If the Parthenon is a majestic symbol of power and order, then the Erechtheion is its mysterious, asymmetrical, and mystical neighbor. This is a temple on the sacred ground of the Acropolis, which the ancient Greeks considered the most important place on the hill. And this is not an ordinary temple, but a stone chronicle of the gods` dispute, a repository of ancient relics, and an architectural puzzle.
Main dates and events related to the Erechtheion
The Erechtheion in the form we see today was built between 421 and 406 BC (completed under the architect Philocles). However, the original building has not been completely preserved. During the Byzantine period (6th–7th centuries), the temple was converted into a church of the Virgin Mary: windows and an altar apse were cut inside, and some passages were walled up.
Under the Turks (Ottomans) in the 15th–17th centuries, the building was used as a harem for the fortress commander, and later as a gunpowder warehouse. In 1687, during the Venetian siege of the Acropolis, an artillery shell hit the building, causing severe destruction — the ceilings and part of the columns collapsed. However, the Erechtheion was not as destroyed as the Parthenon.
The modern appearance is the result of restorations in the 20th and 21st centuries. Moreover, on the Acropolis itself, copies of the Caryatids now stand (the originals are in the Acropolis Museum). Thus, externally the building looks as it did in antiquity, but many details are restored or replaced, while the traces of the Byzantines and Turks (masonry, alterations) have been removed by restorers to return the temple to its "pure" ancient Greek appearance.
How the Erechtheion looked during Athens` golden age (5th century BC)
Imagine the years 421–406 BC (the end of the Peloponnesian War). You approach the Erechtheion. Unlike the strict, "masculine" Parthenon with its Doric columns, this temple is elegant and complex, like a box of secrets.
Asymmetry: the building stands on a steep slope, and the architect (presumably Mnesicles or Phidias) brilliantly played with the difference in elevation. Its three porticos are on different levels.
Ionic order: instead of heavy Doric columns — slender, elegant Ionic columns with twisted "rams" (volutes) on the capitals. They make the temple light and festive.
Frieze of black stone: the top of the walls was decorated with a continuous frieze of dark blue Eleusinian limestone, on which scenes from myths were carved in white marble figures — probably Erechtheus and Cecrops. The blue background symbolized the sky or the sea abyss.
Precious details: the columns and doors were richly painted (red, blue, gold), and bronze garlands and overlays sparkled in the sun. This was not the white marble we see now, but a colorful, luxurious, and vibrant temple.
The most famous detail of the Erechtheion: The Porch of the Caryatids
This is the pearl of the Erechtheion. Instead of columns, here stand six girls in Doric peplos (folded garments). They were placed not just for beauty. The girls (Caryatids) symbolize the inhabitants of the city of Caria, whom the Persians enslaved. Thus, standing with a heavy basket on their heads instead of a column is a high honor and a reminder of the Greek victory over the barbarians.
During the heyday, the statues were not white. Their hair was golden, their clothes were bright purple and blue, and their faces were covered with ivory (the chryselephantine sculpture technique). Their eyes were inlaid with precious stones.
The historical center of the universe
Why is this temple so crooked and strange? Because the architects built around already existing shrines. Inside the Erechtheion (in its open-air courtyard) were the main relics of Athens:
• The mark of Poseidon`s trident: The sea god struck the rock, and a salty spring gushed out (although there is no real water there — it is a symbolic indentation in the stone).
• The sacred olive tree of Athena: The first tree that the goddess grew with her spear strike. It gave the Athenians oil and victory in the contest for the city. They say that even when the Persians burned the Acropolis in 480 BC, the olive tree grew back the very next day.
• The tomb of Cecrops: The legendary first king of Attica, half man, half snake.
• The ancient xoanon: A wooden statue of Athena Polias (Protectress of the City), which, according to legend, fell from the sky. For her sake, a new peplos (garment) was woven every year.
The temple was divided into two parts: one dedicated to Athena, the other to Poseidon and Erechtheus (the king who was sacrificed). Inside burned the "golden lamp" of Callimachus, which was refilled only once a year.
Why didn`t the British steal the Caryatids? (Spoiler: they still stole one)
Lord Elgin, the British ambassador who removed the sculptures of the Parthenon (now known as the "Elgin Marbles"), very much wanted to take the Caryatids as well. But he ran into a technical problem.
In 1801-1805, when Elgin was operating in Athens (then part of the Ottoman Empire), the southern slope of the Acropolis was built into the Turkish fortress wall. The Erechtheion was used as a gunpowder warehouse, and the Porch of the Caryatids was partially walled up or covered with earth to strengthen the defense. There was no way to extract the eight-ton structure (each statue weighs about 2 tons) without destroying the entire monument and without being blown up by Turkish gunpowder. The Turks would not have given permission to dismantle the load-bearing columns of their own fortress.
What actually happened?
One Caryatid (the most beautiful, from the southeastern corner) was still sawed off by Elgin in 1801.
Elgin`s mistake: Having sawed off one statue, he weakened the corner of the building. The local Turkish commander threatened him with weapons and forbade him to touch the rest, so that the temple would not collapse on their heads.
The result: The British "stole" one Caryatid. It stands in the British Museum in London (however, it is now being restored due to street pollution). The remaining five remained in place, but due to erosion (acid rain), Greek restorers moved them to the Acropolis Museum in 1979.
What you see now: On the Acropolis, there are exact copies (made of artificial stone resistant to smog). One copy was made from a cast of the statue that is in London. The originals of the four sisters and the "lost" fifth sister await you in the new Acropolis Museum, where she is displayed so that she looks at her empty pedestal through the glass.
Where can you see the original stolen Caryatid?
Only in London (Room 19, British Museum). Greece officially demands its return, but so far unsuccessfully. However, when you come to the Acropolis Museum, look at the Caryatid hall: they are placed facing the Parthenon, and an empty space has been left between them — for the "runaway."
Come to the Erechtheion at 5:00 PM, when the sun begins to set. It illuminates the marble of the Caryatids with a golden-honey color. Stand so that you can see the porch of the maidens and far below — modern Athens. You are standing exactly where 2,500 years ago, Poseidon and Athena decided the fate of the city, and architects created a building that has no equal in the world.
