lesson 3- The Erechtheion Flashcards
between what years was the Erechtheion constructed?
Constructed between 421-406 BC
what was the most notable decoration on the Erechtheion?
On the south porch,which was facing the parthenon, stood six caryatids, statues of females that acted as columns. (they can also be known as ‘kore’ meaning maidens)
what was the significance of the spot where the Erechtheion was built?
-The Erechtheion marked the most sacred spot on the Acropolis- it was here that Athena and poseidon supposedly fought for patronage over Athens- the scene depicted on the west pediment of the parthenon.
what did the Erechtheion also house?
The building housed the grave of king krekops, a mythical king of Athens who had the head of a human and the body of a snake
who was the temple dedicated to?
-mythical king krekops and also dedicated to Erechtheios, the only semi-offspring of Athena and an Athenian hero.
what was the Erechtheion believed to be the house of?
-The erechtheion was believed to be the home of a serpent, a representation of kekrops himself.
what two ancient rites was the Erectheion used for?
the temple was used for two ancient rites- the plynteria, a cleansing festival and for the annual panathenaia. Plynteria- which comes from the Greek ‘to wash’, which was an annual festival in honour of Athena and aglauros, a hero who also had a sanctuary on the foothills of the acropolis. The festival lasted several days, during which the temples were closed and business ceased. The temple of Athena was surrounded by rope and no one could enter it so that the priestess could clean her statue properly. Since the goddess was hereby hidden from the city, it was believed that she was absent during the days of this festival.
-during the panathenaia, the erechtheion was the destination of the procession as the peplos was presented to the olive statue of Athena polias. Omens were also taken at the altar in the north porch.
what was the history of the Erectheion?
-during the persian wars, before the building of the Erechtheion was built, the attack on Athens was imminent and the Athenians were evacuating the city- according to Herodotus, the great snake, a guardian of the city, had not eaten the monthly honey-cake offering made to it. The priestess interpreted this as a sign to evacuate the city as the goddess had already abandoned the acropolis.
what is the historical meaning behind the Caryatids on the Erectheion?
Caryae, a state in Peloponnesus, sided with the Persian enemies against Greece; later the Greeks, having gloriously won their freedom by victory in the war, made common cause and declared war against the people of Caryae. They took the town, killed the men, abandoned the State to desolation, and carried off their wives into slavery- the architects of the time designed for public buildings statues of these women, placed so as to carry a load, in order that the sin and the punishment of the people of Caryae might be known and handed down even to posterity.”
