The Acropolis

“High City”Dominating the Athenian landscape, the Acropolis is unsurpassed in its beauty, architectural splendor and historic importance.

Facts about the Acropolis

• The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period.

• The cult of the city's patron goddess was established as early as the Archaic period (650- 480 B.C.).

• During the Classical period (450-330 B.C.) three important temples were erected on the ruins of earlier ones, Pericles initiated this rebuild.

The Parthenon

The Parthenon was built to honor the goddess, Athena. It was built between 448 and 432.

Pheidias: artistic director of the Parthenon.

The temple was built to house a huge gold and

ivory statue of the goddess Athena, patron of the polis

of Athens.

Reconstructed viewand 39 foot tall statue of

Athena

The Parthenon is a Doric temple, which means that it consists of a rectangular floor plan with a series of low steps on every side, and a colonnade of Doric columns extending around the periphery of the entire structure.

Balance between height & length.The larger of the two interior rooms housed the cult statue. The smaller room was used as a treasury.

The Parthenon is the tangible and visible representation of the of Athenian imperial power. It was built at a time when they were unencumbered by the difficulties of the war.

Likewise, it symbolizes the power and influence of the Athenian politician, Perikles, who championed its construction.

The Colonnade

The Doric frieze with Lapiths and Centaurs

freize: decorative, horizontal band

The metopes (square space between veritcal sets) of the Parthenon all represented various instances of the struggle between the forces of order and justice, on the one hand, and criminal chaos on the other.

The relief sculptures on the building occupied the triangular space above the triglyphs and metopes. They showed the contest between Poseidon and Athena for the right to be the patron deity of Athens Other areas showed the birth of Athena from Zeus' head.

The pedimental sculpture suffered badly when the Parthenon was hit by a Venetian shell in 1687 and the powder magazine inside exploded. This reclining god (probably Dionysus) from the east pediment gives some sense of the quality of the sculpture.

The West Pediment

pediment: triangular spaces at ends of temples

The Turks used the Parthenon as a powder magazine when the Venetians, sieged the Acropolis in 1687. One of the Venetian bombs fell on the Parthenon and caused a tremendous explosion that destroyed a great part of the monument which had been preserved in a good condition until then.

Elgin Marbles

The disaster was completed in the beginning of the 19th century, when the British ambassador in Constantinople, Lord Elgin, stole the greatest part of the sculptural decoration of the monument (frieze, metopes, pediments), transferred them to England and sold them to the British Museum, where they are still exhibited.

"The request for the restitution of the Parthenon Marbles is not made by the Greek government in the name of the Greek nation or of Greek history. It is

made in the name of the cultural heritage of the world and with the voice of the

mutilated monument itself, that cries out for its marbles to be returned."

Evangelos Venizelos, Greek Minister of Culture

View of Propylaia and Parthenon from the Areopagus

The Propylaia

The PropylaiaUnfinished due to outbreak of war. The colonnades along the west and east sides had a row of Doric columns while two rows of Ionic columns divided the central corridor into three parts. The walls of the north wing were decorated with painted panels or wall paintings. The ceiling of the Propylaia had coffers with painted decoration.

The Temple to Athena Nike

The Temple of Athena Nike was constructed in ca. 420 B.C. by the architect Kallikrates for Greeks victory over the Persians. It is built in the Ionic order. The relief frieze on the upper section of the walls depicts the conference of gods on the east side, and scenes from battles on the other three.

The Erechtheion

The Erechtheion was built in ca. 420 B.C. It has the famous porch of the Caryatids on the south side. Named for legendary Athenian king, Erectheion. A relief frieze decorated the exterior of the building.

Nashville, Tennessee Parthenon

                                                       

     

The largest indoor statue in

the world. Reproduction of

Pheidias's original from

the fifth century