By: Allison Miller

 It is located on the north side of the acropolis.  This was the last temple to be built under Perikles.  Some believe it may have been built as late as the 430’s  It was built during the Peloponnesian War but not continuously.  Building shared by Athena with Erechtheus  Shortly before it was completed or soon after it was constructed the temple caught on fire.

 In the 7 th century AD the building was converted into a Christian basilica. Walls were built to convert the temple into a church, which has led to some confusion over the original plan of the temple.  During the Turkish period it was used as a house.

 The building of the Erectheum was considered to be a difficult undertaking for the architect.  The building site was located on a large slope.  More importantly, the preexisting cult sites and monuments already on and near this site had to be included in the architecture of the building.  Building in the Ionic Order

 Athena Polis  Erechtheus  Poseidon

 Sculpted maidens serve as the columns for the smaller south porch  Believed to be the daughters of Kekrops  These women were known as Caryatids  The porch is not structurally connected with the rest of the building.

 An inscription dating from 409/8 states his tomb lies there on the South West corner  Belief that the plan of his tomb was incorporated in the building of the porch and is apart of the reason why it is not directly connected to the temple and built up so high.

 The frieze is unique to this building because there are two sculpted friezes  White marble relief figures were pinned on to dark grey slabs of marble. This allowed the friezes to be seen clearly.  We do not know the exact subject of these sculptures  They were decorated with a relief of anthemia and lotuses

 Some archeologists claim that the temple is actually two separate buildings  Dorpfield claimed that the building was not completed on the west side of the temple.  Others claim that the buildings confusing plan is a result of the several cults that had to be incorporated into the temple

 Lord Elgin has removed one of the korai women and it is now in the British Museum  Another was removed and put into a museum on Greece  Dorpfield excavated the acropolis including the Erectheum  In the early 1900’s the Greek government began rebuilding the building.

 Bosanquet; M. N. Tod: Archaeology in Greece The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 22. (1902), pp  Camp, John M. The Archaeology of Athens. New Haven: Yale University Press,  Franzis, Helen. Acropolis and Museum. N.p.: G. Voutsas,  Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Warner Books,  Penrose, F.C.: Excavations in Greece, Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 8. (1887), pp