GREEK ARCHITECTURE

The Acropolis, Athens, Greece 480 – 400 BCE The reconstruction of the Athenian Acropolis began in 480 BCE after the defeat of the Persians off the island of Salamis. Athens was under the leadership of Pericles when work began.

A birds eye view of the Acropolis A model of the Acropolis 1.Parthenon 2.Propylaia 3.Erechtheion 4.Temple of Athena Nike

Doric Versus Ionic columns

Mnesikles, Propylaia, 437 – 431 BCE Left unfinished due to the start of the Peloponnesian War Temple of Athena Nike

Kallikrates, Temple of Athena Nike ca. 427 – 424 BCE Ionic – notice the volute on the column capital and the continuous frieze in the entablature.

Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon 447 – 438 BCE This is a painting of the Pantheon by the 19th century painter Friedrich Church. Church belonged to a group of American artists called The Hudson River School.

The Parthenon has often been called the epitome of the Doric style. It has eight columns on the eastern and western ends and 17 on the northern and southern sides. It is an octastyle temple 100 feet wide and 225 feet long. The columns have become more slender than earlier Doric temples and the spacing of the columns is not consistent. The columns on the corners are closer together than those in the middle. Other deviations are found in the stylobate. These deviations create a more organic fluid building. The Parthenon is dedicated to the goddess Athena who was the patron goddess of Athens. The eastern pediment contains the scene of Athena’s birth and on the western pediment we see the contest of Athena and Poseidon for the rule of Athens. On the eastern metopes we see that battle of the giants and on the western metopes the scenes are from the battle of the Amazons. The metopes on the north show the Sack of Troy and on the south the scenes are from the battle of the Lapiths and centaurs.

Here we see a floor plan of the Parthenon and the cult idol of Athena created by Phidias. Cult idols were very large and made of marble, ivory and gold, they are, thus called chryselephantine. None have survived.

Helios, his horses and Dionysos (Herakles?) Three goddesses Parthenon Pedimental sculptures

In this image we are looking into the porch (peristyle). Above the entrance we see both triglyph and metope. In the porch was see the Panathenaic Procession. The image contains several of the elements that would tell us that the temple is of the Doric Order.

The images seen here are from the inner frieze in the peristyle. The entire frieze depicts the Panathenaic Procession which was an event that took place every four years where the Athenians presented Athena with a new garment. As our text says, “The Parthenon celebrated the greatness of Athens and the Athenians as much as it honored Athena.”

In the early 19th century, while Turkey still ruled Greece, and the Acropolis was in disarray with the great monuments broken and scattered, the English ambassador to Greece Lord Elgin asked to permission to remove, “any pieces of stone with old inscriptions or figures thereon.” Permission was given, he removed many parts of the Parthenon and in 1816 they were sold to the English government. These fragments are called “The Elgin Marbles”.

The Elgin Marbles have become central objects in the battle over ownership of art objects and the repatriation of such objects. Over the years the Greek government has asked that this fragments be returned. This request was most recently made during the last Olympic Games that took place in Athens.

Erechtheion ca. 421 – 405 BCE The Erechtheion is the most complex of the Greek temples on the Acropolis. It is an Ionic temple as can be seen by the use of the volute in the column capital and in the continuous frieze on the entablature.

Plan of the Erechtheion

Erechtheion, Pouch of the Maidens Caryatid