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• 1 media/IMG_1945.JPG 2018-08-18T04:52:33-07:00 Erectheion 5 image_header 2018-08-30T02:52:06-07:00 Constructed in order to house the ancient cult statue of Athena, the Erectheion was built between 421 and 406 BE on the Acropolis. After the Persian attack that destroyed the Old Propylon in 480 BC, restoration for the damaged buildings started in 447 BC by Pericles. The Erectheion began construction in 421 BC, but was further progress was stalled till its completion in 406 BC due to tension between Athens and Sparta. Made from Pentelic marble and named after Erectheus, a mythical demigod and Athenian king, the Erectheion housed the cult statue and served as a shrine center for other ancient cults to Erectheus, Kekrops, Hephaestus, and Poseidon. The original layout of the building is still debatable, as the asymmetrical nature of the building can be due to the length of construction time or the uneven slope of its foundation, where the floor of the northern end is three meters lower than its eastern counterpart, but the frieze of the temple was made of Eleusinian grey stone and foundations of Piraeus stone. However, some aspects are clear. The inner chamber of the sanctuary is about 22.22 meter by 11.16 meters, and was separated into four spaces. The eastern one housed the olive wood cult statue. A ‘sacred serpent’ believed to be an incarnation of Erectheus, was in the western chamber, and the others were used to house different religious and historical relics. There are six Ionic columns on the eastern side measuring 6.58 meters tall from base to capital. The north side features a porch dedicated to Poseidon Erectheus, and an altar and precinct for Zeus Hypatos. On the south wall stands the Caryatids, with the sacred olive trees to the southwest of the building. The Caryatids, or korai, are not limited to the Erectheion, but their Doric clothes, intricate hair, and bold stances make them look effortless in balancing the roof of the building. 
  
  
  On the Acropolis are exact replicas of the original, as five remain in the Acropolis museum and another resides in the British Museum in London. After its completion, the Erectheion was damaged by fire only a decade later, and was used as a harem for the Turkish governor in 1460. In 1801, Lord Elgin was allowed to remove anything from the monument and carried off one of the Caryatids and one of the eastern columns. However, partial excavations and reconstructions of the Erectheion started to be carried out from 1833, and still stands tall on the Acropolis. 
  
  
  
  Photo Credits to Google Images and Original Photographs 
  
  Sources:
  http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=973
  https://www.ancient.eu/Erechtheion/