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Erechtheion. The porch of the Caryatids, restored in 1844 by the French architect Paccard. Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Erechtheion. South side. The corner epicranitis blog, assembled from 17 pieces. Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Athens. Acropolis. The Erechteion. The porch of the Korai. Interior. Γεράσιμος Σκιαδαρέσης, Carl Siele Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
Erechtheion. The north porch as seen from the north, after the restoration. One should notice the iron slabs that support the marble beams of the roof and the restored entablature (two new blocks of eleusinian marble). Archaeological Society at Athens © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία -
The Erechtheion from the southwest Edward Dodwell Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
View of the Erechtheion in Athens Félix Bonfils Rijksmuseum © Rijksmuseum / Public domain -
The Caryatid Porch of the Erechtheion Dimitrios Constantin The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © J. Paul Getty Trust. Public Domain CC0 -
The Erectheum from the NE William Pars The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
Details of the Erechtheion with measurements Harry Ralph Ricardo The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
Doorway on the Northern Portico of the Erechtheion William J. Stillman The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © J. Paul Getty Trust. Public Domain CC0 -
The Erectheion with the porch of the Caryatids Sir William Gell The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
Aglauros, daughter of Cecrops, showing Erichthonius to her sisters, Pandrosos and Herse Anthonie Blocklandt van Montfoort The British Museum © The Trustees of the British Museum -
Terracotta fragment of a kylix with the birth of Erichthonius: Athena receives the baby from the hands of the earth mother, Gaia. The Metropolitan Museum of Art © 2000–2023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Public domain -
Plan of Erechtheion. Drawings of some architectural and decorative elements of the monument. Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation © Ίδρυμα Αικατερίνης Λασκαρίδη -
Erechtheion. General view before the restoration. artist name type xyma Intitutio licence
The Erechtheion is located on the northern part of the plateau of the Acropolis hill. It is an elegant building characterized by unique architecture and constituted the most sacred place of worship in Athens. It was designed by the architect Mnesicles and was constructed in two phases during the intermissions of the thirty-year Peloponnesian War (421-413 and 409-406 BCE).
Its placement was determined by the pre-existing temple of Athena Polias, which was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BCE, while its peculiar architectural plan follows the uneven altitude of the natural terrain. In addition, the need to accommodate ancient cults and sacred sites, such as the tombs of the mythical kings Cecrops and Erechtheus, the sacred olive tree of Athena and the traces of the trident of Poseidon, symbols of their dispute over the sovereignty of Attica, dictated the unusual shape of the monument.
The Erechtheion was a place of worship for both Athena and Poseidon. Its eastern part, which had a porch with six Ionic columns, was dedicated to Athena and housed the ancient wooden statue (xoanon) of the goddess, to which the Athenians offered a new veil during the festival of the Great Panathenaea. In front of the statue burned the unquenched flame in the famous golden lamp, work of the sculptor Callimachus. There dwelled the sacred serpent of the goddess Athena, the oikouros ophis, a manifestation of the mythical Erichthonius-Erechtheus that protected the city.
In the western part of the sanctuary, Poseidon-Erechtheus, his brother Voutis and Hephaestus were worshipped. The cult of the mythical king Erechtheus, who became identified with Poseidon after being killed by the god himself, gave the building the name Erechtheion in later years. The northern porch in the western part of the building features a hexastyle Ionic colonnade in a Pi-shape arrangement. The architectural parts of this monumental propylon were adorned with relief cymatia, rosettes, plochmoi (interlaces) and astragals (bead-and-reel), while its coffers were painted. The upper part had a frieze with almost full-figure sculptures carved in white Parian marble, attached to plates made of grey Eleusinian stone. The theme of the frieze has not been identified, as the figures survive in fragments, but it is believed to be related to myths concerning Erichthonius-Erechtheus. On the floor of the porch, in an opening, the Athenians believed there was the mark of the trident with which Poseidon struck the rock, causing the salty spring to gush forth as his gift to the city.
The emblematic porch of the Korai or Caryatids, a world-renowned monument, is located on the southern side of the western section of the Erechtheion. The six statues of the Korai, each one unique, stood on a high pedestal and supported the roof, replacing the columns. Arranged in a Π-shaped formation and facing the sacred way through which the magnificent procession of the Panathenaea passed, they wear a Doric peplos with folds resembling the fluting of columns and feature elaborate hairstyles. They have a kalathos – a type of basket – on their heads, resembling a column capital, and it is believed that one of their hands held a vessel for libations, while the other lifted their garment. Their creator was probably Alcamenes and his workshop.
According to the prevailing view, the porch of the Caryatids was the aboveground monument of the tomb of Cecrops, which was located partially underneath. The Korai, in their formal dresses and holding ritual vases, were represented as if paying homage to the deceased hero-king. The term Caryatids is attributed to Vitruvius, a Roman architect, who provides us with a story about the women from Caryae in Laconia. According to his narrative, these women were punished by carrying their clothes and jewels on their heads because their city had aided the Persians.
The monument was burned during the invasion of Sulla in Athens and was repaired during the Augustan era (after 21 CE). In the 7th century, it was converted into a Christian church, probably dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Later, it was used as a residence by high-ranking Frankish officials, and during the period of Ottoman rule it served as the residence of the Turkish garrison commander. In the early 19th century when Thomas Bruce, Lord of Elgin, undertook the extraction of classical sculptures from Greece, his crews removed a Caryatid (‘Kore C’) and a column from the northeast corner and transferred them to England. The people of Athens felt such strong resentment at the abduction of the Caryatid that they claimed to hear the remaining Caryatids mourning their lost sister at night.
A few years later, in the aftermath of the Greek War of Independence, the Erechtheion was hit by a Turkish shell, resulting in the destruction of another Caryatid (‘Kore F’). Then, following her restoration, the statues were transferred to the old Acropolis Museum, while exact replicas were placed at the monument. Since 2009, all five Caryatids have been on prominent display in the new Acropolis Museum, arranged as they were at the original monument. The position of ‘Kore C’, which is in the British Museum in London, remains vacant.
