Camp J. The Archaeology of Athens

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olive tree and Poseidon, about to strike the rock of the Acropolis with his trident. The olive

tree and a well of salt water, which sprang up where the trident struck, were the tokens of

the contest, the exact nature of which is uncertain. On either side of the central figures were

two-horse chariot groups, and in the wings were the legendary royal families of early

Athens.

All ninety-two metopes of the Doric frieze running around the outside of the temple

were sculpted as well. Although the metope reliefs of the east, north, and west sides were

systematically hacked away by early Christians, and the south central metopes were de-

stroyed in the explosion of 1687, the subject matter of the four sides is certain. Each side

tells a different story, yet all are bound thematically. The east end showed gods fighting gi-

ants, the south side Greeks fighting centaurs, the west end Greeks fighting Amazons, and

the north side Greeks fighting Trojans. The theme that unites all four sides is the triumph

of civilization over barbarians, and we are intended to see here a symbolic reference to the

triumph of Athens over the barbarian Persians. Historical scenes on public buildings are

78 CLASSICAL ATHENS

71. East end (entrance) of the Parthenon.

[To view this image, refer to

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still rare at this period, and the war is therefore

alluded to only in mythological terms. In some

sense the Parthenon should be seen as a long-de-

layed victory monument for the epic struggle

against the Persians, which in the eyes of Classi-

cal Athenians took on the superhuman dimen-

sions of legend, one more chapter in the conf lict

between East and West which has so often been played out in the eastern Mediterranean.

Ringing the building on top of the two porches and the solid side walls was a sculpted

Ionic frieze facing outward toward the exterior colonnades. The scene here is usually inter-

preted as a version of the Panathenaic procession, the huge formal parade which made its

way from the lower city to the Acropolis to present the cult image of Athena with a newly

woven robe. Two streams of action began at the southwest corner and ran in opposite di-

rections, meeting over the eastern doorway. The frieze was a celebration of the people of

Athens. Much of the space was given over to the cavalry: handsome, aristocratic young men

mounting up and riding out on spirited steeds. At the head of the parade came the sacrifi-

cial victims (both sheep and bulls), bearers of the sacrificial paraphernalia, musicians, and

elders. Over the center of the doorway was an enigmatic scene involving the peplos (robe),

watched by the gods and goddesses of Olympos, who are seated on low stools.

The final element of the sculptural program was the colossal chryselephantine statue

of Athena, described in the second century

. by Pausanias (1.24.5–7):

The image is made of ivory

and gold. Its helmet is sur-

mounted in the middle by a

figure of a sphinx . . . and

on either side of the helmet

are griffins wrought in

relief. . . . The image of

Athena stands upright, clad

Perikles 79

72. Detail of the northwest corner of the

Parthenon showing the western metopes with

the Amazonomachy at right.

73. Parthenon frieze, west end.

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

80 CLASSICAL ATHENS

74, 75

74. Marble Roman copy of the

Athena Parthenos, Pheidias’ gold-

and-ivory statue in the Parthenon,

2nd century a.d.

75. Clay token dating ca.

400–375 b.c., preserving

the earliest representation

of the Athena Parthenos.

in a garment which reaches to her feet; on her breast is the head of Medusa

wrought in ivory. She holds a Victory (Nike) about 4 cubits [2 meters] high, and

in the other hand a spear. At her feet lies a shield, and near the spear is a serpent,

which may be Erichthonios. On the base of the statue is carved in relief the birth

of Pandora.

Numerous later copies on a much smaller scale in marble, terra-cotta, and gold bear out

this description, though it seems that the serpent once coiled up the other side of the god-

dess, and the column often shown under her right hand was an addition, not part of the

original design. The statue was dedicated in 438

. The f lesh would have been carved of

ivory, and the drapery in sheets of gold, attached to a wooden or

metal armature. The gold was regarded as part of the state treasure

of Athens and could be removed if necessary. Pheidias was the

sculptor, and it is clear that his masterpiece made a great impres-

sion in antiquity; the statue must have been literally awe-inspiring,

standing more than 9 meters high, gleaming in the huge dark

cella of the Parthenon.

The sculptural program of the Parthenon defines Peri-

kles’ and Pheidias’ view of Athens. The cult image and pedi-

ments honor Athena, patron of the city, in all her glory, the re-

cipient of this most perfect and ornate of all Greek temples;

the Doric frieze refers symbolically to Athenian triumphs

over the Persians; and the Ionic frieze depicts and cele-

brates the Athenians themselves, fortunate citizens of

Greece’s foremost city. In many ways the Parthenon is a

victory monument for Athens as an imperial force, built at

[To view this image, refer to

the print version of this title.]

[To view this image, refer to

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the height of the city’s powers and paid for out of funds unwillingly contributed by its allies in

the Delian League. Although the building housed a statue, it need not be thought of as an ex-

pression of Athenian religious fervor; there is no known priestess of Athena Parthenos, and

no altar was built to accompany the temple. Throughout antiquity the focal point of cult ac-

tivity on the Acropolis was to be found on the north side, the area occupied in the fifth century

by the building known as the Erechtheion.

The Parthenon served also as the repository of state funds and other offerings be-

longing to the Athenians; it was, in effect, a huge treasury. Special boards of treasurers were

appointed to render an exact yearly accounting of the funds available as well as of the value

and weight of the offerings stored there. These accounts make fascinating reading, for they

give a picture of objects of precious metals which have not survived because the gold or sil-

ver was plundered, melted down, and reused. They also describe materials which do not

readily withstand the effects of time, such as wood and ivory. The range of objects is

extraordinary and makes the Parthenon sound rather like a crowded attic or antiques store:

vessels of gold and silver, coins, carved gemstones, small statues, jewelry, furniture, musi-

cal instruments, gold wreaths, weapons, and armor.

Some objects show up in the accounts year after year, sometimes for as many as

twenty-three consecutive years. Here is a partial list of what was in the Parthenon in 434/3

.: a gold wreath, five gold phialai (libation bowls), two nails of gilded silver, six Persian

daggers, twelve stalks of golden wheat, two gilded wooden baskets, a gilded wooden box

and incense burner, thirty-one bronze shields, seven Chian couches, ten Milesian couches,

nine sabers, four swords, fourteen breastplates, six thrones, four stools, a gilded lyre, three

ivory lyres, four wooden lyres, and thirteen bronze feet for couches. Not everything kept on

the Acropolis and listed by the treasurers was of great value: “eight and a half boxes of rot-

ten and useless arrows” show up for years (IG I

343–346, 350–359). The detail of the ac-

counts is impressive; one example gives some idea of the splendor of the decoration of the

doors leading into the cella of the Parthenon, in disrepair after several decades:

The doors, the ones into the Hekatompedon [cella], are lacking these parts and

are not complete. Around the lion’s head is missing one of the leaves, and

around the front part of the ram five of the smaller leaves are missing. Around

the front part of the gorgon’s head a strip of molding about eight dactyls long

is missing. The nails in the lowest row of the door lack three poppy heads, two

on one side, one on the other. These are in the care of the treasurers in the

transfer. Starting from the first nail of the right door some gold has fallen off,

the length of ten dactyls, eleven dactyls across, and two dactyls in depth. (IG

1455)

Perikles 81

And the bureaucratic mentality of the treasurers may be glimpsed in the following crabby

heading of an account:

Gold wreaths, which were handed over to us by the treasurers in the archonship

of Euxenippos [305/4

.], who recorded neither the archon in the year they

were dedicated nor the names of the dedicants. (IG II

1486)

Since antiquity, the Parthenon has survived many vicissitudes. The interior of the

building was badly damaged in the Roman period, and the interior colonnade had to be re-

placed. The date of this damage and subsequent repairs has been much debated. In the

sixth century

., apparently, the building was converted to a Christian basilica, then used

as a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Frankish period and as a mosque during the Turkish

domination. Various changes were made to the building, but the basic structure survived

until 1687, when the Venetians under Francesco Morosini were besieging the Turks on the

Acropolis. Numerous artillery shots hit the temple, and one fell through the roof, ignited

the powder stored there, and blew up the building. A mosque was built into the ruins at the

east end in about 1700, and in 1800–1801 Lord Elgin’s agents stripped the Parthenon of

many of its sculptures and sent them to England.

THE PROPYLAIA

The next building to go up on the Acropolis after the Parthenon was the Propylaia, the

monumental gateway to the citadel. It is one of the most remarkable Greek buildings ex-

tant, though its state of preservation and unusual plan make it difficult for modern visitors

to appreciate at first glance. Pausanias describes the building as follows (1.22.4–7):

There is but one entrance to the Acropolis; it admits of no other, being every-

where precipitous and fortified with a strong wall. The Propylaia has a ceiling of

white marble, and for the beauty and size of the blocks it has never yet been

matched. . . . On the right of the gateway is a temple of Wingless Victory.... On

the left of the portal is a room containing pictures.

Plutarch provides further information (Perikles 13.7):

82 CLASSICAL ATHENS

Opposite 76. The Propylaia as it would have appeared during a Panathenaic procession.

(Watercolor by Peter Connolly)

The Propylaia of the Acropolis was brought to completion in the space of five

years; Mnesikles was their architect.

Some of the original building accounts also survive, and these confirm that the Propylaia

took only five years to construct, from 437 to 432. Work began after the major construction

of the Parthenon was completed in 438 and stopped with the outbreak of the Pelopon-

nesian War against Sparta in 432/1.

There are indications that the building was never completely finished. In designing

the complex structure, as detailed study of the remains has shown, the architect, Mnesi-

Perikles 83

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kles, drew up several plans before construction began. The basic design of the building

consisted originally of five parts: a large central hall with projecting wings off the four cor-

ners. Though the two eastern wings were laid out, they were never built, leaving only the

two western wings to f lank the columnar facade of the entrance. Both wings have symmet-

rical facades of three small Doric columns set at right angles to the main facade, but there

the similarity between them ends. The northwest wing served as a picture gallery as early

as the second century

., as we learn from the traveler Polemon. Pausanias, writing sev-

eral centuries later, also saw paintings and describes several portraits and a variety of

mythological scenes on display: Diomedes and Odysseus at Troy, Orestes killing Aegisthus,

the sacrifice of Polyxena, Achilles and Odysseus on Skyros, and Perseus and Medusa. The

facade of three columns and the irregular placement of the door and two windows behind

it has puzzled architectural historians, and several theories have been put forward to ex-

plain the unusual arrangement. The southwest wing has no comparable chamber behind

the columns, just a solid wall; this truncated arrangement served primarily to allow access

westward to the top of the bastion which carries the temple and altar of Athena Nike, or

“Wingless Victory” as Pausanias names her. Despite these differences in function, the

84 CLASSICAL ATHENS

77. Plan of the Propylaia, 437–432 b.c.

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matching facades of the two wings gave the impression of symmetry to anyone approach-

ing the building from below. It is only when one gets near the top of the ramp that one re-

alizes that the building is so irregular in plan.

A second feature, easily appreciated, gives further insight into the ingenious mind re-

sponsible for the design of the Propylaia. The massive columns of the main facade sit on

four marble steps, and the total height of the steps works in planned and correct proportion

to the diameter and height of the columns they carry. The columns of the wings are far

smaller, however, and yet the four steps of the central facade had to be carried around the

corner to the facades of the wings. Structurally, Mnesikles was tied to four steps, though the

total height of the four was too large, aesthetically, for the smaller diameters and heights of

the columns of the wings. His solution was to make the lowest step of each wing out of gray

limestone rather than white marble, thereby erasing it from the mind’s eye so that the three

marble steps above work in correct proportion with the smaller columns of the wings. Note

that this problem was anticipated and solved before a single block of the superstructure was

laid.

The central chamber marks the actual entrance onto the Acropolis. Six large Doric

columns face west and give access to a deep hall with two rows of three Ionic columns. The

ceiling Pausanias so admired is made up of huge white marble beams close to 6 meters

long, carried on the columns; the ceiling slabs are cut back in a series of recessed squares

known as coffers. This deep cutting of the coffers reduced their weight, which was clearly a

matter of concern to Mnesikles; for additional strength he inserted long iron bars into the

upper surfaces of the supporting beams. The decorative effect of the carved coffers was

greatly enhanced by the use of bright paints and gilding: the innermost squares of the cof-

fers were decorated with stars or f loral ornaments.

The east side of the hall is the actual door-wall, approached by a f light of four steps.

The wall is pierced by five doorways, each aligned on one of the five intercolumnar spaces

of the east and west facades. The central doorway is the largest and was approached by a

ramp (for the procession) rather than stairs, while the pairs of f lanking doors decrease in

size on either side of the main door. The threshold of the small northernmost door shows

by far the greatest wear, suggesting that at some periods it was the principal means of ac-

cess, with the other doors usually kept shut. After passing through the door, the visitor

stands in the Doric portico of the east facade, looking out on the Acropolis itself.

It is along this eastern side that one can best make out the evidence that the building

was unfinished, both in its early stages and at the end. As noted, two large wings were

planned for this side as well. The foundations were laid for the northeast wing, and even as

the central building rose to the cornice, provisions were made to incorporate the ceilings

and roofs of both wings, even though no other work was done on them above ground level.

Perikles 85

79, 80

Mnesikles had to abandon his original plan at an early stage, but he clearly hoped to be able

to construct the wings at some point.

For evidence of the lack of completion in the final stages, we can start with the

columns of the central chamber. These rest in what appear to be recessed panels a cen-

timeter or so lower than the rest of the stylobate, the course which carries the columns.

They sit, in fact, on the intended final surface, which had to be finished before the columns

were placed. Elsewhere a protective thin layer of marble was left to minimize damage dur-

ing construction. We know from various sources that in Greek buildings the outer colon-

nades were erected first, and then the interior walls went up. Dragging large wall blocks be-

tween the columns could easily have damaged the stylobate had a protective surface not

been left. Had the building been completely finished, the protective surface would have

been dressed down to the same level already prepared around the columns.

In addition, the wall blocks of the eastern wall all still have their lifting bosses (see fig.

79). These are square knobs of marble which protrude several centimeters from the faces

86 CLASSICAL ATHENS

78. The Pinakotheke (picture gallery) at the northwest of the Propylaia. Note the gray limestone bottom

step on the wing and the marble step across the facade at right.

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79. The Propylaia from the east. Note the wider central intercolumniation for the ramp and

processional way, and how each of the five doors aligns with an intercolumniation. Note also the lifting

bosses left on the wall blocks beyond the colonnade. The base for the statue of Athena Hygieia is

against the column at far left.

80. Cutaway view

showing the Acrop-

olis seen from the

Propylaia, with the

Athena Promachos

of Pheidias to the

left of center.

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