Erechtheum
Title
Erechtheum
Date
421-405 BCE
Identifier
1789
Creator
Mnesikles
Creator Nationality
Greece
Work Type
built works
Work Location
Athens
Style/Period
Classical
Subject
temples
Description
Southwest view of the Erechtheum on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens "The most exceptional Ionic building on the Acropolis is the enigmatic Erechtheum, to the north of the Parthenon. Built about 420 B.C., the temple was regarded with special veneration. Its site was particularly sacred, for it included the tomb of Cecrops, the legendary founder of Athens, the rock that preserved the mark of Poseidon's trident, and the spring that arose from it. In a walled area just to the west of the temple stood the sacred olive tree of Athena. The building's complexity of plans and levels can be partly understood from this complicated archaeology, as well as from its having housed not only a shrine to Athena Polias, but also altars to Poseidon, god of the sea; Hephaestus, god of fire; Erechtheus, a mythical king of Athens, who had battled unsuccessfully with the sea god; and Butes, brother of Erechtheus and priest to Athena and Poseidon. Moreover, spoils from the Persians were kept in the temple, as well as the famous golden lamp of Callimachus, which burnt for a year without refilling and had a chimney in the form of a palm tree,"--Marvin Trachtenberg and Isabelle Hyman. Architecture: from Prehistory to Post-Modernism. p94.
Reproduction Type
jpeg
Copyright Statement
©2013 Lawrence Technological University. These images may be used for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes without the explicit permission of LTU.
ID Number
A1GRATH2-5421BE2A1
- Date Added
- August 29, 2013
- Collection
- LTU Digital Images
- Item Type
- VRA Core
- Citation
- “Erechtheum,” LTU Digital Images, accessed May 4, 2024, https://ltuimagecollection.omeka.net/items/show/11810.