolis, including the Parthenon, have concluded that many of its proportions are close to the golden ratio. The facade of the Parthenon, as well as the elements, can be described by a golden rectangle. This view was refuted in later studies.

Sculpture

The cella of the Parthenon housed the chrysoelephantine statue of Athena Parthenos by Phidias, created in 439 or 438 BC. e.

Initially, the decorative stonework was very colorful. At that time, the temple was dedicated to Athena, although construction continued almost until the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 432. By 438, the sculptural decoration of the Doric metopes on the frieze above the outer colonnade and the decoration of the Ionic frieze around the top of the cella wall were completed.

The richness of the frieze and metope is consistent with the purpose of the temple as a treasury. The opisthodome (back room of the cella) kept the monetary contributions of the Delian League, of which Athens was a leading member. Today, the surviving sculptures are kept in the Athens Acropolis Museum and the British Museum in London, and a few pieces in Paris, Rome, Vienna and Palermo.

Metopes

The frieze of the entablature contains ninety-two metopes, fourteen each on the east and west sides, and thirty-two each on the north and south. They are carved in bas-relief, this practice was used only for treasuries (the building was used to store gifts that were presented to the gods by vow). According to construction documentation, metope sculptures date back to 446-440 BC. e. The metopes of the Parthenon, above the main entrance, on the east side depict the Gigantomachy (a mythical battle between the Olympian gods and giants). The metopes on the west side show the Amazonomachy (the mythical battle of the Athenians against the Amazons), and on the south side the Thessalian centauromachy (the battle of the Lapiths, with the help of Theseus, against half-human, half-horse centaurs). Metopes 13 to 21 are missing, but the drawings attributed to Jacques Carrey indicate groups of people; they have been variously interpreted as scenes from the wedding of the Lapith, scenes from the early history of Athens, and various myths. On the north side of the Parthenon, the metopes are poorly preserved, but the plot is reminiscent of the destruction of Troy.

The metopes are presented as an example of the strict style in the anatomy of the heads of the figures, in the limitation of physical movements to the contours but not to the muscles, and in the pronounced veins in the figures of centauromachy. Some of them still remain on the building, with the exception of those on the north side, as they are heavily damaged. Several metopes are in the Acropolis Museum, others are in the British Museum, and one is in the Louvre.

In March 2011, archaeologists announced that they had discovered five Parthenon metopes on the south wall of the Acropolis, which had been extended when the Acropolis was being used as a fortress. According to the daily newspaper Eleftherotype, archaeologists claimed that the metopes were placed there in the 18th century, when the wall was being restored. Experts discovered metopes while processing 2,250 photographs using modern photographic techniques. They were made of white Pentelian marble, which is different from the other stone of the wall. It was previously thought that the missing metopes were destroyed during the explosion of the Parthenon in 1687.

© website, photo: Parthenon today, July 2014

Frieze

The most distinctive feature in the architecture and decoration of the temple is the Ionic frieze around the outer walls of the cella (the interior of the Parthenon). The bas-relief frieze was carved at the construction site; it dates from 442-438 BC. e. One interpretation is that it depicts an idealized version of the procession of the Panathenaic Games from the Dipylon gate at Kerameikos to the Acropolis. This procession, which takes place every year, was attended by Athenians and foreigners to honor the goddess Athena, bringing sacrifices and new peplos (cloth woven by specially selected noble Athenian girls).

Joan Breton Connelly offers a mythological interpretation of the frieze that is in harmony with the rest of the sculptural plan of the temple, and shows the Athenian genealogy through a series of myths from the distant past. She identifies the central panel above the door of the Parthenon as a sacrifice made before the battle by the daughter of King Erechtheus, and ensured victory over Eumolpus and his Thracian army. A large procession moved towards the eastern part of the Parthenon, showing the post-battle thanksgiving sacrifice of cattle and sheep, honey and water, following the triumphal army of Erechtheus, which returned with victory. In mythical times, these were the very first Panathenaic, the model upon which the historical processions of the Panathenaic Games were based.

Gables

When the traveler Pausanias visited the Acropolis at the end of the 2nd century AD, he only briefly mentioned the sculptures of the pediments of the temple (the ends of the gabel), leaving the main place to describe the statue of the goddess made of gold and ivory, which was located inside the temple.

East pediment

The eastern pediment tells of the birth of Athena from the head of her father Zeus. According to Greek mythology, Zeus gave birth to Athena after a terrible headache prompted him to summon Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmithing) for help. To relieve the pain, he ordered Hephaestus to hit him with a hammer, and when he did, Zeus's head split open and the goddess Athena came out of it, all dressed in armor. The sculptural composition depicts the moment of Athena's birth.

Unfortunately, the central part of the pediment was destroyed even before Jacques Carrey, who in 1674 created useful documentary drawings, therefore, all restoration work is the subject of assumptions and hypotheses. The main Olympian gods should stand around Zeus and Athena, watching the miraculous event, probably with Hephaestus and Hera near them. Kerry's drawings played an important role in the restoration of the sculptural composition on the north and south sides.

West gable

The western pediment overlooked the Propylaea and depicted the struggle between Athena and Poseidon during their competition for the honor of becoming the patron of the city. They appear in the center of the composition, and diverge from each other in strict diagonal forms, the goddess holds an olive tree, and the god of the sea raises his trident to hit the ground. On the sides, they are framed by two groups of horses pulling chariots, while the space in the sharp corners of the pediment is filled with legendary characters from Athenian mythology.

Work on the pediments continued from 438 to 432 BC. e., and the sculptures on them are considered one of the best examples of classical Greek art. The figures are created in natural movements, and the bodies are full of vital energy that breaks through their flesh, and the latter, in turn, breaks out through their thin clothes. Thin chitons show the lower body as the center of the composition. By placing the sculptures in stone, the sculptors erased the distinction between gods and humans, the conceptual relationship between idealism and naturalism. The fronts no longer exist.

Drawing of the statue of "Athena Parthenos", installed inside the Parthenon

Athena Parthenos

Only one sculpture from the Parthenon is known to belong to the hand of Phidias, the statue of Athena, which was located in the naos. This massive gold and ivory sculpture is now lost. It is known only from copies, vase paintings, jewelry, literary descriptions and coins.

Late period of history

late antiquity

In the middle of the third century AD, a major fire broke out in the Parthenon, which destroyed the roof and most of the interior of the temple. Restoration work was carried out in the fourth century AD, probably during the reign of Flavius ​​Claudius Julian. To cover the sanctuary, a new wooden roof was laid, covering it with clay tiles. It had a steeper slope than the original roof, and the building's wings were left open.

For almost a thousand years, the Parthenon continued to exist as a temple dedicated to Athena, until in 435 AD. e. Theodosius II did not decide to close all pagan temples in Byzantium. In the fifth century, one of the emperors stole the great cult image of Athena and took it to Constantinople, where it was later destroyed, possibly during the siege of Constantinople in 1204 CE. e.

Christian church

In the last decades of the sixth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church, which was called the Church of Mary Parthenos (Virgin Mary), or the Church of Theotokos (Mother of God). The orientation of the building was changed, turning the facade to the east; the main entrance was moved to the western end of the building, and the Christian altar and iconostasis were located on the eastern side of the building next to the apse built on the site where the pronaos of the temple had previously been located.

A large central entrance with adjacent side doors was made in the wall separating the cella, which became the church nave, from the back room, the porch of the church. The gaps between the columns of the opisthodom and the peristyle were walled up, however, the number of entrances to the room was sufficient. Icons were painted on the walls, and Christian inscriptions were carved into the columns. These renovations inevitably led to the removal of some of the sculptures. The images of the gods were either interpreted in accordance with the Christian theme, or seized and destroyed.

The Parthenon became the fourth most important Christian pilgrimage site in the eastern part of the Roman Empire after Constantinople, Ephesus and Thessalonica. In 1018, Emperor Basil II made a pilgrimage to Athens, immediately after his final victory over the Bulgarians, for the sole purpose of visiting the church in the Parthenon. In medieval Greek records, it was called the temple of the Athenian Mother of God (Theotokos Atheniotissa) and was often indirectly mentioned as famous, without an exact explanation of which temple was meant, thus confirming that it was really famous.

During the Latin occupation, for about 250 years, it became the Roman Catholic Church of the Virgin Mary. During this period, a tower was built on the southwest corner of the cella, which was used as a watchtower or as a bell tower with a spiral staircase, as well as vaulted tombs under the floor of the Parthenon.

islamic mosque

In 1456, Ottoman forces invaded Athens and laid siege to the Florentine army, which defended the Acropolis until June 1458, when the city surrendered to the Turkish. The Turks quickly restored the Parthenon for later use as a church by Greek Christians. For a while, before closing in the fifteenth century, the Parthenon became a mosque.

The exact circumstances under which the Turks took possession of it for use as a mosque are unclear; one source states that Mehmed II had it reconstructed as punishment for the Athenian conspiracy against the Ottoman Empire.

The apse, which became a mihrab (a tower built earlier during the Roman Catholic occupation of the Parthenon), was extended upwards to make a minaret, a minbar was installed, and the Christian altar and iconostasis were removed, and the walls were whitewashed to cover the icons of Christian saints and other Christian images.

Despite the changes accompanying the Parthenon, the transformation into a church and then into a mosque, its structure remains largely unchanged. In 1667, the Turkish traveler Evliya Celebi expressed admiration for the sculptures of the Parthenon and figuratively described the building as "some kind of impregnable fortress not created by man." He composed poetic prayers: "the work of less significant human hands than Heaven itself must stand for a long time."

The French artist Jacques Carrey visited the Acropolis in 1674 and made sketches of the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon. Early in 1687, an engineer named Plantier painted the Parthenon for the Frenchman Gravier Dortier. These images, especially those made by Carrey, provided important evidence of the condition of the Parthenon and its sculptures before the destruction at the end of 1687 and in the subsequent looting of its works.

The destruction of the Parthenon as a result of the explosion of a gunpowder warehouse during the Venetian-Turkish war. 1687. Drawing by an unknown artist.

Destruction

In 1687, the Parthenon was badly damaged in the greatest catastrophe that has ever befallen it in its long history. To attack and capture the Acropolis, the Venetians sent an expedition led by Francesco Morosini. The Ottoman Turks fortified the Acropolis and used the Parthenon as an ammunition cellar—despite the danger of such use after the 1656 explosion that severely damaged the Propylaea—and shelter for members of the local Turkish community. On September 26, a Venetian mortar shot fired from Philopappus Hill blew up the cellar and partially destroyed the building. The explosion shattered the central part of the building and caused the cella to collapse. The Greek architect and archaeologist Cornelia Hatziaslani writes that “... three of the four walls of the sanctuary almost collapsed and three-fifths of the sculptures from the frieze fell. Obviously, none of the parts of the roof remained in place. Six columns fell from the south side and eight from the north, and nothing remained of the eastern portico, except for one column. Together with the columns, a huge marble architrave, triglyphs and menotopes collapsed. The explosion killed approximately three hundred people, who were covered with marble debris near the Turkish defenders. It also caused several large fires that burned until the next day and destroyed many houses.

Records were made during the conflict as to whether this destruction was intentional or accidental; one such entry is by a German officer, Zobifolsky, which states that a Turkish deserter gave Morosini information about what the Turks were using the Parthenon for, expecting the Venetians to not target a building of such historic importance. In response, Morosini sent artillery to the Parthenon. Subsequently, he tried to loot sculptures from the ruins and cause further damage to the building. When the soldiers tried to remove the sculptures of Poseidon and Athena's horses from the western pediment of the building, they fell to the ground and broke.

The following year, the Venetians abandoned Athens in order to avoid a confrontation with the large Turkish army assembled at Chalcis; at that time, the Venetians took into account the explosion, after which almost nothing remained of the Parthenon and the rest of the Acropolis, and rejected the possibility of its further use by the Turks as a fortress, but such an idea was not pursued.

After the Turks recaptured the Acropolis, they built a small mosque within the walls of the destroyed Parthenon, using the ruins from the explosion. Over the next century and a half, the remaining parts of the structure were looted for building materials and other valuables.

The 18th century was the period of the "sick man of Europe"; as a result, many Europeans were able to visit Athens, and the picturesque ruins of the Parthenon became the subject of many paintings and drawings, spurring the rise of the Philhellenes and helping to arouse the sympathy of Britain and France for the sake of Greek independence. Among these early travelers and archaeologists were James Stewart and Nicholas Revett, who were commissioned by the Society of Dilettantes to investigate the ruins of classical Athens.

They created drawings of the Parthenon, while making measurements, which in 1787 published in two volumes Antiquities of Athens Measured and Delineated (Antiquities of Athens: measured and depicted). In 1801, the British ambassador in Constantinople, Count Elgin, received a dubious firman (decree) from the Sultan, whose existence or legitimacy has not been proven to this day, to make casts and drawings of the antiquities of the Acropolis, and to demolish the last buildings, examine the antiquities if necessary, and remove the sculptures .

Independent Greece

When independent Greece gained control of Athens in 1832, the visible part of the minaret was destroyed; only its base and the spiral staircase to the level of the architrave remained intact. Soon all the medieval and Ottoman buildings built on top of the Acropolis were destroyed. However, there is a photograph by Joly de Lotbinier of a small mosque in the cella of the Parthenon, published in Lerbaud's Excursions Daguerriennes in 1842: the first photograph of the Acropolis. This area became a historical site that was controlled by the Greek government. Today it attracts millions of tourists every year. They follow the road at the western end of the Acropolis, through the restored Propylaea up the Panathenaic Way to the Parthenon, which is surrounded by a low rail to prevent damage.

Marble Sculpture Controversy

The center of the dispute was the marble sculptures taken out by Earl Elgin from the Parthenon, which are in the British Museum. Also, a few sculptures from the Parthenon are displayed in the Louvre in Paris, in Copenhagen, and elsewhere, but more than fifty percent is in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Some can still be seen on the building itself. Since 1983, the Greek government has been campaigning to bring sculptures back to Greece from the British Museum.

The British Museum has steadfastly refused to return the sculptures, and successive British governments have been unwilling to force the museum to do so (which would require a statutory basis). However, negotiations between senior representatives of the Greek and British ministries of culture and their legal advisers took place in London on 4 May 2007. These were the first serious negotiations in several years, in which hopes were pinned that both sides could take a step towards a resolution.

© website, photo: Parthenon columns in scaffolding

Recovery

In 1975, the Greek government began coordinated work to restore the Parthenon and other structures of the Acropolis. After some delay, in 1983 the Committee for the Preservation of the Monuments of the Acropolis was established. The project later attracted funding and technical assistance from the European Union. The archaeological committee carefully documented each artifact left there, and using computer models, the architects determined their original location. Particularly important and fragile sculptures were transferred to the Acropolis Museum. A crane was installed to move the marble blocks. In some cases, previous reconstructions turned out to be wrong. Dismantling was carried out, and the restoration process began anew. Initially, the various blocks were held together by oblong iron H-shaped connectors, which were completely covered with lead to protect the iron from corrosion. The stabilizing connectors added in the 19th century were less lead-plated and corroded. Since the product of corrosion (rust) tends to expand, it has caused further damage to the already cracked marble. All of the new metalwork consisted of titanium, a strong, lightweight and corrosion-resistant material.

The Parthenon will not be restored to the state it was in before 1687, however, as far as possible, damage from the explosion will be repaired. In the interest of restoring the building's structural integrity (important in this seismically prone area) and aesthetic integrity, chipped portions of the column drums and lintels will be filled in using finely hewn marble, reinforced in place. New Pentelian marble from the original quarry is used. As a result, almost all large pieces of marble will be placed where they originally were, supported, if necessary, by modern materials. Over time, the white repaired parts will become less visible compared to the original weathered surfaces.

The content of the article

the main temple of the Athenian Acropolis, dedicated to Athena Parthenos (ie the Virgin), the patron goddess of the city. Construction began in 447 BC, the consecration of the temple took place at the Panathenaic festival in 438 BC, but the decoration (mainly sculptural work) continued until 432 BC. The Parthenon is a masterpiece of ancient Greek architecture and a symbol of Greek genius.

Story.

A new temple was erected at the highest point of the Acropolis, on a site dedicated to the gods. The ancient temples were probably small in size, and therefore significant leveling of the Acropolis was not required. However, in 488 BC. a new temple was laid here to thank Athena for the victory over the Persians at Marathon. Its dimensions in terms of plan are very close to the current Parthenon, and therefore in the middle of the southern slope it was necessary to erect a retaining wall and lay limestone blocks in the base, so that the southern edge of the construction site rose above the rock of the Acropolis by more than 7 m. , apparently, 6 columns on the side of the ends and 16 on the sides (counting the corner columns twice). Its stylobate (upper platform) and steps, as well as the columns themselves, as well as other structural elements, were made of marble (or at least they were conceived as marble). When in 480 BC The Persians captured and plundered the Acropolis, the temple under construction, which by that time had been brought only to the height of the second drum of columns, was destroyed by fire, and work was interrupted for more than 30 years. In 454 BC the treasury of the Delian maritime union was transferred to Athens, where Pericles then ruled, and soon, in 447 BC, construction work on the almost finished site resumed. The Parthenon was erected by the architects Iktin and Kallikrates (they also call Carpion), as well as Phidias, who was primarily responsible for sculpture, but in addition carried out general supervision of the progress of work on the Acropolis. The creation of the Parthenon was part of the conquest of Athens by Pericles, not only in the military and economic field, but also in religion and art.

Regarding the further fate of the temple, we know that c. 298 BC the Athenian tyrant Lahar removed the golden plates from the cult statue of Athena, and in the 2nd century. BC. The building, which was damaged by the fire, was thoroughly repaired. In 426 AD The Parthenon was converted into a Christian church, originally St. Sofia. Apparently, at the same time, in the 5th century, the statue of Athena was transported to Constantinople, where it subsequently died in a fire. The original main eastern entrance was closed by the altar apse, so that now the western entrance has become the main one through the room behind the cella, previously separated by a blank wall. Other changes in the layout were also made, and a bell tower was erected in the southwestern corner of the temple. In 662 the temple was re-consecrated in honor of the Most Holy Mother of God ("Panagia Afiniotissa").

After the Turkish conquest, c. 1460, the building was turned into a mosque. In 1687, when the Venetian commander F. Morosini was besieging Athens, the Turks used the Parthenon as a powder warehouse, which led to disastrous consequences for the building: a red-hot cannonball that flew in here caused an explosion that destroyed its entire middle part. No repairs were carried out then, on the contrary, local residents began to pull apart marble blocks in order to burn lime out of them. Appointed in 1799 as British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord T. Elgin received permission from the Sultan to export the sculptures. During 1802-1812, the lion's share of the surviving sculptural decoration of the Parthenon was transported to Great Britain and placed in the British Museum (some of the sculptures ended up in the Louvre and Copenhagen, although some remained in Athens). In 1928, a fund was created, which set itself the goal, as far as possible, to put the fallen columns and blocks of entablature in place, and on May 15, 1930, the northern colonnade of the temple was inaugurated.

Architecture.

The Parthenon in its current form is a Doric peripter standing on three marble steps (total height approx. 1.5 m), having 8 columns at the ends and 17 at the sides (if you count the corner columns twice). The height of the peristyle columns composed of 10–12 drums is 10.4 m, their diameter at the base is 1.9 m, the corner columns are slightly thicker (1.95 m). The columns have 20 flutes (vertical gutters) and taper upwards. The dimensions of the temple in plan (according to the stylobate) are 30.9 × 69.5 m. at the ends there are six-column prostrate porticos, the columns of which are somewhat lower than in the outer colonnade. Cella is divided into two rooms. The eastern one, longer and called the hecatompedon (internal size 29.9 x 19.2 m), was divided into three naves by two rows of 9 Doric columns, which closed at the western end with a transverse row of three additional columns. It is assumed that there was also a second tier of Doric columns, which was located above the first and provided the required height of the ceilings. In the space bounded by the inner colonnade, there was a colossal (12 m high) chrysoelephantine (made of gold and ivory) cult statue of Athena by Phidias. In the 2nd century AD it was described by Pausanias, and its general appearance is known from several smaller copies and numerous images on coins. The ceilings of the western cella (internal size 13.9 × 19.2 m), which was called the Parthenon (the treasury of the Delian Union and the state archive were kept here; over time, the name was transferred to the entire temple), rested on four high columns, presumably Ionic.

All elements of the construction of the Parthenon, including the roof tiles and steps of the stylobate, were hewn from local Pentelian marble, almost white immediately after mining, but over time acquiring a warm yellowish tint. Mortar or cement was not used, the laying was carried out dry. The blocks were carefully fitted to each other, the horizontal connection between them was carried out with the help of I-beam iron clamps placed in special grooves and filled with lead, the vertical connection was made with the help of iron pins.

Sculpture.

The decoration of the temple, which complemented its architecture, is divided into three main categories: metopes, or square panels, provided with high reliefs, located between the triglyphs of the frieze above the outer colonnade; a bas-relief, which encircled the cella from the outside with a continuous strip; two colossal groups of free-standing sculptures filling deep (0.9 m) triangular pediments.

On 92 metopes, scenes of martial arts are presented: gods and giants from the east, lapiths and centaurs (they are best preserved) from the south, Greeks and Amazons from the west, participants in the Trojan War (presumably) from the north. The sculptural group on the eastern pediment depicted the birth of Athena, who, fully armed, jumped out of the head of Zeus after the blacksmith god Hephaestus cut his head with an ax. The group from the western pediment represented the dispute over Attica between Athena and Poseidon, when the olive tree presented by the goddess was recognized as a more valuable gift than the source of salt water discovered in the rock by Poseidon. A few statues from both groups have survived, but even from them it is clear that it was a great artistic creation of the middle of the 5th century. BC.

The bas-relief strip on top of the cella (total length 160 m, height 1 m, height from the stylobate 11 m, in total there were about 350 foot and 150 equestrian figures) depicted the Panathenaic procession, which annually brought Athena a new robe - peplos. Along the north and south sides, horsemen, chariots, citizens of Athens are represented moving from west to east, and closer to the head of the procession are musicians, people with gifts, sacrificial sheep and bulls. Along the western, end wall, above the portico, there are groups of cavalrymen standing near their horses, mounted on them or already leaving (this part of the bas-relief remained in Athens). On the eastern end is the central group of the procession, consisting of the priest and priestess of Athena with three young servants: the priest receives the folded peplos. On the sides of this scene are the figures of the most important gods of the Greek pantheon. They are divided into two groups and turned to face outward, towards the corners of the building, as if watching the approach of the procession. Next to them, on the right and on the left, are two groups of citizens or officials, and at the edges are slowly moving people leading the procession.

"Subtlety" of the Parthenon.

The scrupulous thoughtfulness of the construction of the Parthenon, which aims to deprive the building of mechanical straightforwardness, to give it liveliness, is manifested in a number of “refinements” that are found only with a special study. We will mention only a few. The stylobate rises slightly towards the center, the lifting boom along the northern and southern facades is approx. 12 cm, along the northern and western - 6.5 mm; the corner columns of the end facades are slightly inclined towards the middle, and the two middle ones, on the contrary, towards the corners; the trunks of all columns have a slight swelling, entasis, in the middle; the front surface of the entablature is somewhat inclined outward, and the pediment inward; the diameter of the corner columns, visible against the sky, is slightly larger than the rest, and in addition, they represent a complex figure in cross section, different from the circle.

Many parts of the building were painted. The lower surface of the echinus (extensions on the capitals of the columns) was red, as was the tenia (the belt between the architrave and the frieze). Red and blue were used on the underside of the eaves. The marble caissons of the colonnade ceiling were tinted with red, blue and gold or yellow. Color was also used to emphasize the elements of the sculpture. Bronze wreaths were also used in the decor of the building, as evidenced by holes drilled in the architrave for their fastening.

The rocky rock of the Acropolis, which dominates the center of Athens, is the largest and most majestic ancient Greek shrine, dedicated mainly to the patroness of the city, Athena.

The most important events of the ancient Hellenes are connected with this sacred place: the myths of ancient Athens, the biggest religious holidays, the main religious events.
The temples of the Acropolis of Athens are in harmony with the natural environment and are unique masterpieces of ancient Greek architecture, expressing the innovative styles and correlations of classical art, they have had an indelible impact on the intellectual and artistic creativity of people for many centuries.

The Acropolis of the 5th century BC is the most accurate reflection of the splendor, power and wealth of Athens at its highest peak - the "golden age". In the form in which the Acropolis now appears before us, it was erected after its destruction by the Persians in 480 BC. e. Then the Persians were finally defeated and the Athenians vowed to restore their shrines. The reconstruction of the Acropolis begins in 448 BC, after the Battle of Plataea, on the initiative of Pericles.

- Temple Erechtheion

Myth of Erechtheus: Erechtheus was a beloved and revered Athenian king. Athens was at enmity with the city of Eleusis, during the battle, Erechtheus killed Eumollus, the leader of the Eleusinian army, and also the son of the god of the sea Poseidon himself. For this, the Thunderer Zeus killed him with his lightning. The Athenians buried their beloved king and named the constellation Charioteer after him. At the same place, the architect Mnesicles erected a temple, named after Erichtheus.

This temple was built between 421 and 407 BC and contained the golden lamp of Kallimachou. The construction of the Erechtheion did not stop even during the long Peloponnesian War.

The Erechtheion was the most sacred place of worship in Athens. The ancient inhabitants of Athens in this temple worshiped Athena, Hephaestus, Poseidon, Kekropos (the first Athenian king).

The whole history of the city was concentrated at this point and therefore the construction of the Erechtheon temple began in this place:

♦ in this place a dispute broke out between Athena and Poseidon over the property of the city

♦ in the northern porch of the Erechtheion temple there is a hole where, according to legend, the sacred serpent Erechthonius lived

♦ here was the grave of Kekrops

The eastern porch has six Ionic columns, to the north there is a monumental entrance with a decorated gate, on the south side a porch with six girls, known as caryatids, who support the arch of the Erechtheion, at the moment they have been replaced by plaster copies. Five of the caryatids are in the new Acropolis Museum, one is in the British Museum.