#erectheion

The Erectheion in Athens with the stunning Caryatid porch 🏛🏛

Temple of Erectheion

The Erectheion was built in between 421 and 406 BCE on the Athenian acropolis, and it represents the significance and power of Greek culture. It’s named after Erechteus, the demigod and king, and serves a religious purpose as a shrine to other famous mythical figures.

This temple was the last one to be constructed after the Persian attacks, but it was completed by Philocles after the Athenian and Spartan disputes. The Pentelic marble was once pure white, but it has yellowed over time, giving it a radiant glow when the sun hits. Similarly, different times of the day paints and transforms the temple creating different tones.

The main feature is the south porch, which features six caryatids. These are unique columns carved into the shape of women with plaited hair, layered clothing, and stiff legs for support.

The floor plan contains a cella divided into four parts, with the biggest one holding the wooden cult statue of Athena. The north porch, sacred to Poseidon and Zeus, features six Ionic columns, while the main entrance in the east also has six Ionic columns with entasis (thicker bases) that gives the illusion of sturdiness.

An Ionic frieze surrounds the temple, with wooden pediment roofs and tiles on the north porch and the flat roof on the south side. The asymmetry of the temple juxtaposes the perfect symmetry of the Parthenon, its neighbor. In many ways, though they contrast, the two temples are complementary in building up the dominance of the Athenian acropolis.

Bibliography:

Ananiades, D, Ancient Greece Temples And Sanctuaries (Toubis, Athens, 2010) Boardman, J, Greek Sculpture The Classical Period (Thames & Hudson, London, 2005).

Green, P, The Parthenon (Newsweek Book Division, New York, 1973) Hornblower, S, The Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford University Press, USA, 2012).

Papathanassopoulos, G, The Acropolis (Krene Editions, Psychico, 2006) Servi, K, The Acropolis (Ekdotike Athenon, 2011).

Vingopoulou, I, Athens (Bonechi, Florence, 2005).