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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.
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A birds eye
view of the
Acropolis
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A model of the Acropolis
1.Parthenon
2.Propylaia
3.Erechtheion
4.Temple of Athena Nike
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Doric
Versus
Ionic
columns
Temple of Athena Nike
Mnesikles, Propylaia, 437 – 431 BCE
Left unfinished due to the start of the
Peloponnesian War
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?)
Parthenon
Pedimental
sculptures
Three goddesses
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