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The Acropolis altogether

The Acropolis was the place of worship of Athena, the patron goddess of Athens. But there were many sacred buildings. And the Panathenaic procession would culminate at the Propylaea and priests would enter the Acropolis. But the set of buildings, overall, were position in a place in the city to be visible, at a higher place, from all around. To advise and remind everyone of the struggle, the agon (ἀγών), in each person.

This section explores the design and meaning of:

The Propylaea
The Temple of Athena Nike
The Erechtheion
The Parthenon

The meaning of the four main structures on the Acropolis

The Propylaea

This is the great gate to the Acropolis, with wooden panels with drawings and an ornate entrance.

It would be the only way to access the Acropolis that was surrounded with walls developed in different stages.

The Temple of Athena Nike

Small but most elegant, the temple was built on the right hand side of the Propylaea. After the victory of the Athenians against the Persians, it was dedicated to Athena Nike Apteros, i.e. wingless victory Athena - so that victory would never fly away from the city.

The position of the temple itself was in direct view from the Pnyka where citizens would congregate to discuss city issues - including foreign affairs. And, in their discussions, the temple would be a visible reminder of the danger from the East.

Similar to the Parthenon, it had a frieze with representations.

Visitors can see the frieze up close in the Acropolis Museum. Part of it was taken away by Elgin (and is currently in the British Museum).

The Erechtheion

A truly unique - idiosyncratic - building, really sacred. Named after the king of Athens Erecthea.

The olive tree was the offering from goddess Athens to the city.

The legendary marks from Posiedon's trident are visible on the Acropolis.

The identity of the famous six figures of women, the Caryatids, is subject to debate. Today, the Caryatids at the building are replicas - visitors can see the five original Caryatids in the Acropolis Museum (except one that was taken away by Elgin and is currently in the British Museum).

The blank wall next to the Caryatids is where the peplos (mantle) to Athena would be hang.

The Parthenon

A masterpiece in architecture often praised for its excellence in engineering, and with wonderful set of themes in its integrated sculptural components, comprising an astonishing map to wisdom.

The article below describes the thematic parts of the Parthenon one layer at a time - and all together as a 3D map to wisdom, addressed to each citizen and all of the city together.

Spotlight: The meaning of the Parthenon

A walk along the Parthenon’s thematic layers: a three-dimensional map displayed at the top of the city for everyone

This video is available in English ⧉, Greek ⧉ and Italian ⧉ on the AcropolisofAthens.gr YouTube channel ⧉ (the language version provided on this page is English). It presents the elements described in the following article.

A map to wisdom: What message would a citizen read in the Parthenon, seeing it at the top of the city?

How would you interpret the Parthenon today?

Outer layer (unit 1): the pediments

Eastern pediment: Goddess Athena is born coming out of the forehead of her father Zeus. It is the beginning of the day: this is the pediment that faces the sun when it rises. These temporal coordinates are also sculpturally shown as Athena is born while the chariot of Helios, the sun, comes into the scene from the left and the chariot of Selene, the moon, is leaving the scene on the right. Wisdom arises with light.

Western pediment: the competition between Athena and Poseidon ends, a moment of reconciliation, in the plain of Attiki, as sculpturally presented between rivers Ilissos and Kifissos and spring Kalliroi (geographic coordinates). There are hints of sculpted waves that could signify a flood caused by Poseidon (sound of waves in the video at 1 min 21 s). The Athenians have decided that goddess Athena will be the patron goddess of the city; the city takes the name of the goddess; her symbol is the olive tree, a millennial tree. King Cecrops, the state, the citizens, choose to seek wisdom in eternity. The theme is the freedom to make a choice.

Outer layer (unit 2): the metopes

On each of the four sides of the temple, the metopes are grouped representing: a) the battle of Centaurs and Lapiths (the battle between barbaric instincts and human values), b) the battle of Amazons and ancient Greeks (the battle for power between men and women), c) the Trojan War (the political battle), and d) the battle of Giants and Olympian gods (the battle of forces in a belief system). The theme here is the human struggle (agon; ἀγών).

Inner layer: the frieze

The frieze runs in a specific, common direction, starting at one point (southwestern) and leading to the point above the entrance of the temple in the middle of the eastern side (the frieze direction is shown in the video at 2 min 45 s). The city, men and women, (animals are also presented in parts of the sequence) are moving in the same direction, it is a procession, to eventually meet their heroes and gods, all together, towards knowledge, wisdom (συν-ειδέναι, con-scire). It is a citizen’s conscience, the conscience of a state, seeking, moving to wisdom. The frieze could also be interpreted as a representation of reform, depicting the common direction of all citizens, the city, and thus representing movement with a common purpose.

The procession leads to one point where a robe is handed over to a child that is right above the entrance of the Parthenon’s main chamber where goddess Athena is. Viewing the child as a symbol of innocence, this could mean that only as a child, via innocence, one can find wisdom. [Interestingly, other religions/philosophies also report this concept: “Whoever does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will certainly not enter it” (Christianity) and only with an innocent mind you can be in the Tao (Taoism).]

The core: the nave

In the nave, the main chamber of the temple, there is the statue of goddess Athena, the goddess of wisdom. In the innermost layer, in the core, you find wisdom.

Further remarks

The map can be viewed as bidirectional, as it presents the layers to be crossed to reach wisdom (struggle – reform – innocence – inner core), and the same layers to be crossed to disseminate wisdom (inner core – innocence – reform – struggle), as, for example, for the dissemination of a new political system.

The Parthenon, as a three-dimensional thematic layout, is presented at the tip of a city (άκρο+πόλις, acro+polis), to be seen by everyone. It is a message for everyone, with reference to humans, individually and as a group (democracy). It constitutes a reference, a guide to the progression of a person, as a participant in the city, a citizen, and the city as an entity.

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Text and video editing by Nikolaos Chatziandreou (theme researched from 2004 to 2013; video created in 2015, text posted on AcropolisofAthens.gr in 2019). The thematic references to the sculptural elements of the temple are based on common bibliographical sources that report the same sculptural identities. The proposed meaning of the sculptures, as thematic subunits and a complete set, is a result of the author’s free interpretation.

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