The
Erechtheum (
Erechtheion) is an ancient
Greek templeGreek temples were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in Greek paganism. The temples themselves did usually not directly serve a cult purpose, since the sacrifices and rituals dedicated to the respective deity took place outside them...
on the north side of the
AcropolisAcropolis is a neighbourhood of Athens, near the ancient Acropolis, along the Dionysius Areopagitis road. This neighbourhood has s significant number of tourists during the whole year. The new museum of Acropolis has been built in this area....
of
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
.
The temple as seen today was built between 421 and 407 BC. Its
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
may have been Mnesicles, and it derived its name from a shrine dedicated to the legendary Greek hero
ErichthoniusKing Erichthonius was a mythological early ruler of ancient Athens, Greece. He was, according to some legends, autochthonous and raised by the goddess Athena...
. Some have suggested that it may have been built in honor of the legendary king
ErechtheusErechtheus in Greek mythology was the name of an archaic king of Athens, the re-founder of the polis and a double at Athens for Poseidon, as "Poseidon Erechtheus"...
, who is said to have been buried nearby.
The
Erechtheum (
Erechtheion) is an ancient
Greek templeGreek temples were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in Greek paganism. The temples themselves did usually not directly serve a cult purpose, since the sacrifices and rituals dedicated to the respective deity took place outside them...
on the north side of the
AcropolisAcropolis is a neighbourhood of Athens, near the ancient Acropolis, along the Dionysius Areopagitis road. This neighbourhood has s significant number of tourists during the whole year. The new museum of Acropolis has been built in this area....
of
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
.
Architecture
The temple as seen today was built between 421 and 407 BC. Its
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
may have been Mnesicles, and it derived its name from a shrine dedicated to the legendary Greek hero
ErichthoniusKing Erichthonius was a mythological early ruler of ancient Athens, Greece. He was, according to some legends, autochthonous and raised by the goddess Athena...
. Some have suggested that it may have been built in honor of the legendary king
ErechtheusErechtheus in Greek mythology was the name of an archaic king of Athens, the re-founder of the polis and a double at Athens for Poseidon, as "Poseidon Erechtheus"...
, who is said to have been buried nearby. Erechtheus and Erichthonius were often
syncretizedSyncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate or contrary beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. This may involve attempts to merge and analogise several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, and thus assert an...
. It is believed to have been a replacement for the Pesistratid temple of Athena Polias destroyed by the
PersiaThe Achaemenid Empire or Persian Empire was the successor state of the Median Empire, ruling over significant portions of what would become Greater Iran. The Persian and the Median Empire taken together are also known as the Medo-Persian Empire, succeeding the Neo-Assyrian Empire...
ns in 480 BC.
The need to preserve multiple adjacent sacred precincts likely explains the complex design. The main structure consists of up to four compartments, the largest being the east
cellaA cella or naos , is the inner chamber of a temple in classical architecture, or a shop facing the street in domestic Roman architecture .-Greek and Roman temples:...
, with an
IonicThe Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
porticoA portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
on its east end. Other current thinking would have the entire interior at the lower level and the East porch used for access to the great altar of Athena Polias via a balcony and stair and also as a public viewing platform.
The entire temple is on a slope, so the west and north sides are about 3 m (9 ft) lower than the south and east sides. It was built entirely of
marbleMarble is a non foliated metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite . It is extensively used for sculpture, as a building material, and in many other applications...
from Mount Pentelikon, with
friezethumb|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain or—in the Ionic or Corinthian order—decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
s of black limestone from Eleusis which bore sculptures executed in relief in white marble. It had elaborately carved doorways and windows, and its columns were ornately decorated (far more so than is visible today); they were painted, gilded and highlighted with gilt bronze and multi-colored inset glass beads. The building is known for early examples of
egg-and-dartEgg-and-dart is an ornamental device often carved in wood, stone, or plaster quarter-round ovolo mouldings, consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart. Egg-and-dart enrichment of the ovolo molding of the Ionic capital is found in Ancient...
, and
guilloche Guilloché , in English usually Guilloche, is an engraving technique in which a very precise intricate repetitive pattern or design is mechanically etched into an underlying material with very fine detail...
ornamental moldings.
The Porch of the Caryatids
On the north side, there is another large porch with columns, and on the south, the famous "Porch of the Maidens", with six draped female figures (
caryatidA caryatid is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term karyatides literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient town of Peloponnese...
s) as supporting columns, each sculpted in a manner different from the rest and engineered in such a way that their slenderest part, the neck, is capable of supporting the weight of the porch roof whilst remaining graceful and feminine. The porch was built to conceal the giant 15-ft beam needed to support the southwest corner over the
metropolisA metropolis is a big city, in most cases with over half a million inhabitants in the city proper, and with a population of at least one million living in its urban agglomeration. Big cities belonging to a larger urban agglomeration, but which are not the core of that agglomeration, are not...
, after the building was drastically reduced in size and budget following the onset of the
Peloponnesian warThe Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 B.C., was an Ancient Greek war, fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
.
Religious functions
The Erectheum was associated with some of the most ancient and holy relics of the Athenians: the Palladion, which was a
xoanonA xoanon was an Archaic wooden cult image of Ancient Greece. Classical Greeks associated such cult objects, whether aniconic or effigy, with the legendary Daedalus...
(defined as a wooden effigy fallen from heaven - not man-made) of Athena Polias (Protectress of the City); the marks of
PoseidonIn Greek mythology, Poseidon was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
's
tridentA trident , also called a leister or gig, is a three-pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and was formerly also a military weapon. Tridents feature widely in mythical, historical and modern culture. The sea god Poseidon or Neptune is classically depicted bearing a trident.Note that a...
and the salt water well (the "salt sea") that resulted from Poseidon's strike; the sacred olive tree that sprouted when
AthenaIn Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom, peace, warfare, strategy, handicrafts and reason, shrewd companion of heroes and the goddess of heroic endeavour...
struck the rock with her
spearA spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a sharpened head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be of another material fastened to the shaft, such as obsidian, iron or bronze...
in her successful rivalry with Poseidon for the city; the supposed burial places of the mythical kings
CecropsThis name may refer to two legendary kings of Athens:* Cecrops I* Cecrops IIIt more often refers to Cecrops I, who was the better known....
and
ErechtheusErechtheus in Greek mythology was the name of an archaic king of Athens, the re-founder of the polis and a double at Athens for Poseidon, as "Poseidon Erechtheus"...
; the sacred precincts of Cecrops' three daughters,
HerseHerse is a figure in Greek mythology, daughter of Cecrops , sister to Aglauros and Pandrosos. According to Apollodorus, when Hephaestus unsuccessfully attempted to rape Athena, she wiped his semen off her leg with wool and threw it on the ground, impregnating Gaia...
,
PandrosusPandrosus was a figure in Greek mythology, and a daughter of Cecrops. According to Apollodorus, Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena but was unsuccessful. His semen fell on the ground, impregnating Gaia, who gave birth to Erichthonius, the future king of Athens. Gaia did not want the infant, so she...
and Aglaurus; and those of the tribal heroes
PandionPandion can have several meanings.* Pandion I and Pandion II, two kings of Athens in Greek mythology* Pandion , genus of birds of prey with a single member: the Osprey * Pandion , the name of a open source XMPP client...
and Boutes.
The temple itself was dedicated to Athena Polias and Poseidon Erechtheus. Within the foundations lived the sacred snake of the temple, which represented the spirit of
CecropsThis name may refer to two legendary kings of Athens:* Cecrops I* Cecrops IIIt more often refers to Cecrops I, who was the better known....
and whose well-being was thought essential for the safety of the city. The snake was fed honey-cakes by Canephorae, the priestesses of Athena Polias, by custom the women of the ancient family of Eteoboutadae, the supposed descendants of the hero Boutes. The snake's occasional refusal to eat the cakes was thought a disastrous
omenAn omen is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. Omens may be considered "good" or "bad", but the term is more often used in a foreboding sense, as with the word "ominous".-In ancient Rome:Ancient Roman religion employed two distinct types of...
.
Late antiquity and the Middle Ages
The intact Erechtheum was extensively described by the
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
geographer
PausaniasPausanias was a Greek traveller and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between...
(1.26.5 - 27.3), writing a century after it had been restored in the 1st century AD. The internal layout has since been obscured by the temple's later use as a church and possibly as a
TurkishTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
harem.
Modern times
One of the caryatids was removed by
Lord ElginThomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine was a British nobleman and diplomat, known for the removal of marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens. Elgin was the second son of Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin and his wife Martha Whyte...
in order to decorate his Scottish mansion, and was later sold to the
British MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture situated in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from...
(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.
Previous attempted restorations by Greece damaged the roof of the Caryatids' porch with concrete patches, along with major damage caused by pollution in Athens. Scientists were working in 2005 to repair the damage using
laserA laser is a device that emits light through a process called stimulated emission. Laser light is usually spatially coherent, which means that the light either is emitted in a narrow, low-divergence beam, or can be converted into one with the help of optical components such as lenses...
cleaning. Now, the five original Caryatids are displayed at the
Acropolis MuseumThe Old Acropolis Museum was an archaeological museum located in Athens, Greece on the archeological site of Acropolis. It is built in a niche at the eastern edge of the rock and most of it lies beneath the level of the hilltop, making it largely invisible. It was considered one of the major...
and are replaced
in situ by exact replicas.
Recent events
The Caryatids have been transferred to the
New Acropolis MuseumThe Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on its feet, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece...
. The first was carried over safely on December 9th, 2007, via an elaborate system of aerial cranes. Within the new museum, the statue was reunited with its long-missing
sandalSandal usually refers to a type of shoe.Sandal may also refer to:* Sandal Castle, site of the Battle of Wakefield in the Wars of the Roses* Sandal, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England* Sandal, Afghanistan* Šandal, village in Slovakia...
led left foot, which was identified among rubble in the 1980s. The reassembled Caryatid, along with the four others remaining in Athens, are having their decayed
patinaPatina is a film on the surface of bronze or similar metals ; a sheen on wooden furniture produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure...
thoroughly restored by laser, and are on display in the new museum.
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