When we walked around the Acropolis (hill) there was some confusion about what we thought was labeled the Temple of Athena Nike but was really the Erechteion, which you read about in yesterday's blog. The Temple of Athena Nike was really at the top of the stairway to the plateau of the Acropolis.
WHAT IS THE TEMPLE OF ATHENA NIKE? Athena was patron deity of Athens and Nike was the goddess of victory often associated so closely with her that the two became synchronized as Athena Nike ("Athena of Victory"). The small Ionic temple honored Athena in her role as protector and defender of Athens and provided 5th-century BCE visitors with a kind of preview of the other temples dedicated to the goddess they would see after passing through the gate. Built around 420 BC, the temple is the earliest fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis.
WHY WAS IT BUILT? The construction of that small temple dedicated to Athena as provider of victory (nikè in Greek) was planned in the time of Pericles, and its plans were probably drawn by Callicrates, the architect of the Parthenon, but, for lack of money and because of the war, it was not undertaken until 427 BC, that is, two years after Pericles' death, and it was not completed until much later, toward 410 BC.
WHERE IS IT? - Located on the hill called Acropolis, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Athina 105 58, Greece
WHAT IS THE STYLE OF ATHENA NIKE TEMPLE? It is a tetrastyle (four column) Ionic structure with a colonnaded portico at both front and rear facades (amphiprostyle), designed by the architect Kallikrates. The columns along the east and west fronts were monolithic columns. (Click to learn more about the temple)
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ATHENA NIKE TEMPLE? The privilege of entering the temple was reserved for the priestesses, who held a respected position in Greek society. As the name suggests, the temple housed the statue of Athena Nike, a symbol of victory. It probably had a connection to the victory of the Greeks against the Persians around half a century earlier.
WHAT IS DEPICTED ON THE TEMPLE'S FRIEZE? (A frieze is a rectangular area over the columns): The marble relief from the South Frieze of the Temple of Athena-Nike: Greeks fighting Persians, perhaps the Battle of Marathon, 490 BC.
USES OF THE TEMPLE OVER TIME - The history of this architectural monument has been quite tumultuous according to the Khan Academy. In the 5th century C.E. the temple was converted into a Christian church, then in the 17th century it was completely dismantled by the Ottoman Turks who needed its material to build fortifications. The temple was later reconstructed after Greece regained independence in 1832. In the 1930s the building was restored again.
NEXT: The Odeon of Herodes Atticus
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