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85-586: The statue was found in several fragments during excavations on the Athenian Acropolis in the so-called Perserschutt . The lower part and the left arm were dug up east of the Parthenon in 1882 and the upper part was discovered west of the Erechtheion in 1886. Parts of the calf followed. The face is damaged, especially the nose, and the lower right arm is missing, as is the front of the feet on

170-501: A Pentelic marble statue base in the form of a capital were found in the Perserschutt in the same excavation as the statue fragments. This base was first connected with the statue by Franz Studniczka , a conclusion which has been largely accepted, though some still doubt. An inscription on the base name the donor Nearchos and the sculptor Antenor son of Eumares. It reads: English: Nearchos dedicated this. [The potter] organised

255-860: A careful study of the predecessors of the Propylaea. Since possibly 1975 it has been subject to ongoing restoration work under T. Tanoulas whose work has been published by the Acropolis Restoration Service as Μελέτη αποκαταστάσεως των Προπυλαίων (Study for the Restoration of the Propylaea) 1994. Perhaps the two most notable examples of the Propylaia's architectural influence are the Greater Propylaia at Eleusis and Langhans 's Brandenburg Gate of 1791. The former

340-526: A church in the tenth century AD when it was dedicated to the Taxiarches. The colonnade of the north-east wing was also walled off. In the same period, and specifically during the reign of Justinian , the large cistern between the north wing and the central building of the Propylaia was also constructed. During the De la Roche era of occupation the complex was converted to a fortified residence similar in form to

425-455: A double row of Ionic columns the capitals of which are orientated north-south, and is axially parallel with the Parthenon . The westward-projecting wings are attached to the central hall by way of a tristyle in antis Doric colonnade of a scale two-thirds of that of the central hall. The crepidoma of the wings is in the canonical three-step form and in Pentelic marble, but the last course of

510-752: A fortress. During the Byzantine period, the Parthenon was used as a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary . During the Latin Duchy of Athens , the Acropolis functioned as the city's administrative center, with the Parthenon as its cathedral, and the Propylaea as part of the ducal palace. A large tower was added, the Frankopyrgos (Frankish Tower), demolished during the 19th century. After

595-445: A monumental gate at the western end of the Acropolis with Doric columns of Pentelic marble, built partly upon the old Propylaea of Peisistratos. These colonnades were almost finished during 432 BC and had two wings, the northern one decorated with paintings by Polygnotus . About the same time, south of the Propylaea, building started on the small Ionic Temple of Athena Nike in Pentelic marble with tetrastyle porches, preserving

680-617: A number of freestanding shrines and votives stood in the vicinity of the Propylaia, and have come to be associated with it if only by virtue of Pausanias' description of them and their proximity to the building. In the western precinct, there was the Hermes Propylaios by Alkamenes , which stood on the north end of the entrance. Similarly, a relief of the Graces , made by Sokrates (the Boeotian sculptor active around 450 BC), stood on

765-647: A number of works by masters of the fifth century. By Pausanias' time the picture gallery had been in existence for several centuries, so the Hellenistic historian Polemon of Ilion had written a, now lost, book entitled Περὶ τῶν ἐντοῖς Προπυλαίοις πινάκων (On the Panel Paintings in the Propylaia) which might have been an influence on the later writer. Satyros, writing in the third century, described two panels dedicated by Alkibiades after his victories in

850-560: A programme of renovation on the Acropolis including the replacement of the gateway with a ceremonial entrance, usually referred to as the Older Propylon, and the refurbishment of the forecourt in front of it. At this time, a section of the western Bronze Age wall, south of the gateway, received a marble lining on its western face and an integrated base at the northern extent for a perirrhanterion , or lustral basin. Bundgaard identified several remnants of this propylon and postulated

935-516: A significant gatehouse situated between the Mycenaean wall and the archaic apsidal structure known as Building B. What is evident, however, is that if the archaic gatehouse was not destroyed in the Persian attack of 480 then it must surely have been dismantled to facilitate the building works later in the century. Mnesikles was appointed architect of the new propylon in 438. From traces left in

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1020-641: A single limestone column base and pieces of several sandstone steps. Soon after the palace was constructed, a Cyclopean massive circuit wall was built, 760 meters long, up to 10 meters high, and ranging from 3.5 to 6 meters thick. From the end of the Helladic IIIB (1300–1200 BC) on, this wall would serve as the main defense for the acropolis until the 5th century. The wall consisted of two parapets built with large stone blocks and cemented with an earth mortar called emplekton (Greek: ἔμπλεκτον). The wall uses typical Mycenaean conventions in that it followed

1105-476: A young rooster probably stood along the south wall. A small shrine dedicated to Athena Hygieia was erected against the southernmost column on the eastern facade soon after 430 BC. Though accounts differ, this last shrine might have been erected to thank Athena for the end of the great plague . Pausanias records that the inner compartment of the north-east wing was used to display paintings; he calls it οἴκημα ἔχον γραφάς, "a chamber with paintings", and describes

1190-564: Is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens , Greece, and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon . The word Acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον ( akron , "highest point, extremity") and πόλις ( polis , "city"). The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece . During ancient times

1275-663: Is assumed to have been an Imperial benefaction from the great expense that must have been occurred. The Propylaia's post-classical history sees it return to a military function beginning with the construction of the Beulé Gate in the late third century AD, perhaps associated with the refortification of Athens in the form of the Post-Herulian Wall . Built from the dismantled elements of the Choragic Monument of Nikias this gate may have been in response to

1360-457: Is known about the original plan of the interior, which was destroyed by fire during the first century BC and has been rebuilt several times. During the same period, a combination of sacred precincts including the temples of Athena Polias, Poseidon , Erechtheus , Cecrops , Herse , Pandrosos and Aglauros , with its Kore Porch (Porch of the Maidens) or Caryatids' Balcony was begun. Between

1445-426: Is lined with six Ionic columns. Unusually, the temple has two porches, one on the northwest corner borne by Ionic columns, the other, to the southwest, supported by huge female figures or caryatids . The eastern part of the temple was dedicated to Athena Polias , while the western part, serving the cult of the archaic king Poseidon-Erechtheus , housed the altars of Hephaestus and Voutos, brother of Erechtheus. Little

1530-571: Is the now partially reconstructed Odeon of Herodes Atticus . All the valuable ancient artifacts are situated in the Acropolis Museum , which resides on the southern slope of the same rock, 280 metres from the Parthenon. Site plan of the Acropolis at Athens showing the major archaeological remains. The Acropolis Restoration Project began in 1975 to reverse the decay of centuries of attrition, pollution, destruction from military actions, and misguided past restorations. The project included

1615-515: The Acciaioli family , at which time the so-called Frankish Tower was built. In the main building, the central passage still served as the only means of entry to the interior of the Acropolis . It is almost certain that the spaces between the Doric and Ionic columns of the northern part of the west hall were blocked by, probably low, walls, limiting a space that would have served as an antechamber for

1700-577: The Acropolis of Athens . Built between 437 and 432 BC as a part of the Periklean Building Program, it was the last in a series of gatehouses built on the citadel. Its architect was Mnesikles , his only known building. It is evident from traces left on the extant building that the plan for the Propylaia evolved considerably during its construction, and that the project was ultimately abandoned in an unfinished state. The approach to

1785-637: The Attalid kings of Pergamon Attalos II (in front of the NW corner of the Parthenon), and Eumenes II, in front of the Propylaea. These were rededicated during the early Roman Empire to Augustus or Claudius (uncertain) and Agrippa , respectively. Eumenes was also responsible for constructing a stoa on the south slope, similar to that of Attalos in the agora below. During the Julio-Claudian period ,

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1870-666: The Enneapylon , had been built around the acropolis hill and incorporated the biggest water spring, the Clepsydra , at the northwestern foot. A temple to Athena Polias , the tutelary deity of the city, was erected between 570 and 550 BC. This Doric limestone building, from which many relics survive, is referred to as the Hekatompedon (Greek for "hundred–footed"), Ur-Parthenon (German for "original Parthenon" or "primitive Parthenon"), H–Architecture or Bluebeard temple, after

1955-455: The Herulian invasions. Sometime in the early Byzantine period the south wing was converted into a chapel. This conversion must not have taken place before the end of the sixth century, since in all other cases of ancient monuments being converted into Christian churches, there is no evidence of an earlier application of such a process. The central section of the Propylaia was converted into

2040-659: The Lapiths . Other monuments that have left almost nothing visible to the present day are the Chalkotheke , the Pandroseion , Pandion's sanctuary , Athena's altar, Zeus Polieus's sanctuary and, from Roman times, the circular Temple of Roma and Augustus . During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, many of the existing buildings in the area of the Acropolis were repaired to remedy damage from age and occasionally war. Monuments to foreign kings were erected, notably those of

2125-687: The Ottoman conquest of Greece , the Propylaea were used as the garrison headquarters of the Turkish army, the Parthenon was converted into a mosque and the Erechtheum was turned into the governor 's private harem . The buildings of the Acropolis suffered significant damage during the 1687 siege by the Venetians in the Morean War . The Parthenon, which was being used as a gunpowder magazine ,

2210-508: The Pnyx he invited the demos to gaze on the gates and recall Salamis. It wasn't only the object of approbation, however, Cicero in his De Officiis 2.60 (citing Demetrios of Phaleron ) critiques the financial profligacy of the building. The first documentary evidence of the Propylaia from the early modern period is Niccolò di Martoni's account of 1395 which indicated that the Beulé Gate

2295-489: The euthynteria below is in a contrasting blue Eleusian limestone. The orthostates of the two wings were also made of dark Eleusinian limestone, this visual continuity was maintained with the orthostates of the central hall and the top step on the interior flight of stairs all constructed in the same limestone. The interior of the Central Hall is divided by a wall in which there are five doorways symmetrically arranged;

2380-414: The 13th century BC, an earthquake caused a fissure near the northeastern edge of the Acropolis. This fissure extended some 35 meters to a bed of soft marl in which a well was dug. An elaborate set of stairs was built and the well served as an invaluable, protected source of drinking water during times of siege for some portion of the Mycenaean period. Not much is known about the architectural appearance of

2465-483: The 17th century, were restored, with many wrongly assembled columns now properly placed. The roof and floor of the Propylaea were partly restored, with sections of the roof made of new marble and decorated with blue and gold inserts, as in the original. Restoration of the Temple of Athena Nike was completed in 2010. A total of 2,675 tons of architectural members were restored, with 686 stones reassembled from fragments of

2550-534: The Acropolis is determined by its geography. The only easily accessible pathway to the plateau lies between what is now the bastion of the Temple of Athena Nike and the terrace of the Agrippa Monument . In Mycenaean times the bastion (also referred to as the pyrgos or tower) was encased in a cyclopean wall , and amongst the few Mycenaean structures left in the archaeological record is a substantial wall on

2635-423: The Acropolis of Athens was also more properly known as Cecropia , after the legendary serpent-man Cecrops , the supposed first Athenian king. While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as early as the 4th (millennium?)BC, it was Pericles ( c.  495 –429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the buildings whose present remains are the site's most important ones, including

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2720-525: The Acropolis until the Archaic era . During the 7th and the 6th centuries BC, the site was controlled by Kylon during the failed Kylonian revolt, and twice by Peisistratos ; each of these was attempts directed at seizing political power by coups d'état . Apart from the Hekatompedon mentioned later, Peisistratos also built an entry gate or propylaea . Nevertheless, it seems that a nine-gate wall,

2805-458: The Athens schist and the overlying Acropolis limestone . The Athens schist is a soft reddish rock dating from the late Cretaceous period. The original sediments were deposited in a river delta approximately 72 million years ago. The Acropolis limestone dates from the late Jurassic period, predating the underlying Athens schist by about 30 million years. The Acropolis limestone was thrust over

2890-408: The Athens schist by compressional tectonic forces, forming a nappe or overthrust sheet. Erosion of the limestone nappe led to the eventual detachment of the Acropolis, forming the present-day feature. Where the Athens schist and the limestone meet there are springs and karstic caves. Many of the hills in the Athens region were formed by the erosion of the same nappe as the Acropolis. These include

2975-645: The Ottomans in 1826–1827 . A new bulwark named after Odysseas Androutsos was built by the Greeks between 1822 and 1825 to protect the recently rediscovered Klepsydra spring, which became the sole fresh water supply of the fortress. After independence, most features that dated from the Byzantine, Frankish, and Ottoman periods were cleared from the site in an attempt to restore the monument to its original form, "cleansed" of all later additions. The Parthenon mosque

3060-551: The Parthenon, the Propylaea , the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike . The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored by the then Turkish rulers in the Parthenon was hit by a Venetian bombardment and exploded. The Acropolis is located on a flattish-topped rock that rises 150 m (490 ft) above sea level in

3145-558: The Propylaea. To the south of the entrance is the tiny Temple of Athena Nike. At the centre of the Acropolis is the Parthenon or Temple of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). East of the entrance and north of the Parthenon is the temple known as the Erechtheum. South of the platform that forms the top of the Acropolis there are also the remains of the ancient, though often remodelled, Theatre of Dionysus . A few hundred metres away, there

3230-474: The Roman Herodes Atticus built his grand amphitheater or odeon . It was destroyed by the invading Herulians a century later but was reconstructed during the 1950s. During the 3rd century, under threat from a Herulian invasion, repairs were made to the Acropolis walls, and the Beulé Gate was constructed to restrict entrance in front of the Propylaea, thus returning the Acropolis to use as

3315-467: The Temple of Roma and Augustus, a small, round edifice about 23 meters from the Parthenon, was to be the last significant ancient construction on the summit of the rock. Around the same time, on the north slope, in a cave next to the one dedicated to Pan since the Classical period, a sanctuary was founded where the archons dedicated to Apollo on assuming office. During 161 AD, on the south slope,

3400-587: The beginning of the Axis occupation of Greece in 1941, German soldiers raised the Nazi German War Flag over the Acropolis. It would be taken down by Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas in one of the first acts of resistance. In 1944 Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou arrived on the Acropolis to celebrate liberation from the Nazis. The entrance to the Acropolis was a monumental gateway termed

3485-411: The cause of much speculation. They include practical considerations of the site, religious objections to the displacement of the adjoining shrines, and cost. Whatever the reason it is clear that the project was abandoned in an unfinished state in 432 with the lifting bosses remaining and the surface of the ashlar blocks left undressed. Alterations to the Propylaia in the classical period were slight,

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3570-517: The chariot race at Olympia and Nemea. Also, a painting depicting Diomedes and Odysseus taking the Palladion from Troy , and the painting depicting Achilles on Skyros, painted by Polygnotos around 450 BC. On the basis of these references, modern writers have frequently called the building the Pinakotheke, but there is no ancient authority for that epithet and no reason to believe the building

3655-461: The citadel. Beyond this is the archaic ramp leading to the zig-zag Mnesiklean ramp that remains today. Immediately ahead is the U-shaped structure of the central hall and eastward wings. The central hall is a hexastyle Doric pronaos whose central intercolumniation is spaced one triglyph and one metope wider than the others. This central pathway, which leads through to the plateau, passes under

3740-634: The city in 480 BC. The building was burned and looted, along with the Ancient Temple and practically everything else on the rock. After the Persian crisis had subsided, the Athenians incorporated many architectural parts of the unfinished temple (unfluted column drums, triglyphs, metopes, etc.) into the newly built northern curtain wall of the Acropolis, where they served as a prominent "war memorial" and can still be seen today. The devastated site

3825-589: The city of Athens , with a surface area of about 3 ha (7.4 acres). While the earliest artifacts date to the Middle Neolithic era, there have been documented habitations in Attica from the Early Neolithic period (6th millennium BC). There is little doubt that a Mycenaean megaron palace stood upon the hill during the late Bronze Age . Nothing of this structure survives except, probably,

3910-614: The collection and identification of all stone fragments, even small ones, from the Acropolis and its slopes, and the attempt was made to restore as much as possible using reassembled original material ( anastylosis ), with new marble from Mount Pentelicus used sparingly. All restoration was made using titanium dowels and is designed to be completely reversible, in case future experts decide to change things. A combination of cutting-edge modern technology and extensive research and reinvention of ancient techniques were used. The Parthenon colonnades, largely destroyed by Venetian bombardment during

3995-409: The columns and curvature of the architrave. However, the stylobate had no curvature. Some of its parts also shared the proportions with the Parthenon. For instance, the general ratio used was 3:7, very similar to the ratio of 4:9 used for the Parthenon. The building features no decorative or architectural sculpture; all metopes and pediments were left empty and there were no akroteria . Nonetheless,

4080-430: The construction of the final building it has been possible to reconstruct the development of the building plans during its construction. It was the practice of Greek builders to prepare for the bonding of joining walls, roof timber and other features in advance of the following phase of construction. From the socket for the roof beam and the spur walls on the north and south flanks of the central hall it can be discerned that

4165-829: The crusader castles of the Levant by building the Rizokastro Wall , fortifying the Klepsydra , removing the entrance through the Beulé Gate , building the protective enclosure in front of the gate to the west of the south-west corner of the Nike Tower (now the only remaining entrance to the Acropolis) and also building the bastion between the Nike bastion and the Agrippa pedestal. The Propylaia then served as Ducal Palace to

4250-494: The eponymous gates. The ceilings were supported by marble beams (about 6 m long) and the innermost squares of the coffers (Doric and Ionic coffers were both used) were decorated either with golden stars on a blue field with a bright green margin or an arrangement of palmettes . The roofs were covered with Pentelic marble tiles. The building had some of the optical refinements of the Parthenon: inward inclination and entasis of

4335-491: The essentials of Greek temple design. After an interruption caused by the Peloponnesian War , the temple was finished during the time of Nicias ' peace, between 421 BC and 409 BC. Construction of the elegant temple of Erechtheion in Pentelic marble (421–406 BC) was by a complex plan which took account of the extremely uneven ground and the need to circumvent several shrines in the area. The entrance, facing east,

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4420-561: The festival, a procession (believed to be depicted on the Parthenon frieze) traveled through the city via the Panathenaic Way and culminated on the Acropolis. There, a new robe of woven wool ( peplos ) was placed on either the statue of Athena Polias in the Erechtheum (during the annual Lesser Panathenaea) or the statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon (during the Great Panathenaea, held every four years). Within

4505-539: The four walls of the room has become the consensus view, and the idea has been developed further to explain the intended function of the four subsidiary halls of the Propylaia in the original plan as banqueting facilities for the city’s high officials after the sacrifices at the Panathenaic festival. Though this argument remains speculative. Despite being unfinished the Propylaia was admired in its own time. Demosthenes in his speech Against Androtion 23.13 describes

4590-463: The front line"), built between 450 BC and 448 BC, dominated. The base was 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) high, while the total height of the statue was 9 m (30 ft). The goddess held a lance, the gilt tip of which could be seen as a reflection by crews on ships rounding Cape Sounion , and a giant shield on the left side, decorated by Mys with images of the fight between the Centaurs and

4675-465: The hills of Lykabettos , Areopagus , and Mouseion . The marble used for the buildings of the Acropolis was sourced from the quarries of Mount Pentelicus , a mountain to the northeast of the city. The limestone that the Acropolis is built upon is unstable because of the erosion and tectonic shifts that the region is prone to. This instability may cause rock slides that cause damage to the historic site. Various measures have been implemented to protect

4760-485: The later tradition of Western civilization and Classical revival , the Acropolis, from at least the mid-18th century on, has often been invoked as a critical symbol of the Greek legacy and of the glories of Classical Greece . Most of the artifacts from the temple are housed today in the Acropolis Museum at the foot of the ancient rock. The Acropolis is a klippe consisting of two lithostratigraphic units:

4845-435: The most significant being the construction of a monumental stairway in pentelic marble built in the reign of Claudius , probably 42 AD, and arranged as a straight flight of steps. This included a central inclined plane along which the sacrificial animals could be led, also a small dog-leg stairway on the Nike bastion that led to the Temple of Athena Nike. This project was supervised by the Athenian Tib. Claudius Novius, and

4930-470: The natural contour of the terrain and its gate, which was towards the south, was arranged obliquely, with a parapet and tower overhanging the incomers' right-hand side, thus facilitating defense. There were two lesser approaches up the hill on its north side, consisting of steep, narrow flights of steps cut in the rock. Homer is assumed to refer to this fortification when he mentions the "strong-built house of Erechtheus " ( Odyssey 7.81). At some time before

5015-428: The north-south halls. Of these only the central hall, the north-east hall (the Pinakotheke) and a truncated version of the south-east hall reached completion. Furthermore, it is evident from the adaption of the stylobate that a stepped platform was added to the interior of the central hall such that the western-most tympanum and roof were raised above the rest of the building. The reasons for these alterations have been

5100-403: The old temple of Athena was set afire. Pausanias does not mention it in his 2nd century AD Description of Greece . Around 500 BC the Hekatompedon was dismantled to make place for a new grander building, the Older Parthenon (often referred to as the Pre-Parthenon or Early Parthenon). For this reason, Athenians decided to stop the construction of the Olympieion temple which was connoted with

5185-416: The original plan was for a much larger building than its final form. Mnesikles had planned a gatehouse composed of five halls: a central hall that would be the processional route to the Acropolis, two perpendicular flanking halls – north and south of the central hall – that would have spanned the whole width of the western end of the plateau, and two further, eastward projecting halls that were at 90 degrees to

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5270-422: The originals, 905 patched with new marble, and 186 parts made entirely of new marble. A total of 530 cubic meters of new Pentelic marble were used. In 2021, the addition of new reinforced concrete paths to the site to improve accessibility caused controversy among archaeologists. Every four years, the Athenians had a festival called the Great Panathenaea that rivaled the Olympic Games in popularity. During

5355-457: The pedimental three-bodied man-serpent sculpture, whose beards were painted dark blue. Whether this temple replaced an older one or just a sacred precinct or altar is not known. Probably, the Hekatompedon was built where the Parthenon now stands. Between 529 and 520 BC yet another temple was built by the Pisistratids , the Old Temple of Athena , usually referred to as the Arkhaios Neōs (ἀρχαῖος νεώς, "ancient temple"). This temple of Athena Polias

5440-436: The plinth. The kore was originally located in the Athena sanctuary on the acropolis and is now kept in the Acropolis Museum The statue is 201 cm high, excluding the plinth. The Kore has chest-length hair, which only partially survives. The hair at the front is gathered into tight curls, while the rest of the hair falls in locks, fanning out over the shoulders and back. She wears a crown in her hair. Like all archaic korai,

5525-413: The reconstruction of the southern and northern walls of the Acropolis. Most of the major temples, including the Parthenon , were rebuilt by order of Pericles during the so-called Golden Age of Athens (460–430 BC). Phidias , an Athenian sculptor, and Ictinus and Callicrates , two famous architects, were responsible for the reconstruction. During 437 BC, Mnesicles started building the Propylaea ,

5610-404: The ruler's residence in the north wing. Under the Tourkokratia the Propylaia served both as a powder magazine and battery emplacement and suffered significant damage as a result. Only after the evacuation of the Turkish garrison could excavation and restoration work begin. From 1834 onwards the Medieval and Turkish additions to the Propylaia were demolished. By 1875 the Frankish Tower built on

5695-650: The same name, perhaps a son or uncle of the known Nearchos. It has sometimes been doubted that a simple artesan could be the donor of such a votive statue and alternative restorations of the inscription have been suggested. On the other hand it was quite possible in the 6th century to gain a significant fortune through craftworks and other donations are known from potters and vase painters on the Acropolis. Athenian Acropolis The Acropolis of Athens ( Ancient Greek : ἡ Ἀκρόπολις τῶν Ἀθηνῶν , romanized :  hē Akropolis tōn Athēnōn ; Modern Greek : Ακρόπολη Αθηνών , romanized :  Akrópoli Athinón )

5780-467: The sculpture has a clear axis and stares directly at the viewer. She wears a chiton and himation . The latter seems to be tied over the left arm, pinned at the top with a fibula and falling below in omega-folds. With the left hand the image gathers the chiton, causing the characteristic drapery. The conspicuously empty eye-holes must have been inlaid with another material, likely glass - a rather rare feature in marble statues of this period. Fragments of

5865-412: The site, including retaining walls, drainage systems, and rock bolts. These measures work to counter the natural processes that threaten the historic site. Notes Bibliography Videos Propylaia (Acropolis of Athens) The Propylaia ( Greek : Προπύλαια ; lit.   ' Gates ' ) is the classical Greek Doric building complex that functioned as the monumental ceremonial gateway to

5950-411: The south of the entrance. In the east precinct, the bronze statue of Diotrephes, an Athenian general killed in combat in Boeotia during the Peloponnesian War , stood behind the second column from the south. The statue of Aphrodite made by Kalamis and dedicated by Kallias stood behind the second column from the north. The Leaina (an Archaic bronze lioness) stood near the north wall. A votive column carrying

6035-408: The south wing of the Propylaia was demolished, this marked the end of the clearing of the site of its post-classical accretions. The second major anastylosis since the early work of Pittakis and Rangavis was undertaken by engineer Nikolaos Balanos in 1909-1917. The Propylaia is approached from the west by means of the Beulé Gate, which as noted was a late Roman addition to the fortification of

6120-419: The spolia and overbuilding on the structure. Subsequent studies include Bohn's fundamental work Die Propyläen der Akropolis zu Athen 1882 which summarized the knowledge of the building prior to the archaeological discoveries of 1885-1890; Bundgaard's Mnesicles: A Greek Architect at Work 1957, that examined the building's implications for planning practice; Dinsmoor Jr., The Propylaia I: The Predecessors 1980,

6205-576: The temple of Athena Nike and the Parthenon, there was the Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia (or the Brauroneion), the goddess represented as a bear and worshipped in the deme of Brauron. According to Pausanias, a wooden statue or xoanon of the goddess and a statue of Artemis made by Praxiteles during the 4th century BC were both in the sanctuary. Behind the Propylaea, Phidias' gigantic bronze statue of Athena Promachos ("Athena who fights in

6290-419: The terrace of the bastion that was part of the system of fortifications of the Acropolis. This wall must have terminated at the first gateway, though opinions differ on the reconstruction of this earliest entrance. At some point in the archaic period a ramp replaced the bedrock pathway; the buttress wall on the north side of the existing stairway is from this period. This was followed shortly after Marathon by

6375-593: The tyrant Peisistratos and his sons, and, instead, used the Piraeus limestone destined for the Olympieion to build the Older Parthenon. To accommodate the new temple, the south part of the summit was cleared, made level by adding some 8,000 two-ton blocks of limestone, a foundation 11 m (36 ft) deep at some points, and the rest was filled with soil kept in place by the retaining wall. However, after

6460-461: The victorious Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, the plan was revised and marble was used instead. The limestone phase of the building is referred to as Pre-Parthenon I and the marble phase as Pre-Parthenon II. In 485 BC, construction stalled to save resources as Xerxes became king of Persia, and war seemed imminent. The Older Parthenon was still under construction when the Persians invaded and sacked

6545-402: The victors of Salamis as "the men who from the spoils of the barbarians built the Parthenon and Propylaia, and decorated the other temples, things in which we all take a natural pride". This revealing passage not only equates the Parthenon and gatehouse in significance but associates them with the heroic past. His political rival Aeschines also made laudatory reference to the Propylaia when on

6630-499: The work in Ath[ens]. Antenor ma[de] the [statue], son of Eumares Ancient Greek : ΝΕΑΡΧΟΣΑΝΕΘΕΚΕΝ[ΗΟΚΕΡΑΜΕ]- ΥΣΕΡΓΟΝΑΠΑΡΧΕΝΤΑΘ[ΕΝΑΙΑΙ]. ΑΝΤΕΝΟΡΕΠ[ΟΙΕΣΕΝΗ]- ΟΕΥΜΑΡΟΣΤ[ΟΑΓΑΛΜΑ] The surviving Ancient Greek : ΥΣ at the beginning of the second line is generally restored as Ancient Greek : κεραμεύς and the donor identified with the attested potter Nearchos from the second quarter of the sixth century BC or with an unknown potter of

6715-509: Was a Roman Neo-Attic copy of the Central Hall at Athens from the late second century AD, probably instigated by Hadrian . This was framed by two memorial arches in what was possibly a reference to the wings of the original building. The latter, while an inexact copy, is clearly informed by the Athenian original likely drawing on Le Roy’s work, then the only reference source before the publication of The Antiquities of Athens . Commissioned by

6800-714: Was built upon the Dörpfeld foundations, between the Erechtheion and the still-standing Parthenon. The Arkhaios Neōs was destroyed as part of the Achaemenid destruction of Athens during the Second Persian invasion of Greece during 480–479 BC; however, the temple was probably reconstructed during 454 BC, since the treasury of the Delian League was transferred in its opisthodomos . The temple may have been burnt down during 406/405 BC as Xenophon mentions that

6885-523: Was cleared of debris. Statuary, cult objects, religious offerings, and unsalvageable architectural members were buried ceremoniously in several deeply dug pits on the hill, serving conveniently as a fill for the artificial plateau created around the Classical Parthenon. This " Persian debris " was the richest archaeological deposit excavated on the Acropolis by 1890. After winning at Eurymedon during 468 BC, Cimon and Themistocles ordered

6970-535: Was demolished in 1843, and the Frankish Tower in 1875. German Neoclassicist architect Leo von Klenze was responsible for the restoration of the Acropolis in the 19th century, according to German historian Wolf Seidl, as described in his book Bavarians in Greece . Some antiquities from the Acropolis were exhibited in the old Acropolis Museum , which was built in the second half of the 19th century. At

7055-529: Was hit by artillery and damaged severely. During subsequent years, the Acropolis was a site of bustling human activity with many Byzantine, Frankish, and Ottoman structures. The dominant feature during the Ottoman period was a mosque inside the Parthenon, complete with a minaret. The Acropolis was besieged thrice during the Greek War of Independence —two sieges from the Greeks in 1821–1822 and one from

7140-501: Was intended to be a picture gallery. One particular problem posed by the northwest wing has been to explain the asymmetric placement of the doorway and windows in the front wall behind the colonnade. It was John Travlos who first observed that in the placement of its door the chamber resembled Greek banqueting rooms, both the androns of private houses and the larger dining halls associated with sanctuaries. His demonstration that seventeen dining couches could be placed end to end around

7225-469: Was not in use at this point but the entrance to the Acropolis was still through the Propylaia. In the following centuries the only information on the building is from traveller's reports or the diaries of military officers. Attempts to survey the building begin in earnest in the late eighteenth century, notably J.-D. Le Roy 's Ruines des plus beaux monuments de la Gréce 1758, and Stuart and Revett 's The Antiquities of Athens 1762-1804, but are hampered by

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