Propylaea and Temple of Athena Nike at the Acropolis (Pierer)

ancient Greek architecture Ancient Greek architecture came from the Greek-speaking people (''Hellenic'' people) whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Anatolia and Italy for a period from about 900 BC unti ...

, a propylaea, propylea or propylaia (;

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: προπύλαια) is a monumental

gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...

way. They are seen as a partition, specifically for separating the secular and religious pieces of a city. The prototypical Greek example is the propylaea that serves as the entrance to the

Acropolis of Athens The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...

. In this case, the propylaea is built wider than the Acropolis of Athens in order to allow chariots through. The construction of it was part of Pericles great rebuilding program for Athens in c. 437 BCE. The project of the propylaea began once the Parthenon was almost done. It was overseen by Mnesicles (an Athenian architect). Though the work was suspended due to the Peloponnesian War, the important pieces of Mnesicles’ vision were able to come through (World History Encyclopedia). The

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and the Propylaea in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

both evoke the central portion of the Athens propylaea. The architecture for the propylaea is unique in that it uses horizontal beams across the roof. These beams were supported by marble girders, which were supported by iron bars. The only other known use of metal in Greek architecture for structural purposes is the Temple of Zeus at Agrigento (World History Encyclopedia).

Etymology

The Greek word προπύλαιον ''propylaeon'' (''propylaeum'' is the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

version) is the union of the

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the Word stem, stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy'' ...

προ- ''pro-'', "before, in front of" plus the plural of πύλη ''pyle'' "gate," meaning literally "that which is before the gates," but the word has come to mean simply "gate building."

Propylaea of the Athenian Acropolis

The Propylaea was the monumental gateway to the Acropolis commissioned by the Athenian leader

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...

in order to rebuild the Acropolis at the conclusion of the

Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the ...

Propylaea outside the Greco-Roman world

The oldest known freestanding propylaeum is the one located at the palace area in

Pasargadae Pasargadae (from Old Persian ''Pāθra-gadā'', "protective club" or "strong club"; Modern Persian: ''Pāsārgād'') was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), who ordered its construction and the location of ...

, an

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

capital. A covered passage, called "the Propylaeum", used to face the

Palace of Darius at Susa The Palace of Darius in Susa was a palace complex that was built at the site of Susa, Iran, during the reign of Darius I over the Achaemenid Empire. The construction was conducted parallel to that of Persepolis. Manpower and raw materials from ...

. In the 18th Century, the Athenian Propylaea inspired Carl Gotthard Langhans in construction of the

Notes

References

* Berve, H.; Gruben, G.; and Hirmer, M. ''Greek Temples, Theaters, and Shrines'' (New York, 1963). A general look at selected Greek structures. * Dinsmoor, William Bell (1922), "Structural Iron in Greek Architecture," '' American Journal of Archaeology,'' XXVI * Dinsmoor, W. B., ''The Architecture of Ancient Greece'' (New York, 1975 - but actually a reprint of the 1950 publication). A general book on Greek architecture; dated in many areas but valuable for the Propylaea. * Dinsmoor, W. B., Jr., ''The Propylaia I: The Predecessors'' (Princeton, 1980). A careful study of the predecessors of the Propylaea. * Eiteljorg, Harrison, II, ''The Entrance to the Acropolis Before Mnesicles'' (Dubuque, 1993). A careful study of the predecessors of the Propylaea, with very different conclusions from those of Dinsmoor above. * Lawrence, A. W., ''Greek Architecture'' (Baltimore, 1973). A general book on Greek architecture. * Robertson, D.S. ''Greek and Roman Architecture (Cambridge, 1969). A general book on Greek and Roman architecture. Available in paper, this may be the best place to begin for those with no knowledge of ancient architecture. * Travlos, J., ''Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Athens'' (London, 1971). An encyclopedic approach to the monuments of Athens. * The Perseus Project An electronic resource that provides quick information, but some of the information about the Propylaea was incorrect when the site was last checked. Several good photographs of the Propylaea are available through the Perseus project. * Cartwright, Mark. “Propylaea.” ''World History Encyclopedia'', Https://Www.worldhistory.org#Organization, 24 July 2022, https://www.worldhistory.org/Propylaea/.

External links