Athens

Athens, the largest city in Greece and its capital, has one of the longest and most distinguished histories of any city in Europe. The earliest settlements have been found in Athens on the Acropolis (the fortified sanctuary 200 feet above the city), and the civilization in Athens reached its highpoint in the 5th century B.C. when under its leader Pericles it became the cultural and artistic center of the Classical world. Home to the greatest of Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aritstole; Athens was also the birthplace of modern democracy. Today on the Acropopolis one sees the remains of the marvelous buildings rebuilt in th 5th century B.C. by the great leader Pericles after their destruction by the Persians: the Propylaia, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheum, and the Parthenon.

	The Propylaia The Propylaia (literally, "entryway") was the monumental entrance to the Acropolis. In ancient times, one ascended an inclining ramp that led visitors straight through the steps in front of the Propylaia. The Propylaia is a building of the Doric order (a few Ionic columns support the roof of the central wing), and was designed to make a lasting impression on anyone who visited the Acropolis. It has seen its share of damage throughout the years: In the 17th century Ventian bombardments on the Turkish-occupied Acropolis destroyed the West facade of the Propylaia and an explosion of the Turks' supply of gunpowder, stored in the east portico, when lighting struck the building, destroyed the architraves and several Ionic columns.
	The Temple of Athena Nike Directly to the right of the Propylaia stands the Temple of Athena Nike ("bringer of victory"). The temple, designed by the architect Kallikrates, was completed in 420 B.C. to commemorate the Athenians' victory over the Persians. According to the ancient traveler Pausanias, a wooden statue of Ahtena Nike stood within the temple and held a pomegrante in its right hand (a symbol of fertility) and a helmet in the left. Since this staute of Athena Nike had no wings, the temple acquired the name of "Apertos Nike" ("wing-less victory"). It is said that the staute was deprived of wings so it could never leave the city of Athens. It has been under restoration since 1998.
	The East Cella of the Erechtheum The Erectheum, built between 421 and 407 B.C. (there were several lapses in the construction due to the Persian War) replaced a sixth century temple to Athena. According to Pausanias, the Erectheum housed a number of ancient cults (which may account for its odd form) and many sacred objects: a wooden image of Athena Polias (which was believed to not have been man-made, but to have fallen from heaven), a salt well and the mark of Poseidon's trident, and an altar of Poseidon and Erectheus (a legendary king of Athens). Near the west end of the building were the shrines of Cecrops and Pandrosus, and the orignal sacred olive of Athena. Pictured here is the east cella of the Erectheum: the area here, behind the six columns of the Ionic order, was dedicated to the worship of Athena Polias. The Panantheatic Procession terminated here, where the wooden cult statue of Athena was on display.
	The Porch of the Caryatids Pictured here is one of the most distinctive structures of all of Classical architeture, the Porch of the Caryatids in the Southwest corner of the Erectheum. Caryatids were column-shafts formed in the shape of draped women: here the heads of the maidens seem to casually support the weight of the porch's roof on their heads. The Caryatids on the site are copies of the originals: five of them are in a helium-filled case in the Acropolis Museum, while the best preserved of the six is in the British Museum after it was sold to the museum by Lord Elgin. Legend has it that the five caryatids weep in the hope that someday the sixth statue whill be returned to its rightful home in Athens.
	The Parthenon Of all the buildings on the Acropolis, none is more famous than the Parthenon. It was a Temple of Athena (the word "parthenos" means "virgin" or "maiden") and was built between 447 and 432 B.C. It was built to house the enormous gold and ivory statue of Athena built by Phidias, and its main architects were Iktinos and Kallikrates. The Parthenon is generally regarded to be the most perfect example of a temple of the Doric order. Although the building appears perfectly straight from afar, the architects used several design tricks to create what is in fact a giant optical illusion. There is a bulge in the stylobate (the base of the temple on which the columns stand), and the columns taper slightly to counter the effect of looking up at the temple so that the building appears more symmetrical than it actually is. After Greece fell to Alexander the Great, the Parthenon has been used for various functions and has suffered great damage throughout the years. The great statue of Athena was looted by one of the Roman emperors and was taken to Contstantinople (after which it was never seen again), and the Parthenon became a Christian church. In 1456, Athens fell to the Ottoman Turks and the Parthenon was then converted into a mosque. In 1687, the Parthenon experienced its greatest damage: the Venetians, who were attacking the Ottomans, fired a mortar at the Parthenon which had been fortified and was being used as a gunpowder magazine. The shell exploded, destroying whatever was left of the roof and damaging some of the pillars. In 1975, the Greek government launched a massive renovation project of the Parthenon and the Acropolis- work continues on restoring the Parthenon to this very day.
	The Pediments and Metopes of the Parthenon Pictured here is the Eastern entrance of the Parthenon, in which picture one can see the remains of the pediment (the triangular section which rested above the horizontal structure supported by the columns) and the metopes (the marble panels decorated with sculptures that run along the outside wall). Little of the pediment remians, but according to Pausanias the sculptures on the Eastern pediment depicted the birth of Athena from her father Zeus's head (this part of the pediment is believed to have been lost when the Parhtenon was coverted into a Christian church). The 92 metopes, which run around the entire building, each depict mythological conflicts which are thought to be an allegory for the Greek's defeat of the Persians. The Eastern metopes (pictured here) depicted Gigantomachy (the battle between the Olympian gods and the Giants), the Southern Metopes depicted Centauromachy (the battle between the Centaurs and the Lapiths), the Western metopes depict Amazonomachy (the invasion of Athens by the mythical Amazons), and the Northern metopes likely depict scenes from the Trojan War (they are very damaged so it is difficult to tell).
	The Statue of Athena As noted above, a colossal statue of Athena stood in the Parthenon. The origninal staute was sculpted by Pheidias and stood about 40 feet high. Although the original is now lost, enough ancient accounts and copies of the statue (like this one in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens) exist so that scholars have an idea what the original sculpture looked like. Athena stands holding a Nike (Victory) on her right hand that extends forward from the elbow, as if offering Nike to the Athenian citizens. With her left hand she supports her shield which shelters a snake as it rests on the ground, and her lance that rests on her left shoulder.She is dressed with an Attica peplos, and on her head she wears a richly decorated helmet with a sphinx at the apex and two Pegasi on each side. Her breastplate is adorned with snakes and the head of Medusa at the center.

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