Monday, October 8, 2012

My all time favorite Man Made Monument

At the Acropolis you can find the amazing Erechtheum, you will recognize it when you see the photo, each time I go on top of the Acropolis I can't help myself from taking 30-40 pictures of just this one building.

On the south side you can find the "Porch of the Maidens", with six draped female figures (caryatids) as supporting columns, each one is sculpted a little different, to make each one unique.  
 The north and west side are about 10 feet lower than the south and east side, making the building look kind of lopsided, the fact that this was built 400 years before Christ is truly amazing, I am sure that modern society could not replicate.
The engineering of the caryatids was done in such a way that their slenderest part, the neck, is capable of supporting the weight of the porch roof while remaining graceful and feminine, this is with the help of their hair as you can see from the photo above. source

The New Acropolis Museum holds the 5 original carytids, the sixth one is still at the British Museum thanks to Lord Elgin who removed it in 1801, with permission from the Ottoman Empire.  He first had it in his home but later sold it to the British Museum to help with his debt issue.
I still stand in awe even as I look at these pictures at the beauty and symmetry of Greek Architecture.

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