DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4593#0136
I IS THE ISLES AND SHRINES OF GREECE
this assumed temple of Athene Polias, or whether, as
some maintain, a separate building dedicated to her
in this character was erected in another precinct. No
trace of such temple, at all events, has been found.
Of the many statues on the Acropolis mentioned
by Pausanias, the pedestals of some have been identi-
fied and the position of others may be conjectured.
Not far to the left of the way from the Propylaea to
the Parthenon was the pedestal of the great statue
of Athene Promachos, made by Phidias from Persian
spoil. The goddess in war vesture stood with her
spear in poise. The statue was no doubt colossal, for
Pausanias tells us that one could descry the spear-
head and helmet crest as he sailed from Sunium to
Athens. This type of Athene is a familiar one,
often reproduced in small bronze figures, which arc
not necessarily replicas of the statue of Phidias, but
older representations of a generic conception of the
goddess as defender and protector.
The Acropolis, consecrated to religion and the
State, reveals few traces of the earlier days when it
served as the abode of man. Not far from the
Erechtheum, however, an old house wall has been
brought to light. In the vicinity are a large number
of roof tiles of pre-Persian date, which seem to be as
fresh as if niade to-day. The building, whatever it
was, for which they were used, was probably erected
only a short time before the Persian War, and when
it was destroyed these bricks or tiles were buried, and
so preserved. In this heap of tiles we have material
for a whole chapter on ancient roofs. It is easy to
distinguish between the flat ones and those evidently
intended for roofing. In ancient times house-tops
this assumed temple of Athene Polias, or whether, as
some maintain, a separate building dedicated to her
in this character was erected in another precinct. No
trace of such temple, at all events, has been found.
Of the many statues on the Acropolis mentioned
by Pausanias, the pedestals of some have been identi-
fied and the position of others may be conjectured.
Not far to the left of the way from the Propylaea to
the Parthenon was the pedestal of the great statue
of Athene Promachos, made by Phidias from Persian
spoil. The goddess in war vesture stood with her
spear in poise. The statue was no doubt colossal, for
Pausanias tells us that one could descry the spear-
head and helmet crest as he sailed from Sunium to
Athens. This type of Athene is a familiar one,
often reproduced in small bronze figures, which arc
not necessarily replicas of the statue of Phidias, but
older representations of a generic conception of the
goddess as defender and protector.
The Acropolis, consecrated to religion and the
State, reveals few traces of the earlier days when it
served as the abode of man. Not far from the
Erechtheum, however, an old house wall has been
brought to light. In the vicinity are a large number
of roof tiles of pre-Persian date, which seem to be as
fresh as if niade to-day. The building, whatever it
was, for which they were used, was probably erected
only a short time before the Persian War, and when
it was destroyed these bricks or tiles were buried, and
so preserved. In this heap of tiles we have material
for a whole chapter on ancient roofs. It is easy to
distinguish between the flat ones and those evidently
intended for roofing. In ancient times house-tops