Erechtheion

The Erechtheion is a small, unusual temple on the Athenian Acropolis dedicated to Athena Polias and Erechtheus. The structure's foundations rest in part on the Mycenaean fortification walls of the Acropolis, on a slope that raises the south and east sides higher than the rest of the building. The temple consists of a central rectangular structure divided into several cellas, the largest of which is on the east side of the building. Several platforms and porches are also attached to the temple. On the east side, the porch has a row of Ionic columns and a frieze of white marble figures on a background of black Eleusinian limestone. The porch that projects from the temple's south side is the famous caryatid porch or "Porch of the Maidens", marked by six columns in the shape of young women in elaborate drapery. In addition to cult facilities for Athena Polias and the archaic wooden cult statue of the goddess, parts of the building housed other tokens of the mythic past of Athens, including the tomb of a local hero and the olive tree and salt spring created by Athena and Poseidon during their competition to be patron divinity of Athens.

Like the rest of the Acropolis, the Erechtheion had a long post-antique history, during which it served as a church and, for a time, as the home of an Ottoman harem. At the beginning of the 19th century, one of the caryatids was brought to England with the rest of the Elgin marbles, around the same time, the porch served as inspiration for a similar porch on St. Pancras Church in London. The remaining caryatids, damaged by time, pollution, and old restoration efforts, have now been transferred to the new Acropolis Museum, and modern copies have taken their place on the monument.