Saturday, March 21, 2009

Acropolis

Acropolis

The Parthenon is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered one of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy, and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments.

Propylaea, Propylea or Propylaia is any monumental gateway based on the original Propylaea that serves as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. The word propylaea (propylaeum is the Latin version) 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. The Brandenburg Gate of Berlin and the Propylaea in Munich are specifically copied from the central portion of the Propylaea.


The Erechtheum is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens in Greece, notable for a design that is both elegant and unique.

The Chalkotheke (Greek for "bronze store") was a structure on the Athenian Acropolis. Its name and function are only known from 4th century BC inscriptions. One decree orders the listing of all objects stored in the Chalkotheke and the erection of a stele sincribed with that list in front of the building.

The Brauroneion was the sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia on the Athenian Acropolis, located in the southwest corner of the Acropolis plateau, between the Chalkotheke and the Propylaia in Greece. It was originally dedicated during the reign of Peisistratos. Artemis Brauronia, protector of women in pregnancy and childbirth, had her main sanctuary at Brauron, a demos on the east coast of Attica.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone theatre structure located on the south slope of the Acropolis of Athens. It was built in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla. It was originally a steep-sloped amphitheater with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof, and was used as a venue for music concerts with a capacity of 5,000.

The Theatre of Dionysus was a major open air theatre in ancient Greece, built at the foot of the Athenian Acropolis and forming part of the temenos of "Dionysus Eleuthereus" (or Eleutherios, for "Dionysus, the Liberator"). Dedicated to Dionysus, the god of plays and wine (among other things), the theatre could seat as many as 17,000 people, making it an ideal location for ancient Athens' biggest theatrical celebration, the Dionysia. It became the prototype for all theatres of ancient Greece.



Stoa of Eumenes between the Odeion of Herodes Atticus and the Theater of Dionysos is the Stoa of Eumenes, built by King Eumenes II of Pergamon (197-160 B.C.), who not only erected magnificent buildings in his own city (Great Altar of Pergamon) but also sought to do honor to Athens by the building of this stoa. His example was followed by his brother and successor Attalos II (160-139 B.C.), who built the Stoa of Attalos in the Agora, probably using the same architect.

The Athena Promachos was a colossal bronze statue of Athena sculpted by Pheidias, which stood between the Propylaea and the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and warriors and the protectress of Athens. Pheidias also sculpted two other figures of Athena on the Acropolis, the huge gold and ivory ("chryselephantine") cult image of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon and the Lemnian Athena. The designation Athena Promachos is not attested before a dedicatory inscription of the early fourth century CE: Pausanias for one, referred to it as "the great bronze Athena" on the Acropolis.

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