Erechtheion, Athens

The Erecththeion (or Erechtheum) is an ancient Greek temple on the north side
of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It is notable for a design that is at once elegant
and unusual.
Myth and Mystery
According to Greek mythology, the god Hephaestus once tried to rape Athena, the
virgin goddess and patron of the city. Unsuccessful, he impregnated the earth
instead, resulting in the birth of the demi-god Erichtonios. Raised by Athena,
Erichtonios became an early king of Athens and is regarded as the ancestor of all
Athenians.
History
The temple as seen today was built between 421 BC and 407 BC, but it is believed
to be a replacement for an older temple, since it is on the site of some of the most
ancient and holy relics of the Athenians:
• the Palladion, which was a xoanon (wooden effigy) of Athena
Polias (Protectress of the City) that fell from heaven
according to myth
• the tomb of Cecrops
• the tomb of Erechtheus
• the marks of Poseidon's trident and the salt water well (the
"salt sea") that resulted from Poseidon's strike, and
• the precincts of Herse, Pandrosus and Aglaurus (the three
daughters of Cecrops) and of the tribal heroes Pandion and
Boutes.
Within the foundations lived the sacred snake of the temple, which represented the
spirit of Cecrops and whose well-being was thought essential for the safety of the
city. The snake was fed honey-cakes by the priestesses of Athena Polias, who were
by custom the women of the ancient family of the Eteoboutadae. The snake's
occasional refusal to eat the cakes was thought a disastrous omen.
Parthenon, Athens
The Parthenon (Greek: Παρθενων) in Athens is the most famous surviving
building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world.
The Parthenon has stood atop the Acropolis of Athens for nearly 2,500 years and
was built to give thanks to Athena, the city's patron goddess, for the salvation of
Athens and Greece in the Persian Wars. The building was officially called the
Temple of Athena the Virgin; "Parthenon" comes from the Greek word
parthenos, "virgin."
Throughout its long life, the Parthenon has functioned most importantly as a Greek
temple, but has also been a treasury, a fortress, a church, and a mosque. Today, it is
one of the most recognizable icons and popular tourist attractions in the world.
History
Replacing an older temple destroyed by the Persians, the Parthenon was
constructed at the initiative of Pericles, the leading Athenian politician of the 5th
century BC. It was built under the general supervision of the sculptor Phidias, who
also had charge of the sculptural decoration. The architects were Iktinos and
Kallikrates. The purpose of the building was to house a 40-foot-high statue of
Athena Parthenos sculpted by Pheidias.
Construction began in 447 BC and the building was substantially completed by
438 BC, but work on the decorations continued until at least 433 BC. Some of the
financial accounts for the Parthenon survive, and show that the largest single
expense was transporting the stone from Mount Pentelicus, about 16km from
Athens.
In 454 BC, the Delian League's treasury was moved from the Panhellenic
sanctuary at Delos to the Acropolis. The Parthenon served as the most important
temple of ancient Greek religion for nearly a thousand years.
The temple was still intact in the 4th century AD, but by that time Athens was no
more than a provincial city of the Roman Empire with a glorious past. Sometime in
the 5th century the great statue of Athena was looted by one of the Emperors, and
taken to Constantinople, where it was later destroyed, possibly during the sack of
the city during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
Shortly after this the Parthenon was converted to a Christian church dedicated to
the Theotokos (Virgin Mary). The conversion of the temple to a church involved
removing the internal columns and some of the walls of the cella, and the creation
of an apse at the eastern end. This inevitably led to the removal and dispersal of
some of the sculptures. Those that depicted pagan gods were probably removed
deliberately, and may have been destroyed.
In 1456 Athens fell to the Ottomans, and the Parthenon was converted again, into a
mosque. Contrary to subsequent mythology, the Ottomans were generally
respectful of ancient monuments in their territories, and did not wilfully destroy the
antiquities of Athens, though they had no actual program to protect them. In times
of war they were willing to demolish them to provide materials for walls and
fortifications. A minaret was added to the Parthenon, but otherwise it was not
damaged further. European visitors in the 17th century testified that the building
was largely intact.
In 1687 the Parthenon suffered its greatest blow when the Venetians attacked
Athens, and the Ottomans fortified the Acropolis and used the Parthenon as a
powder magazine. On September 26 a Venetian shell exploded the magazine and
the building was partly destroyed. The internal structures were demolished,
whatever was left of the roof collapsed, and some of the pillars, particularly on the
southern side, were decapitated. The sculptures suffered heavily. Many fell to the
ground and their pieces were later made souvenirs. After this the building fell into
disuse.
By the late 18th century many more Europeans were visiting Athens, and the
picturesque ruins of the Parthenon were much drawn and painted, helping to arouse
sympathy in Britain and France for Greek independence. In 1801 the British
ambassador at Constantinople, the Earl of Elgin, obtained a permit from the
Sultan to make casts and drawings of the antiquities on the Acropolis, to demolish
recent buildings if this was necessary to view the antiquities, and to remove
sculptures from them. He took this as permission to collect all the sculptures he
could find. Some he prised from the building itself, others he collected from the
ground, still others he bought from local people.
Today these sculptures are in the British Museum, where they are known as the
Elgin Marbles. Other sculptures from the Parthenon are in the Louvre in Paris and
in Copenhagen. Most of the remainder are in the Acropolis Museum which stands
a few meters southeast of the Parthenon. A few can still be seen on the building
itself. The Greek government has been campaigning for many years, so far
unsuccessfully, for the British Museum sculptures (which it calls the Parthenon
Marbles) to be returned to Greece.
When independent Greece gained control of Athens in 1832, the minaret was
removed from the Parthenon and all the medieval and modern buildings on the
Acropolis removed. The area became a historical precinct controlled by the Greek
government. Today, the Parthenon attracts millions of tourists every year, who
troop up the path at the western end of the Acropolis, through the restored
Propylaea, and up the Panathenaic Way to the Parthenon, which is surrounded by a
low fence to prevent damage.