On the northern side of the Acropolis, not far from the Parthenon, is the ancient Greek temple Erechtheion. This outstanding monument is rightfully considered the pearl of ancient Greek architecture and one of the main temples of ancient Athens. It was built in 421-406 BC. and is dedicated to a whole galaxy of gods.

According to legend, the temple was built on the site of a dispute between Athena and Poseidon over control of Attica. The Erechtheion replaced an older temple that was on this site, but was destroyed during the Greco-Persian War. The construction was initiated by Pericles, although it was completed after his death. Perhaps the architect was the architect Mnesicles, but this fact has not been reliably confirmed.

The Erechtheion has no analogues in ancient Greek architecture. Made in the Ionian style, it has an asymmetrical layout not only because of the unevenness of the ground on which it was built, but also because of the variety of sanctuaries connected in it. The temple had two main entrances - from the north and east, they were decorated with Ionic porticoes. The eastern part of the Erechtheion was dedicated to the goddess Athena, and the western part to Poseidon and King Erechtheus.

On the south side is the famous Pandroseion portico, named after the daughter of King Cecropus Pandrosa. Architraves are propped up by six marble statues of girls (caryatids) - this is the main attraction of the Erechtheion... They are all replaced today on copy while the originals are in museums. One of the caryatids is kept in the British Museum, and the rest are in the Acropolis Museum.

The entire structure was surrounded by a frieze with overhead figures, but it has not survived to this day. The found fragments are kept in the Acropolis Museum.

In ancient times, a salt spring beat in the temple, which, according to legend, Poseidon carved out of the rock with his trident, and in the open courtyard there was a sacred olive tree donated to the city by Athena. Once in the temple there was a wooden statue of Athena, which, according to legend, fell from the sky. The statue was made from a sacred olive tree. The Erechtheion also contained a golden lamp by Callimachus and a statue of Hermes. It also housed the altars of the god of crafts Hephaestus and the hero Booth.

The temple got its name in honor of the Athenian king Erechtheus. His grave was under the northern portico. And today you can see the grave of the first king of Attica Kekrop at the western facade of the temple.

Almost nothing is reliably known about the interior decoration of the temple, but it can be assumed that it impressed with its grandeur.

The temple underwent major changes in the 7th century, when it was rebuilt in christian church... In times Ottoman Empire the temple was used as a harem Turkish Sultan... The first major restoration of the temple was carried out after Greece gained independence. Today the Erechtheion is included in the list World heritage UNESCO within the Acropolis of Athens.

Ancient Greece left to descendants many ancient buildings and structures, ranked among the wonders of the world. One of those not on the list of miracles the ancient world is, erected on the territory of the Acropolis of Athens.

Temple Erechtheion in Athens: history of creation

The ancient temple was built in 421-406 BC on the territory of the acropolis. History has not preserved the name of the architect.

Usually the Athenians dedicated a new temple to a specific god. Was no exception and. It was dedicated to three persons at once, highly revered in Athens: the goddess Pallas Athena, the patroness of the city, the ruler of the seas Poseidon and the king of Athens Erechtheus. It was in honor of the fact that the last found peace within its walls, that the sanctuary got its name. Moreover, Athena was dedicated Eastern temple, and the rest - western.

According to legend, it was erected on the site of a dispute between Poseidon and Pallas Athena for the right to possess the city and be its deity. In addition, many shrines of the city were kept here:

• the idol of Athena made of wood;
• statue of Hermes;
• a golden lamp that burned continuously, although oil was poured into it only once a year.

In the temple itself, there was a source of salt water, created by Poseidon, and an olive tree grew nearby - a symbol of the city, which Pallas Athena herself gave him. Thanks to this, the Erechtheion temple ranks 2nd among the most important religious buildings in Hellas (after the Parthenon).

Other significant buildings for the city were located next to the temple on the territory of the acropolis: the temple of Nika Apteros, the theater of Dionysus and others.

Erechtheion - Acropolis of Athens

Unlike the Parthenon, only priests had access here. Here they offered their sacrifices and performed rituals. Here, gifts were offered to the gods to whom he was dedicated, and to Erechtheus.

After the advent of Christianity, a Christian church was built in its place.

In the 17th century, the temple was severely damaged by the Venetians who fought with the local population. Then the building was restored a little, but it did not come to full restoration. In addition, the marauders did their best and took away many valuable items from there. Over the past centuries, 2 restorations of the temple have been carried out: in 1837-47 and 1902-09.

Name:

Erechtheion architecture

On the Acropolis of Athens, in the Erechtheion, the feminine Ionic order received its highest embodiment in all its diversity. There are two variants of the entablature here: with a frieze (east and north portico) and without it (in the portico of Caryatids); the latter reflects the older construction of the Ionic architrave, dating back to the wooden prototypes. The most ancient archaic Ionic temples did not have a frieze; the floor beams and cornice were directly supported by the architrave.

The picturesque, elegant and festive character of the decor in the Ionic order received its highest expression in the Ionic capital, in the rich plasticity of its volutes, balustra, and frieze.

In the Ionic order, some breaks and rhythmic ornamentation on them (cuts) were developed, which later became widespread.

The composition of the Erechtheion is distinguished by the fact that the walls of the cella, made of marble blocks, which are brought out to the outside, take part in it. General asymmetry of the composition located in different levels porticos, contrasts of space and blank walls, light and shadow - all this gives the architecture of the Erechtheion a special, picturesque character.

In the general ensemble of the Athenian acropolis, the Erechtheion, which has a small, as it were, "chamber" scale and complicated form, is subordinate to the main structure of the acropolis - the Parthenon, located on the most elevated place of the hill, which has big sizes, large scale and simple, monumental form.

About the Erechtheion as a monument of its era and the peculiarities of its composition

N.I. Brunov

Moscow, "Art", 1973

1. The Erechtheion fills a part of the Acropolis hill with its architectural and artistic composition. Asymmetry is associated with the relationship of the building to the terrain and to general character the landscape to which the Erechtheion adapts ...

1. The pedestal of a large statue of Athena the Warrior to the well-known point of movement of the viewer, walking from the Propylaea, hid the Erechtheion from him. Having skirted the statue, the viewer found himself facing the Erechtheion. Up to this point, the focus has been on the Parthenon. The gradual display of buildings one by one is typical of the Greek architect of the classical period ...

1. The complexity of the structure, combined with its small size, makes the Erechtheion look like a residential estate. From the outside, it resembles a residential building, which is adjoined by balconies and a garden, separated from the road by a fence. Visual representation about similar Greek country houses and palaces that have not come down to us are depicted on vases and reliefs, for example, scenes of Dionysus visiting the playwright dating back to a somewhat later time. For comparison, the plans of residential buildings excavated in Athens should also be drawn ...

1. Continuous change of architectural paintings of the Erechtheion
   • When architectural painting there is only a means of constructing in the mind of a non-picture architectural image, the viewer does not combine in his representation all the forms that the eye sees from one point of view into an integral picture, but connects forms visible from different points of view to each other into a non-picture three-dimensional whole, tearing each of these forms from a corresponding architectural painting ...
   • The first architectural picture is formed in front of the viewer walking from the Propiley. From here, the building is visible three quarters from the southwest. Let us remember that originally there was the now disappeared fence of the courtyard to the west of the Erechtheion ...
     1. The intersections of forms in the Erechtheion fall into real and visual. The first would be more correct to call the merging of forms with each other, since the intersection is, in the proper sense of the word, an apparent, from a certain point of view, covering of one part of the other, conditioned by the point of view of the building ...
     2. The Erechtheion contains a twofold asymmetry: the real asymmetry in the position of the porticoes in relation to the main part, which is clearly readable in the plan, and the visual asymmetry, due to the fact that the building constantly turns to the viewer in three quarters. This is especially important for the first architectural painting of the Erechtheion ...
     3. The spatiality of the first architectural painting of the Erechtheion is directly opposite to the planar nature of the relief surfaces of the Parthenon and its plastic volume ...
     4. In the Erechtheion, the frontality is violated, just as the canon of the peripter and the flatness of its colonnades are violated in it. The asymmetrical arrangement of the parts of the Erechtheion is deliberately designed to give the impression of chance. In the first architectural painting of the Erechtheion, an internal compositional pattern clearly emerges, giving unity to the heterogeneous components of the building.
     5. All verticals are subordinated to the horizontal extent of the first architectural painting of the Erechtheion, in which the southern wall and the fence of the courtyard spread horizontally and all forms are grouped in a row one after the other: the northern portico, the western side of the main part, the portico of the cortex and the eastern part of the southern wall. The diagonals are so inclined that they also approach the horizontal ...
     6. The relationship and overflow of the objective and visual planes create a constant vibration between them. Thanks to this, the specificity of an architectural painting, which distinguishes it from a painting in painting, does not disappear for a moment. Any architectural picture of the Erechtheion always retains the visually expressed possibility of moving further, which consists in the objective-volumetric nature of the parts and the whole, is always "open", always takes the viewer away from itself ...
     1. The Erechtheion, with the length of its outer masses, accompanies the path from the Propylaea past the Parthenon and is associated with the movement along this path from west to east. Everything in the Erechtheion encourages the viewer to move along its southern side. He is prompted to do this by the idea of ​​the complexity of the interior spaces and the location of the northern portico with the main entrance, which can only be approached if you walk around the building from the east ...
   • The transition between the first and second architectural paintings of the Erechtheion
     1. When the viewer leaves the point from which the first architectural painting is visible and continues on his way to the east, the girls' figures step on him at right angles to the main direction of his movement. Both compositionally and in terms of content, the portico of the caryatids has a clearly defined front side and is built frontally ...
     2. The southern side of the Erechtheion is one of the most remarkable parts of its architectural and artistic composition. The architect dared to give the part of the building, put forward in the most prominent place, the appearance of a simple smooth wall. The latter not only does not look boring, but the architect managed the most by simple means attract the attention of the viewer and keep him tense for some time while looking at the naked wall ...
   • The second architectural picture of the Erechtheion arises when the viewer is in front of the southeastern corner of the building and breaks down into three main constituent elements: south wall in the middle, caryatid portico on the left and east portico on the right. The second picture in many ways resembles the first ...
   • When looking at the Erechtheion from the east, a subtly designed system of balance and contrasts of individual porticos that are part of the composition comes to the fore. These contrasts are so varied and numerous that it is difficult to list them ...
   • The western part of the Erechtheion is dedicated to Poseidon Erechtevs - the "earth shaker" belonging to the group of chthonic, underground deities. This suggests that the deepening of the western naos of the Erechtheion into the ground is associated with the idea of ​​the chthonic aspect of Poseidon. Naos Athens for more high level more closely associated with the Parthenon, the statue of Athena Promachos and the public square on which the Panathenian procession took place ...

Sources:

• N. Brunov "Erechtheion", Publishing House of the All-Union Academy of Architecture, 1938
• Brunov N.I. "Monuments of the Acropolis of Athens. Parthenon and Erechtheion", Moscow "Art" 1973
• A.V. Ikonnikov, G.P. Stepanov Fundamentals of Architectural Composition Art, M. 1971
• Mikhailovsky I.B. “Theory of classical architectural forms”. Reprint edition. - M .: "Architecture-S", 2006. - 288 p., Ill.
• "Greek Architecture" by Allan Marquand, Ph.D., L.H.D. Professor of ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY IN RINCETON UNIVERSITY New York THE MACVILLAN COMPANY 1909
• K.I. Ronchevsky "Samples of ancient Greek architectural orders" Moscow, 1917
• P.P. Gnedich “General History of Arts. Live. Sculpture. Architecture". Modern version Moscow "Eksmo", 2009

The rocky rock of the Acropolis, which dominates the center of Athens, is the largest and most majestic ancient Greek shrine, dedicated mainly to the patroness of the city, Athena.

The most important events of the ancient Hellenes are associated with this sacred place: the myths of ancient Athens, the largest religious holidays, the main cult events.
The temples of the Athenian Acropolis are harmoniously combined with the natural environment and are unique masterpieces of ancient Greek architecture, expressing innovative styles and directions of correlation of classical art, they have had an indelible influence on the intellectual and artistic creation people over the centuries.

The Acropolis of the 5th century BC is the most accurate reflection of the splendor, power and wealth of Athens at its highest peak - the "golden age". In the form in which the Acropolis appears to us now, it was erected after its destruction by the Persians in 480 BC. NS. Then the Persians were finally defeated and the Athenians vowed to restore their shrines. The reconstruction of the Acropolis begins in 448 BC, after the Battle of Plataea, at the initiative of Pericles.

- Erechtheion temple

The Myth of Erechtheus: Erechtheus was the beloved and revered king of Athens. Athens was at enmity with the city of Eleusis, during the battle Erechtheus killed Eumollus, the leader of the Eleusinian army, and also the son of the god of the sea himself, Poseidon. For this, the thunderer Zeus killed him with his lightning. The Athenians buried their beloved king and named the constellation - Charioteer after him. At the same place, the architect Mnesicles erected a temple named after Erichtey.

This temple was built between 421 and 407 BC and contained the golden Kallimachou lamp. The construction of the Erechtheion did not stop even during the long Peloponnesian War.

The Erechtheion was the most sacred place of worship in Athens. The ancient inhabitants of Athens in this temple worshiped Athena, Hephaestus, Poseidon, Kekropos (the first Athenian king).

The entire history of the city was concentrated at this point and therefore the construction of the Erechtheon Temple began in this place:

♦ in this place a dispute broke out between Athena and Poseidon over the ownership of the city

♦ in the northern porch of the Erechtheion there is a hole where, according to legend, the sacred serpent Erechtonius lived

♦ here was the grave of Cecrops

The east porch has six Ionic columns, to the north there is a monumental entrance with a decorated gate, on the south side there is a porch with six maidens known as the Caryatids, who support the vault of the Erechtheion, in this moment they were replaced by plaster copies. Five of the caryatids are in the new Acropolis Museum, one is in the British Museum.

- one of the most significant monuments of Ancient Greek architecture. It is part of the ensemble of Athenian temples and is located in the Acropolis. It was built around 400 BC. This majestic structure architects Ancient Greece dedicated not only to the goddess Athena, but also to Poseidon, as well as to the king Erechtheus.

The caryatids are remarkable in this structure. These are the priestesses of the temple made of stone. Figures of these women have no analogues in ancient Greek culture, just as they are not found in any other country in the world. But similar sculptures can be seen in other cultures. Later, this style in architecture became widespread throughout Europe.

Literally - "originating from Caria" (a place in Ancient Greece in the Laconian region). The peculiar support beams are draped female statues in the classical Greek style. Caryatids lean against the walls and protrude a little of them.

Caryatids are very similar to columns or vertical supports. The invention of the Caryatids is credited exclusively to Greek architects. Legend has it: in the city of Kariya, local girls in honor of the holiday of Artemis arranged unusual dances... To do this, they put fruit baskets on their heads. Similar view- girls with baskets on their heads, have statues of the temple of the Erechtheion.

This grandiose monument of the Acropolis is considered the second largest. In ancient Greek culture, it was called the main temple dedicated to Athena. As you know, her cult was revered everywhere in Greece. The most public was the Parthenon Temple. The Erechtheion was revered as the temple of the priests of the goddess. It was in it that important religious rites were regularly performed, which were based on the exclusive worship of Athena.

In one of the sanctuaries of the Erechtheion there was an ancient sculpture of Athena. In the temple there was great amount premises and rooms in which prayers were held or relics associated with the high priestess were kept.

Who created the Erechtheion temple is still not known. But many researchers talk about Mnesicles. Scientists draw analogies in the layout of the Erechtheion with the famous temple of Propylaeus, the brainchild of Mnesicles. But the reliability of this information has not been confirmed. Most researchers tend to believe that the temple was created by the ancient Greek architects Archilochus and Philokles.

There is a legend that says that the construction of the temple was started for a reason. It was at the place where he stands that Poseidon and Athena once argued. They shared the superiority. In one of the rooms of the temple there is a trace, supposedly made by Poseidon's trident. This is how he expressed his rage in an argument with Athena. Once this trail was in open access, but later, when the temple was built, he found himself in one of the premises.

Not far from the Erechtheion is the entrance to the cave. According to legend, the snake of Athena lived in it. The animal was considered sacred. She guarded the town and the king of Erechtheus. By the way, the temple is named after him. But they did not immediately call him that. Initially, the Greeks called it the temple of Athena, since it was she who patronized the inhabitants. It was also called "the temple that houses the ancient statue of the goddess." It was named Erechtheion in the Roman period. One legend speaks of the Erechtheion as the son of King Erechtheus, another says that this was the name of the lord himself and the temple was named after him. According to Ancient Greek mythology, Erichthonius is a descendant of the god of fire. He was raised by Athena. She gave the baby in a closed casket to Gerse and Aglavra, the daughters of the then reigning king. The goddess strictly forbade the girls to look at the baby, but the virgins did not obey her, curiosity overpowered and, looking at the baby, they lost their minds. In horror, the princesses rushed from the very high mountain and crashed to death. And Erichthonius began to reign as soon as he grew up and matured.

Each side of the Erechtheion is framed by a unique stone lace. The ancient Greeks were truly true craftsmen. Perfection set in stone. Every detail is polished and refined. On one side of the building, you can distinguish paintings based on plots from Ancient Greek mythology. They concerned exclusively Erechtheus. The figures were attached to the building after the sculptors had carved them. Most of them are made of light colored marble. Some details were covered with gilding.

Not only time, but also people destroyed this temple. It was periodically restored and repaired. So, in the Byzantine period there was a Christian church. But when the Turks took over these lands, there was a harem in the Erechtheion. The Greeks subjected it to serious restoration only in the middle of the 19th century, and at the beginning of the 20th century. the portico of the Caryatids and the entire western part of the Erechtheion were restored.
Statues supporting the ceiling

The base of the Erechtheion building is rectangular. Its length is a little more than 23 meters, its width is almost 12. Each of the sides of the temple is unique. Any of the facades looks different. In the western part of the building, where the tomb of the first ruler of Attica is located, the world famous Caryatids are located. The almost three-meter plinth holds 6 statues of girls. They are evenly spaced around the perimeter and support the overlap with their shapes. The growth of these girls is quite high - more than 2 meters. The statue on the left side of the portico is a mirror image of the girl on the right side.

The sculptor's skill amazes cultural experts all over the world. The girls look quite natural and life-affirming. Tall ladies are very dignified. Their heads are raised proudly. Their beautiful faces are adorned with rich hair.

Caryatids are very calm and contemplative. The beautiful virgins are standing in the usual position for those times - on one leg, the other slightly bent. But in what form were the hands of the Caryatids, until some time it was not known. As a result of the numerous destruction of the temple, even the written evidence of what the virgins' hands looked like initially disappeared.

In the middle of the 19th century, stone copies of the most ancient Caryatids were discovered in one of the Italian villas, or rather on its ruins. Only thanks to this unique find, archaeologists realized that with one hand the ladies are holding their clothes, and in the other there is a jug, which is used in the ritual of sacrifice.

Cultural scientists express the idea that Caryatid girls are representatives of the most noble and highly respected Athenian families. Arrephors - so called the ministers of the cult of Athens, were elected according to a special principle. Their business was the creation of the sacred garment of Athena, whose statue (it was kept in the Erechtheion) was decorated in a new way every year.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Caryatids were subjected to monstrous vandalism. One of the figures wanted to have an Englishman, Lord Elgin. He broke the stone maiden and took it away irrevocably. Now in its place is exact copy, which the Greeks created with great difficulty. The virgins stand on their pedestals without hands, and the figures themselves have been quite damaged by time. Despite this, the caryatids are considered the highest aerobatics skill of ancient Greek sculptors. After many centuries, they have not lost their charm and retained their unique beauty.