"ATHENS, THE CITY OF THE GODDESS" 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5

In 437 B.C. the architect Mnesicles began his project for the Propylaea, the monumental new gateway to the sanctuary of the Acropolis, on the site of a much more modest one built under Pisistratus. After five years work, almost certainly by the same craftsmen who had only recently completed the Parthenon, the Propylaea became the point of arrival for the last, winding ramps of the Sacred Way.

The Propylaea, by Mnesicles (437-433 B.C.), forms the architectural threshold between the city and its sanctuary, and provides a glorious entrance to the Acropolis. The structure was combined with the famous Picture Gallery, where paintings by the greatest masters of the time were kept.
It was an appropriate entrance to the hill dedicated to Athena. Providing the immense Parthenon with an entrance of appropriate proportions, elegance and dignity was not easy. The space available was asymmetrical and limited, the terrain was uneven and existing monuments and sacred precincts had to be taken into account. Mnesicles cleverly designed a marble structure, at the top of which steeply rising steps, sat astride a rocky ridge, well adapted to and concealing the rugged terrain. The proportions and dimensions of each element of the building were carefully worked out, to take full advantage of the building's spectacular position and function. This view shows the well preserved. eastern part of the Propylaea on the inner side of the sanctuary.

A Doric pronaos with six columns at the front, formed the imposing entrance to the entire sanctuary of Athena. The vestibule was divided into three naves by two rows of three slender Ionic columns. In the surrounding walls were five steps interrupted in the centre by a passage for chariots and animals. The steps follow the slope of the hill, a brilliant solution to the problem of the gradient. Beyond the doors another Doric pronaos, identical to the first, overlooked the sacred enclosure and provided a splendid frame for Phidia's huge bronze statue of Athena Promachos and a view of the Parthenon. At the sides of the Propyaea were two colonnaded wings. The northern one comprised of a rectangular chamber, the Pinakotheke, eventually used to house famous paintings.

The elegant small temple of Apteros Nike ( Wingless Victory ), stands on the SW bastion of the Propylaea. The goddess whose wings were cut off so she could never leave the city of Athens.

The Ionic temple of Apteros Nike stood at the side of the Propylaea on the southwest bastion, which had been faced in Pentelic marble in previous decades. It was built between 430 and 410 B.C. with frequent interruptions caused by war, to a plan of thirty years earlier by Callicrates and then used for a temple of Demeter and Kore on the banks of the Ilissus river. Beautifully harmonious in its proportions and built of Pentelic marble, the temple was enhanced by slender Ionic columns only at the front and rear, surmounted by a running frieze with scenes of the war between Greeks and Trojans. An elegant marble balustrade, decorated with very low - relief sculptures portraying a procession of figures expressing Victory, ran around the temple, to protect worshippers on the terrace perched high on the slopes of the Acropolis. The quality bears clear evidence of Phidias' influence. But it shows an even greater ability to convey the subtle play of light and shadow on the drapery and in the dynamic poses of the figures, and the name of Callimachus, one of the Phidias most talented pupils has been suggested. One interesting aspect is the change in the building's political message, designed in 460-450 B.C. to celebrate Athenian victory over the Persians, the temple was actually built much later, during the Peloponnesian War and so it became essentially a tribute to Athenian successes over their new enemy - the Spartans.

You can view my portfolio of photos at http://www.panoramio.com/user/45649/tags/Acropolis or http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickolaos/tags/akropolis/ 

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