a t h e n s

THE EREChTHION

The Erechtheion has three parts: a main temple, a north porch, and the Caryatid porch.
The building known as the Erechtheion was built in the second half of the fifth century BC on the Athenian Acropolis and once housed the important cults and relics in Athens.There are essentially four faades to this complex and multi-level temple, and it is these faades that are illustrated by the many travellers to Greece.

Ionic capitals consisted of a very narrow echinus surmounted by a scrollwork volute and a relatively small abacus All of these elements were decorated with increasingly elaborate carvings, most often with stylized plant motifs such as rosettes, palmettes, pendant leaves, etc. all of which would have been brightly and, according to modern tastes at least, garishly painted.

Ionic north porch 2bays deep has The tetra stylecolumns are remarkable for its pair of columns 813mm in diameter and 7.6m high.

volutes or scrolls derived from rams horns or nautilus shell. Ionic columns stand on a moulded base consisting of upper and lower torus. There are alternate flutes The bases of the western attached columns were raised about 914mm above those of the and fillets on the trunk. east porch . entablature is usually The 1/5th of the whole order; and consists of architrave(super imposed part), frieze(band of sculptures) and a Approach from the hexastyle porch to east cornice(reminiscent of have columns 686mm in diameter and 6.5m high squared timbers).

Caryatids are female figures serving as supports. The most likely derivation of their name is from the young women of Sparta who danced every year in honour of Artemis Karyatis.

She carries an architectural casket like a capital on her head. The right leg is encased in perpendicular folds arranged like the fluting of a column shaft. The other leg is flexed with the drapery moulded to it.

CARYATIDS
Southern porch has 6draped female figures or caryatids 2.3m high standing on a solid marble wall rising about 2.4m above the acropolis level. All the figures face southwards; the 3western lean on the right and the 3eastern on the left leg

windows
Windows are quite rare in Greek temple architecture. As originally arranged the latter columns on the west attached to piers between which there were perhaps grills in metal or wood these openings were walled up in roman times except the windows in 3central intercolumniations.

The anta molding as well continued along the flanks.

Intricate elements

The tetra style north porch 2bays deep has columns 813mm in diameter and 7.6m high. The porch stands at the lower level and its entablature fits just below the main one resembling it in design and like it having it a frieze of black Eleusinian limestone to which relieves culture in white marble formally was attached by cramps.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TOPIC REFER TO:http://www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/erechtheion.html http://www.greeka.com/greece-architecture.htm http://www.odysseyadventures.ca/articles/greektemple/greek_temple. htm AND VIDEOS :http://www.acropolis360.com/ http://www.greece-athens.com/video/video.php?video_id=1 BY:-

DIPTI CHURI (10) BENJAMIN FERNANDES(17) DEEPIKA KALGUTKAR(26) VEDANTI KELKAR(30) HARSHADA MAHAJAN(34) APOORVA MADHAVAN(41) KARISHMA PATIL(48) POOJA SATAM(61) MADHURA SAWANT(64) TARUN SINGH(83)