5/5 Ahmad E. 2 years ago on Google
Propylaea
is
the
name
given
to
monumental
gates
or
entranceways
to
a
specific
space,
usually
to
a
temple
or
religious
complex
and
as
such
they
acted
as
a
symbolic
partition
between
the
secular
and
religious
parts
of
a
city.
Less
complex
examples
with
a
single
entrance
are
known
as
a
propylon.
Propylaea
were
a
feature
of
Minoan
architecture
in
17th
century
BCE
Crete
(e.g.
at
Ayia
Triada)
and
Mycenaean
architecture
in
the
14th
century
BCE
(e.g.
at
Tiryns).
In
Classical
Greece
a
monumental
Propylon
provided
the
entrance
to
the
sanctuary
at
Olympia
but
the
most
famous
and
best
preserved
example
of
this
type
of
structure
is
the
magnificent
Propylaea
of
the
acropolis
of
Athens.
The
Propylaea
of
Athens
was
built
as
part
of
Pericles
great
rebuilding
programme
for
Athens
in
c.
437
BCE
and
was
designed
as
a
monumental
entrance
to
the
plateau
of
the
acropolis
and
the
great
temple
to
Athena,
the
Parthenon.
The
project
was
begun
as
the
Parthenon
neared
completion
and
was
supervised
by
the
architect
Mnesicles
(or
Mnesikles)
who
managed
to
overcome
the
difficulties
of
incorporating
the
structure
into
the
existing
architecture
of
the
Athena
Nike
bastion
and
the
precinct
of
Artemis
Brauronia
and
the
differences
in
elevation
of
the
chosen
site.
Work
was
suspended
in
431
BCE
following
the
opening
stages
of
the
Peloponnesian
War
but
in
fact
was
never
resumed.
However,
the
major
parts
of
Mnesicles
vision
had
fortunately
been
realised.
Plans
for
eastern
and
western
side:
There
were
two
wings
planned
for
the
eastern
side
of
the
Propylaea,
facing
in
toward
the
Acropolis.
Preparations
for
both
wings
are
apparent
at
the
eastern
end
of
the
central
building
and
along
the
side
walls,
but
it
seems
that
the
plan
for
a
southern
wing
was
abandoned
early
in
the
construction
process
since
the
old
fortification
wall
was
not
demolished,
as
required
for
that
wing.
The
north
wing
was
not
built
either.
Had
it
been
constructed,
it
seems
that
the
level
of
the
floor
would
have
been
problematic.
To
the
extent
that
preparations
had
been
made,
they
were
for
a
floor
at
the
level
of
the
western
portion
of
the
building,
considerably
below
the
level
required
on
the
east.
As
a
result
of
the
outbreak
of
the
Peloponnesian
War
between
Athens
and
Sparta
in
431
BC,
the
Propylaea
was
never
completed.
Not
only
are
the
eastern
wings
missing,
the
wall
surfaces
were
not
trimmed
to
their
finished
shapes,
and
so-called
"lifting
bosses"
remain
on
many
blocks.
(Lifting
bosses
have
long
been
called
such
but
are
now
recognized
to
have
been
for
another
purpose,
though
that
other
purpose
is
not
agreed.
See
A.
Trevor
Hodge,
"Bosses
Reappraised,"
Omni
Pede
Stare:
Saggi
Architettonici
e
circumvesuviani
in
memoriam
Jos
de
Waele,
2005,
Mols
&
Moormann,
eds.)
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