Athens - Acropolis: Central Hall of the Propylaeum
The monumental gateway, The Propylaeum, controlled entrance into the Acropolis. Though not built as a fortified structure, it was important that people not ritually clean, runaway slaves and other miscreats be denied access to the sanctuary where they could claim protection of the gods. The state treasury was also kept on the Acropolis, making its security important. Propylaea, Propylea or Propylaia (Greek: Προπυλαια) became the term given to all monumental gateways. The word propylaea is the union of the prefix pro (before or in front of) plus the plural of the Greek pylon or pylaion (gate), meaning literally that which is before the gates, but the word has come to mean simply gate building.
Built under the general direction of the Athenian leader Pericles, Phidias was given the responsibility for planning the rebuilding the Acropolis as a whole at the conclusion of the Persian Wars. Designed by the architect Mnesicles, construction began in 437 BCE and was terminated in 431, when as a result of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, the building was left unfinished. The Propylaeum survived intact through the Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods. During the period of Latin Empire, it served as the palace of the de la Roche family, who held the title Duke of Athens from 1204 to 1311. It was severely damaged by an explosion of a powder magazine in 1656. A tower of French or Ottoman date, erected on the south wing, was pulled down in 1874.
The Propylaeum was constructed of white Pentelic marble, gray Eleusinian marble or limestone (for accents), and structural iron. The structure consists of a central building with two adjoining wings on the west (outer) side, one to the north and one to the south.
The core is the central building, which presents a standard six-columned Doric façade both on the West to those entering the Acropolis and on the east to those departing. The columns echo the proportions (not the size) of the columns of the Parthenon. The central building contains the gate wall, about two-thirds of the way through it. There are five gates in the wall, one for the central passageway, which was not paved and lay along the natural level of the ground, and two on either side at the level of the building. The central passageway was the culmination of the Sacred Way, which led to the Acropolis from Eleusis.
The gate wall and the eastern (inner) portion of the building sit at a level five steps above the western portion, and the roof of the central building rose on the same line. The ceiling in the eastern part of the central building was famous in antiquity, having been called by Pausanias (about 600 years after the building was finished) "…down to the present day unrivalled." It consisted of marble blocks carved in the shape of ceiling coffers and painted blue with gold stars.
The wings to the right and left of the central building stood on the same platform as the central building but were much smaller, not only in plan but in scale. Like the central building, the wings use Doric colonnades and Doric entablatures. However, the central building also has an Ionic colonnade on either side of the central passageway between the western (outer) Doric colonnade and the gate wall. This is therefore the first building known to us with Doric and Ionic colonnades visible at the same time. It is also the first monumental building in the classical period to be more complex than a simple rectangle or cylinder.
The wing on the north (to the left as one enters the Acropolis) was famous in antiquity as the location of paintings of important Greek battles. Pausanias reports their presence, but few scholars believe the room was planned to hold them. Recent scholarship, has taken the northern wing to have been a room for ritual dining. The evidence for that is the off-center doorway and the position near the entrance to the Acropolis. The wing on the south, though much smaller, was designed to appear to be symmetrical. It seems only to have functioned as an access route to the Temple of Athena Nike
Athens - Acropolis: Central Hall of the Propylaeum
The monumental gateway, The Propylaeum, controlled entrance into the Acropolis. Though not built as a fortified structure, it was important that people not ritually clean, runaway slaves and other miscreats be denied access to the sanctuary where they could claim protection of the gods. The state treasury was also kept on the Acropolis, making its security important. Propylaea, Propylea or Propylaia (Greek: Προπυλαια) became the term given to all monumental gateways. The word propylaea is the union of the prefix pro (before or in front of) plus the plural of the Greek pylon or pylaion (gate), meaning literally that which is before the gates, but the word has come to mean simply gate building.
Built under the general direction of the Athenian leader Pericles, Phidias was given the responsibility for planning the rebuilding the Acropolis as a whole at the conclusion of the Persian Wars. Designed by the architect Mnesicles, construction began in 437 BCE and was terminated in 431, when as a result of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, the building was left unfinished. The Propylaeum survived intact through the Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods. During the period of Latin Empire, it served as the palace of the de la Roche family, who held the title Duke of Athens from 1204 to 1311. It was severely damaged by an explosion of a powder magazine in 1656. A tower of French or Ottoman date, erected on the south wing, was pulled down in 1874.
The Propylaeum was constructed of white Pentelic marble, gray Eleusinian marble or limestone (for accents), and structural iron. The structure consists of a central building with two adjoining wings on the west (outer) side, one to the north and one to the south.
The core is the central building, which presents a standard six-columned Doric façade both on the West to those entering the Acropolis and on the east to those departing. The columns echo the proportions (not the size) of the columns of the Parthenon. The central building contains the gate wall, about two-thirds of the way through it. There are five gates in the wall, one for the central passageway, which was not paved and lay along the natural level of the ground, and two on either side at the level of the building. The central passageway was the culmination of the Sacred Way, which led to the Acropolis from Eleusis.
The gate wall and the eastern (inner) portion of the building sit at a level five steps above the western portion, and the roof of the central building rose on the same line. The ceiling in the eastern part of the central building was famous in antiquity, having been called by Pausanias (about 600 years after the building was finished) "…down to the present day unrivalled." It consisted of marble blocks carved in the shape of ceiling coffers and painted blue with gold stars.
The wings to the right and left of the central building stood on the same platform as the central building but were much smaller, not only in plan but in scale. Like the central building, the wings use Doric colonnades and Doric entablatures. However, the central building also has an Ionic colonnade on either side of the central passageway between the western (outer) Doric colonnade and the gate wall. This is therefore the first building known to us with Doric and Ionic colonnades visible at the same time. It is also the first monumental building in the classical period to be more complex than a simple rectangle or cylinder.
The wing on the north (to the left as one enters the Acropolis) was famous in antiquity as the location of paintings of important Greek battles. Pausanias reports their presence, but few scholars believe the room was planned to hold them. Recent scholarship, has taken the northern wing to have been a room for ritual dining. The evidence for that is the off-center doorway and the position near the entrance to the Acropolis. The wing on the south, though much smaller, was designed to appear to be symmetrical. It seems only to have functioned as an access route to the Temple of Athena Nike