The Propylaea was the Doric order marble, u-shaped, gate-building to the Acropolis of Athens. It was made of the flawless white Pentelic marble from the area of Mt. Pentelicus near Athens with contrasting darker Eleusinian limestone. The building of the Propylaea was begun in 437, designed by the architect Mnesicles.
The Propylaea, as an entry way, extended the incline of the rocky surface of the west slope of the Acropolis by means of a ramp. Propylaea is the plural of propylon meaning gate. The structure had five doorways. It was designed as a long hallway on two levels to deal with the incline.
Unfortunately, the building of the Propylaea was interrupted by the Peloponnesian War, finished hastily -- reducing its planned 224 feet width to 156 feet, and burned by Xerxes' forces. It was then repaired. Then it was damaged by the lightning-triggered explosion of the 17th century.
References:
- Architecture of Greece, by Janina K. Darling (2004).
- Richard Allan Tomlinson "Propylaea" The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth. © Oxford University Press.
- Fast Facts About Ancient Greece
- Topography of Ancient Athens
- The Long Walls and the Piraeus
- Propylaea
- Areopagus
- Fast Facts About the Greek Colonies
Image: 'The Attica of Pausanias,' by Mitchell Carroll. Boston: Ginn and Company. 1907.
