Old Temple of Athena

Foundations of the Old Temple of Athena, in front of the Erechtheion. It was destroyed by the armies of Xerxes I during the Achaemenid destruction of Athens, in 480-479 BC.

Foundations of the Old Temple of Athena.

Old Temple of Athena (restored).

Floor plan of Old Temple Of Athena. Location of Old Temple Athena is #2.

The foundations suggest the following basic description: the temple measured 21.3 by 43.15 m. It was surrounded by a peristasis of 6 by 12 columns. The difference between column axes was 4.04 m, narrowed by 0.31 m at the corners. The Stylobate was slightly curved, whether this also applied to the superstructure remains unclear. In both the pronaos and opisthodomos, two columns stood between short antae. The main building had two inner sanctums, the east cella and the west cella,[1] which was very short, in fact nearly square, and subdivided into three aisles by two rows of three columns each. It was followed by a pair of side-by-side rooms. The foundations were composed of various materials and constructed in varying techniques. While the load-bearing parts and internal supports were made of blue Acropolis limestone,[1] the foundations of the surrounding peristasis were of Poros limestone. The superstructure and decorative pieces also appear to have been made from a variety of materials, including Poros and Parian marble.

The old temple of Athena had two Poros pediments, around 15 m. in length.[2] The surviving pediment depicts Gigantomachy, the struggle between Gods and Giants, eventually won by the Gods. The central figure depicts the goddess Athena wearing an aegis covered with scales and edged by snakes obtained from a monster she previously defeated. She is thought to hit a falling Giant, whose foot is the only remain.[2] Scholars believe that this pediment originally contained a frontal chariot in the center with four horses and Zeus inside one of the chariot, pointing an arrow in the direction of Athena.[3] This images also shows Athena holding a snake and reaching out to a giant.[1]

Another figure features a lying giant, whereas two side figures, one was positioned at the corners of the pediment, depict two more falling giants. Other remains ascribed to the temple include an entablature and sima of Parian marble and Poros limestone, capitals with a steep echinus, a marble sculpture depicting a procession, and marble waterspouts in each of the four corners, shaped like lions' and rams' heads.[1]

The main building of the temple had two parts, one of the spaces in the east Cella contained the ancient Xoanon or wooden statue of Athena, believed to have fallen from the sky,[1] or from Zeus.[2] The statue was probably taken to the Athenian fleet ('the wooden wall') and was therefore not destroyed when the Persians destroyed the old Temple of Athena Polias in 480 BC. It was eventually housed in the new temple of Athena Polias - the Erechtheion. The Xoanon statue was made out of olive-wood.[1]

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  Slab of frieze of Old Athena Temple
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  Athena fighting the giants (pediment).
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  One of the two west pediment Gigantomachy
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  Athena fighting the giants (pediment).
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  Old Temple of Athena, pediment giant.

Architectural remains of the Old Athena Temple built into the north wall of the Acropolis by Themistocles, circa 478 BC.

Remains of the Old Temple of Athena built into the northern wall of the Acropolis by Themistocles, circa 478 BC.[4]

Wilhelm Dörpfeld went to Athens in 1885[5] to look at the ruins of the Temple of Athena where he noticed some ruins were still standing and looked as though the architecture was the temple of Athena Polias.[5] Wilhelm saw a piece of a building that looked like a piece of the Erechtheiom temple, which was in the same location another archaeologist named Ross excavated in 1834.[5] Once Wilhelm saw the same ruins he cleared in 1834, Wilhelm went towards the ruins to examine and he immediately confirmed it was the old temple of Athena.[5] Wilhelm Dörpfeld assumed that the original structure was a double temple in antis, dating to about 570 BC, lengthened and broadened by the addition of the peristasis under Peisistratus, between 529 and 520 BC.[6] This idea led to a subdivision of the foundations into an inner smaller structure known as H-Architektur and assumed to be the oldest part of the building, followed by a structure still described as the "Old Temple of Athena", including the inner H-Architektur as well as the external peristasis.

The foundations of the Old Temple, visible in front of the Erechtheion

The reconstruction of the temple's architectural history has remained controversial until recently. More recently, scholars have attributed the older remains, initially attributed to the inner H-Architektur, to the close Hekatompedon temple, dating the temple of Athena Polias to the last third of the 6th century BC and identifying its dimensions with the entirety of the foundations excavated by Dörpfeld.[7] The Old Temple of Athena Polias is often dated to[6] 510/500 BC.[8] There are many speculations that the old temple of Athena was rebuilt by the Athenians once they took over Athens again.[5] Frazer and Michaelis believe that the temple was not the old temple of Athena but, a new temple in the same location where the Erechtheion stood.[5] There were other scholars that did not agree with Dörpfeld's suggestion that the old temple of Athena was rebuilt and that the building was destroyed. Bates believes that Dörpfeld is correct with his discovery of the architecture and that it was indeed rebuilt.[5] Ferrari mentions that Bates took Dörpfeld's side on his excavation for lost treasure in the old temple of Athena, but the temple was not built right away as Dörpfeld thought it was.[5] Pericles (495-429 B.C.) who was a general and a politician to Athens citizens was the one who convinced the Athenian people to rebuild the Temples of Athena. He suggested to the Athenians not to have the location be a pile of rubble where the temple once stood because that could offend the gods.[5] It remains controversial whether a partial restoration of the temple followed the Persian sack of 480 BC. Herodotus[9] mentions a west-facing Megaron on the Acropolis. This reference, as well as a structure listed in an inscription,[10] has been interpreted as evidence that the Opisthodomus of the Old Temple remained in place through the fifth century. Xenophon[11] states that the Old Temple of Athena burned down in 406/405 BC, but this might also refer to the Erechtheion, which had taken over the functions of the Old Temple and housed the Xoanon.[9] From the 4th century BC onwards, there are no possible references to the Old Temple; Pausanias was not aware of its existence.

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  Section of the Acropolis with Old Temple of Athena (reconstitution).
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  Plan of the Old Temple of Athena.
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  Location of the Temple on the Acropolis.