Uploads from Andreas Constantinou ®, tagged acropolis, with geodata

The Eye

nobody@flickr.com (Andreas Constantinou ®) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:22:10 -0700

“Athens, the eye of Greece, mother of arts / And eloquence.”
(John Milton).

View On Black

I haven't been around much lately cause I am busy with my studies but here is a shot of my recent trip to Athens!! I'll be back soon!! ;)

You can see some of my previous shots from Athens here:
The Parthenon here and here, Hepheastus temple here, Zappeio Hall here, Stoa Attalou here, Olympeion here, and the Erechtheum, which is one of my most popular shots and the one with the most views, here.

The eternal symbol of Greece

nobody@flickr.com (Andreas Constantinou ®) — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 11:20:22 -0800

Andreas Constantinou ® posted a photo:

Παρθενών - Parthenon.

The Parthenon (ancient Greek: Παρθενών) is a temple of Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Acropolis of Athens. It is considered the most famous surviving building of ancient Greece, and has been praised as the finest achievement of Greek architecture. Its decorative sculptures are considered one of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy. It is regarded as one of the world's greatest cultural monuments(from Wikipedia).

Here I have to say that the Greek Governement, the Greek nation and all moral people wishes for the return of the Parthenon marbles (also known as Elgin marbles) back to Greece from Great Britain! Two-thirds of the Parthenon frieze is in British Museum in London and only a third remains in Athens. The British museum as well as the British Government for years refuses the return of the marbles to the real owner!

Illustrating the civilizations, myths and religions that flourished in Greece over a period of more than 1,000 years, the Acropolis, the site of four of the greatest masterpieces of classical Greek art – the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheum and the Temple of Athena Nike – can be seen as symbolizing the idea of world heritage(Unesco World Heritage).

Οι έξι κόρες - The six girls

nobody@flickr.com (Andreas Constantinou ®) — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 10:09:29 -0800

Andreas Constantinou ® posted a photo:

THE ERECHTHEUM

The Erechtheum, or Erechtheion, is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens in Greece, notable for a design that is both elegant and unusual.

The temple as seen today was built between 421 BCE and 407 BCE. Its architect may have been Mnesicles, and it derived its name from a shrine dedicated to the legendary Greek hero Erichthonius. Some have suggested that it may have been built in honour of the legendary king Erechtheus, who is said to have been buried nearby. It is believed to have been a replacement for an older temple destroyed by the Persians around 480 BCE.

The Erectheum was associated with some of the most ancient and holy relics of the Athenians:

the Palladion, which was a xoanon (defined as a wooden effigy fallen from heaven - not man-made) of Athena Polias (Protectress of the City)
the tomb of Cecrops
the tomb of Erechtheus
the marks of Poseidon's trident and the salt water well (the "salt sea") that resulted from Poseidon's strike, the sacred olive tree planted by Athena in her successful rivalry with Poseidon for the city, and
the precincts of Herse, Pandrosus and Aglaurus (the three daughters of Cecrops)where Kekrops'grave and Athena's olive tree were located (adjacent to the erechtheion) and of the tribal heroes Pandion and Boutes.

The temple itself was dedicated to Athena and Poseidon Erechtheus. Within the foundations lived the sacred snake of the temple, which represented the spirit of Cecrops and whose well-being was thought essential for the safety of the city. The snake was fed honey-cakes by Canephorae, the priestesses of Athena Polias, by custom the women of the ancient family of the Eteoboutadae. The snake's occasional refusal to eat the cakes was thought a disastrous omen.

The need to preserve multiple adjacent sacred precincts likely explains the complex design. The main structure consists of up to four compartments, the largest being the east cella, with an Ionic portico on its east end. Other current thinking (Lesk, A Diachronic Examination of the Erechtheion and Its Reception 2004. [1]) would have the entire interior at the lower level and the East porch used for access to the great altar of Athena Polias via a balcony and stair and also as a public viewing platform.

On the north side, there is another large porch with columns, and on the south, the famous "porch of the maidens", with six draped female figures (Caryatids) as supporting columns. One of the Caryatids was removed by Lord Elgin in order to decorate his Scottish mansion, and was later sold to the British Museum (along with the pedimental and frieze sculpture taken from the Parthenon). Athenian legend had it that at night the remaining five Caryatids could be heard wailing for their lost sister. Nowadays the five original Caryatids are displayed in helium-filled glass cases in the Acropolis Museum and are replaced in situ by exact replicas. The porch was built to conceal the giant 15-ft beam needed to support the southwest corner over the Kekropion after the building was drastically reduced in size and budget following the onset of the Peloponnesian war.

Base of an Ionic column, its torus enriched with interlaced guilloche: this long-forgotten base was revived for Neoclassicism.The entire temple is on a slope, so the west and north sides are about 3 m (9 ft) lower than the south and east sides. It was built entirely of marble from Mount Pentelikon, with friezes of black limestone from Eleusis which bore sculptures executed in relief in white marble. It had elaborately carved doorways and windows, and its columns were ornately decorated (far more so than is visible today); they were painted, gilded and highlighted with gilt bronze and multi-colored inset glass beads.

The intact Erechtheum was extensively described by the Roman geographer Pausanias (1.26.5 - 27.3), writing a century after it had been restored in the 1st century AD. The internal layout has since been obscured by the temple's later use as a church and possibly as a Turkish harem.(by Wikipedia)

Ακρόπολη-Acropolis

nobody@flickr.com (Andreas Constantinou ®) — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 09:58:11 -0800

Andreas Constantinou ® posted a photo:

Acropolis as I saw it from the Archaia Agora!

The Acropolis hill, so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most important site of the city. During Perikles' Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground.
The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both. The inscriptions on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena (marble korai, bronze and clay statuettes and vases) indicate that the cult of the city's patron goddess was established as early as the Archaic period (650-480 B.C.) (by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture).

For Athena

nobody@flickr.com (Andreas Constantinou ®) — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 09:34:28 -0700

Andreas Constantinou ® posted a photo:

The Parthenon (ancient Greek: Παρθενών) is a temple of Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Acropolis of Athens. It is considered the most famous surviving building of ancient Greece, and has been praised as the finest achievement of Greek architecture. Its decorative sculptures are considered one of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy. It is regarded as one of the world's greatest cultural monuments(from Wikipedia).

Here I have to say that the Greek Governement, the Greek nation and all moral people wishes for the return of the Parthenon marbles (also known as Elgin marbles) back to Greece from Great Britain! Two-thirds of the Parthenon frieze is in British Museum in London and only a third remains in Athens. The British museum as well as the British Government for years refuses the return of the marbles to the real owner!

Illustrating the civilizations, myths and religions that flourished in Greece over a period of more than 1,000 years, the Acropolis, the site of four of the greatest masterpieces of classical Greek art – the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheum and the Temple of Athena Nike – can be seen as symbolizing the idea of world heritage(Unesco World Heritage).