The Temple of Athena Nike Was the First Temple Demonstrating What? Fine Arts
Temple of Athena Nike, 421-05 B.C.East., marble, Acropolis, Athens
The temple of Athena Nike (Athena as a goddess of victory) is the smallest temple at the Acropolis in Athens, placed at its southwest corner, at the edge of a loftier cliff (see images above). Its structure was completed in the year 420 B.C.E., during the so called Loftier Classical Period, according to the blueprint of Kallikrates (the aforementioned architect who was responsible for the construction of the Parthenon). The temple by Kallikrates replaced an earlier minor temple, which got completely destroyed during the
Reconstruction diagram of the Athenian Acropolis
The spot, highly vulnerable to set on just likewise well placed for defense, was very appropriate for the worship of the goddess of victory. There is some archaeological evidence, that the location was used for religious rituals already in Mycenaean historic period (Mycenaean was a period of early Greek history, roughly from 1600 to 1100 B.C.E.). Mycenaeans also raised the start defensive breastwork on the spot; its fragments are preserved in the temple'south basement.
Temple of Athena Nike, 421-05 B.C.E., marble, Acropolis, Athens
An Ionic gem
The temple of Athena Nike, built in Ionic order of cute white Pentelic marble, has columns at the front and dorsum but non on the sides of the cella; this kind of floor programme is called an amphiprostyle. Considering of the modest size of the structure, there are but four columns on each side. The columns are monolithic, which means that each ane of them was made of a single cake of rock (instead of horizontal drums, as information technology is in the case of the Parthenon).
Temple of Athena Nike, 421-05 B.C.East., marble, Acropolis, Athens
This modest and elegant structure is sometimes chosen the pearl of the Acropolis, since information technology was designed and decorated with peachy care. For example, interestingly, its side columns accept volutes both in the front and at the side, in club to create a pleasant view from whatever viewpoint. The Greeks considered their temples every bit a kind of awe-inspiring sculpture, which was supposed to be viewed from all sides and experienced in connection to its surroundings. The Romans later had a different concept—for them, the frontal view was almost important (for example, the Roman Temple of Portunus).
Amphiprostyle plan of the Temple of Athena Nike
Another interesting particular is that the columns of the temple of Athena Nike are not as slender equally those of many other Ionic buildings. Commonly the proportions between the width and the meridian of an Ionic cavalcade was one:9 or even one:xi. Here the proportion is 1:vii—and the reason for that choice might have been the intention to create a harmonious whole with other buildings nearby. The temple of Athena Nike stands simply next to the Propylaea (below), a heavy, monumental gateway to the Acropolis, built in the Doric gild. To visually counteract this massive structure, the architect may take decided to widen the columns, otherwise the building might feel out of identify, and also fragile in dissimilarity to the neighboring architectural mass of the Propylaea. We know that the aboriginal Greeks were very aware of mathematical ratios while amalgam architecture or creating statues, feeling that the key to dazzler lies in correct proportion.
Mnesikles, The Propylaea, 437-32 B.C.Eastward., marble, Acropolis, Athens
Victory
The temple of Athena Nike, as with all Greek temples, was considered a home of the deity, represented in its statue, and was not a place where regular people would enter. The believers would but perform rituals in front of the temple, where a small altar was placed, and could take a glimpse of the sculpted effigy of the goddess through the space betwixt the columns. The privilege of entering the temple was reserved for the priestesses, who held a respected position in Greek lodge. As the proper noun suggests, the temple housed the statue of Athena Nike, a symbol of victory. It probably had a connectedness to the victory of the Greeks against the Persians effectually half a century before. Nike unremarkably had wings, but in this case we know that the statue had no wings, hence information technology was chosen Athena Apteros (without wings). The aboriginal Greek author Pausanias after explained that the statue of Athena had no wings, so that she could never exit Athens.
Temple of Athena Nike, 421-05 B.C.E., marble, Acropolis, Athens
The history of this architectural monument has been quite tumultuous. In the 5th century C.E. the temple was converted into a Christian church, then in the 17th century it was completely dismantled past the Ottoman Turks who needed its fabric to build fortifications. The temple was afterward reconstructed after Hellenic republic regained independence in 1832. In the 1930s the building was restored again. Very recently, new concerns about the structure'south integrity prompted a new conservation projection. First, a team of specialists completely dismantled the temple. Each of its parts was examined and mended, and somewhen the entire building was reassembled using the original pieces, with some make full wherever information technology was needed. These additions tin exist easily recognized since they are of a lighter color than the original marble.
Nike Adjusting Her Sandal (detail), south side of the parapet of the Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, c. 410 B.C.Eastward., marble, 3′ 6″ high (Acropolis Museum, Athens)
The temple of Athena Nike featured beautiful sculptural ornament, including a typical continuous Ionic frieze, which on the eastern side represented a gathering of gods. On the southern wall, the sculptor decided to show a battle between Greeks and Persians, and on the remaining sides, battles between Greeks and other warriors. Sculptures on the pediments, almost entirely lost, virtually probably depicted the Gigantomachy and Amazonomachy. Best known are reliefs from the exterior of the stone parapet that surrounded the temple at the cliff's edge. These represented Nike in unlike poses and could be admired by people climbing the stairs to the Acropolis. Most famous of these is the Nike Adjusting Her Sandal (above) which presents the goddess in a uncomplicated, everyday gesture, perhaps adjusting her sandal (or maybe taking it off) as she prepares to enter the sacred precinct. Any she is doing, the relief is still charming in its elegance and simplicity. Both Nike Adjusting Her Sandal and parts of the frieze tin be admired today at the Acropolis Museum.
Additional resources:
Greek Gods and Religious Practices on the Metropolitan Museum of Art'due south Heilbrunn Timeline of Fine art History
Acropolis Restoration Service website
Acropolis Museum
Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:
More Smarthistory images…
Cite this page as: Katarzyna Minollari, "Temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian Acropolis," in Smarthistory, September xi, 2016, accessed April 29, 2022, https://smarthistory.org/temple-nike/.
Source: https://smarthistory.org/temple-nike/
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