Propylaea Research Paper

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Propylaea: A Gateway “A building has integrity just like a man. And just as seldom” - Ayn Rand. In the time of Pericles, the city-state of Athens, Greece celebrated a golden age of architecture. Athens led Greece with wealth, awe-inspiring buildings, and the world's first ever democracy. The crown of this great city was the Acropolis, where the Athenians built all of their prized buildings. The entrance to this city was known as the Propylaea, an ornately decorated gateway that stood as both a guard to the city’s invaders and a testament to architectural achievement. The Propylaea has a historic, aesthetic, and modern value. To start, the Propylaea can trace its roots back to the building program of Pericles. The construction of the Acropolis started in 437 B.C (http://www.ancient.eu/Propylaea/) . The project was funded by the Delian League, a group of city-states formed to defeat Persia in the Persian War. At the end of the …show more content…

As aforementioned, Pericles’ building program caused controversy throughout Greece. However, the building program also created a rift within Athens (Charles River Editors). According to Plutarch, “Thucydides and his party kept denouncing Pericles for playing fast and loose with the public moneys and annihilating the revenues...said [Pericles], "let it not have been spent on your account, but mine, and I will make the inscriptions of dedication in my own name”(14). Evidently, Pericles’ building program may have been just as much for his benefit as for Athens. The Propylaea also carries an aesthetic value. Many of the famous architectural designs from its era are featured. According to The CSA Propylaea Project, doric and ionic columns, colonnades, and hipped roofs are all included in the structure. In a time period full of conquest and destruction, any example of architecture that is still standing is not only extraordinary, but extremely

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