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Pericles' Building Programme - Coggle Diagram
Pericles' Building Programme
Propylaea
a monumental gateway into the Acropolis
The architect, Mnesikles, had trouble building on the side of a steep rock but completed it within five years 437-432
It had five parts: a central hall, and then four wings, two on each side
Made of marble, with a dark blue ceiling studded with golden stars
Athena Promachos
'Athena who fights in the front line'
This bronze statue is seen right as you pass through the Propylaea
It was not built as part of the building programme, but in 450s by Pheidias
The Acropolis
After the Persian sacking of Athens in 480 and 479, the Athenians swore not to rebuild the temples on the Acropolis
They wanted to let the burnt remains of the temples remind them of how close they had come to destruction
But, by the 440s, the Persian threat had reduced and Pericles promoted an ambitious building programme for the city
Parthenon
The grandest building on the Acropolis, dedicated to Athena Parthenos - 'Athena the maiden'.
Construction began in 447 and it was huge. Large temples usually had an arrangement of 6 x 13 columns, but the Parthenon had 8 x 17
It served as the treasury of Athens and was built in marble and decorated in green, blue and gold
Its pediments depicted key moments in the mythology of Athens
The east depicted the birth of Athena
The west pediment showed the competition between Athena and Poseidon as to who would be the patron deity of Athens. Poseidon offered the Athenians a spring of salty water, while Athena offered the olive tree. Because the water was not drinkable, the people chose Athena and the city took her name
The Parthenon is famous for its frieze - the continuous sculpted narrative which led around the outer walls of the building, depicting the panathenaic procession
Inside the temple was Pheidias' statue of Athena Parthenos which stood nearly 12 metres tall
Erechtheion
on the north side of the acropolis, work started on this at the end of the 420s, after Pericles' death
the main part of the temple was dedicated to Athena Polias - 'Athena the defender of the city'.
Inside was a sacred olive-wood statue of Athena which Pausanias claims was the most revered image f the goddess in the whole of Attica
Also included spaces for worship of other deities, including Poseidon
Its southern porch has statues of six young women, the Caryatids, serving as columns
Temple of Athena Nike
relatively small and simple temple
east side of the frieze shows a group of gods and goddesses, while the other three sides depict battle scenes
around the temple was a wall which had reliefs of the goddess Nike engaged in sacrifices. In these depictions, she does not have wings to suggest that victory would never leave Athens
'Athena of victory'
Other Places
South east of the acropolis, a concert hall was constructed called the Odeon
on the other side of the Acropolis stood the temple of Hephaestus
At the southern tip of Attica a new temple to Poseidon was built at Sounion which many ships had to sail past and so it was an appropriate place to worship the god of the sea
Criticisms
The key argument put forward was that the money paid by Athens' allies towards the Delian League was being used to adorn the city of Athens.
Thucydides of Alopece was the leading critic and this lead to his ostracism