The Erechtheion is another temple which has an irregular plan and irregular dimensions due to the difficult nature of the physical environment. The architect for this piece of art was Philokles and the temple was built from 421 BC to 414 BC when it was abandoned, but then was completed in 409 BC-406 BC.
One of the big reasons why this temple’s plan was irregular was because the temple was surrounded by many sacred shrines and altars in the area at the time of construction. Due to the importance of religion for the Ancient Greeks, these landmarks could not be moved and so had to be included in the plan. This would have influenced Philokles greatly when designing this temple. There were four sets of columnar supports, four levels and three structural …show more content…
The exterior had a continuous frieze but with an unknown design. It had white marble figures carved in relief, attached to a flat background of dark grey marble. This was unusual because usually friezes would have vividly painted figures on a monochrome painted background. Ancient testimonies/inscriptions (from Plutarch) tell us that the entire building was lavishly decorated with wall frescoes, gilded rosettes, coloured features and low relief sculptures. The column bases had coloured glass and the capitals had a gilded pattern. Once again, symmetry was extremely important to the Ancient Greeks so a caryatid porch was built to balance the Northern porch. Caryatids were statues of maidens (korai) which acted as columns would. The Roman engineer Vitruvius stated that the people of Karyai in Sparta were defeated and killed by the Greeks and the women were enslaved and carried their shame – here they carried the weight of the building. Hair was thickened to widen the neck area and still provide structural strength. The Caryatids are a great example of the way the architect incorporated historical significance into the structure of the Erechtheion. After all, it was a temple on the Acropolis (the symbol of Athens) and therefore needed to reflect the past victories of the …show more content…
The Erechtheion in particular celebrates religion while honouring both Athena and Poseidon. The architect also accounted for the fact that within the foundations of the temple, there needed to be space for the sacred snake of the temple which represented the spirit of Cecrops - its wellbeing was essential for the safety of the city. The snake was fed honey cakes by the priestesses of Athena Polias – the snake’s occasional refusal to eat the cakes was a disastrous
One of the big reasons why this temple’s plan was irregular was because the temple was surrounded by many sacred shrines and altars in the area at the time of construction. Due to the importance of religion for the Ancient Greeks, these landmarks could not be moved and so had to be included in the plan. This would have influenced Philokles greatly when designing this temple. There were four sets of columnar supports, four levels and three structural …show more content…
The exterior had a continuous frieze but with an unknown design. It had white marble figures carved in relief, attached to a flat background of dark grey marble. This was unusual because usually friezes would have vividly painted figures on a monochrome painted background. Ancient testimonies/inscriptions (from Plutarch) tell us that the entire building was lavishly decorated with wall frescoes, gilded rosettes, coloured features and low relief sculptures. The column bases had coloured glass and the capitals had a gilded pattern. Once again, symmetry was extremely important to the Ancient Greeks so a caryatid porch was built to balance the Northern porch. Caryatids were statues of maidens (korai) which acted as columns would. The Roman engineer Vitruvius stated that the people of Karyai in Sparta were defeated and killed by the Greeks and the women were enslaved and carried their shame – here they carried the weight of the building. Hair was thickened to widen the neck area and still provide structural strength. The Caryatids are a great example of the way the architect incorporated historical significance into the structure of the Erechtheion. After all, it was a temple on the Acropolis (the symbol of Athens) and therefore needed to reflect the past victories of the …show more content…
The Erechtheion in particular celebrates religion while honouring both Athena and Poseidon. The architect also accounted for the fact that within the foundations of the temple, there needed to be space for the sacred snake of the temple which represented the spirit of Cecrops - its wellbeing was essential for the safety of the city. The snake was fed honey cakes by the priestesses of Athena Polias – the snake’s occasional refusal to eat the cakes was a disastrous