DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4264#0099
*ployedK,
turn'. Sltl»
OF THE PROPYL/EA.
99
' a Work
e ai
of white marble, which surpassed for beauty, and the dimensions of the marble, all that he had before
litiesofth,
'ard'PasseHWll
e drawings of ^
'ilettanti, it» „,,
nriched with the ^
Which is at pre*
>f which willnotH
L The basso refe,.
premature deatt,,!;
long regretted byfc
g also made by Mr, I;
lies made therebyfc
>r of making any rem:
?orm the valuablepanc
ie to Meursius, who,,
allected from anciemi
>ly most aptly to tk
; There is only one e
;e, and fortified iritli
ropylffia, covered sill
arlet garment, audit*
Turks have a sort of «**
)meBpiroteswlomW
ivedatthehouseof)^-
where he op"*1'
vhose means he after**
, where his escape^"
at length joined l£
.ruary, 1754, **J>
^ but the ^;
opposed to pro««;
thence sailed t'U
ithLogothe«;.^f#
e at Wfjji*
E£«*tsP
,3luseuJ»- chanaift--
,deAt«AtD
seen.""
a The entire passages of Pausanias, describing the architecture
of the Propylaea, are in the original as follows :
E; hi TDK Aj-iwroAli. Itrnt EitroJo; f4ia" srsgccv S\ av irccps^frai, ircitra.
<ototo/xo; oiV« mi Tsr^oj E^oura E^goV T« 2e njOTreAaia: AiSoti
E(AOV TT^OEl^/E. TO-f ^tEK OUy Ety.OVa? TWJ/ LKTTEUV OVX E^W C7CC<p0<; EllTsTv, £(Ve
ot TraidE; £((j(v of Bsvo^jwi'tgc, e('te ctAAt^ e's wifgiirshc&v 9TEsro»M*ev«f
Ta» Je IlgoiruAaiai/ ii> Se|ic&, Ni'y.»5 /jrrij ^irTEgou »oo;. 'E»ts59e>> ij
UatAacra-a E£7T( ovi/ottoi;* xcci TU.VT4 pl-^a-s Alytvs eccutov, wj xiyouatv,
eteAeutdctev.......... Etrrt $e e'v agio-TEpct TWf rTgo7njAa(wy o'Uvjpa. Eypv
VgaQir Attica, Cap. XXII.
It is acknowledged by ancient historians, that the Athenian
Acropolis was originally fortified by the Pelasgi, the migratory
remains of a people whose origin is lost in the obscurity of early
tradition. They appear to have possessed a knowledge of the
arts, and particularly of military architecture, far beyond the
nations among whom they sought an asylum. Clidemns, an an-
cient topographer quoted by Suidas, states, that the Pelasgi
levelled the Acropolis and encircled it with the nine-gated Pe-
lasgicum, v.ccl inlhtfii iji 'Axf6VoAii>, TsgiE/3aAAo» S\ ImanvTiot to
riEAao-yiy.ov. The natural formation of the Acropolis indicates
the position of these nine gates to have been at the western end
of it, and they were probably introduced at the traversing wind-
ings of the road which led up to the citadel. These defences
however seem to have been insufficient when the ancient art of
war became more perfected; for the Athenians, at the Persian
invasion, felt it necessary to strengthen the works with pali-
sades, or timber fortifications, against which Xerxes caused ig-
nited arrows to be discharged. The term e'we'« otA^i appears
to have been also applied, subsequent to the time of Pericles,
to the approach to the Acropolis with the existing Propylaea, and
it is to be observed that walls and foundations still exist, which
were anterior to the Persian invasion, and possibly the remains
of the Pelasgic fortifications, to which that term was originally
applied. A portion of these walls were evidently preserved by
the architect of the new edifice as the substruction of part of the
existing Propylaea, although he appears not to have been guided
by the precise aspect or plane of their front.
The Propylaea of Mnesicles, being an edifice of original de-
sign, and to the extent of its completion of felicitous execution,
was the pride of the Athenians and the envy of Greece; for it
is mentioned by iEschines that Epaminondas declared in an
assembly of the Thebans, at the period of their military as-
cendancy, that they ought to remove it to the Cadmcan citadel;
shewing thus early in history an avowed disposition for tasteful
spoliation. He may have ventured to suggest such a transfer
of a civic edifice, but had it related to a temple, the proposition
would probably not have tended to increase the popularity of
that warrior-statesman. The elevated position of this structure,
its enlarged intercolumniations and spacious vestibules, exposed
advantageously to view in that fine climate, the beauty of the
marble and the enrichments of the lacunaria, of which in
temples, though of a more costly character, the narrow peristyles
and generally dimly-lighted interiors afforded little display ; and
thus procured for this structure that general admiration which is
expressed in ancient authors. A fac-simile of this edifice, with
the exception of the wings, was raised to decorate the first en-
trance to the Peribolus of the Eleusinium, which was probably
erected when the dodecastyle portico was added to that temple
by Demetrius Phalerius. From the researches set on foot by the
Dilettanti Society, other elegant examples of Propylaea have been
discovered at Eleusis, Sunium, and Priene; there is a Propy-
laeum also to the Grecian temple at Pompeii: indeed it is high-
ly probable where space was afforded, or the finances of the
country adequate, that such edifices were usually attached to the
periboli of Grecian temples. The Romans do not appear to
have been very scrupulous about encircling their temples with
an enclosure. In the East however, at Balbec and Palmyra, are
found most sumptuous examples of periboli with propylaea raised
during the empire, decorating the approaches to the Great
Temples of the Sun at those extraordinary cities.
1 We beliere the letters of reference in this description will be perfectly in-
telligible on Stuart's Plan of the Acropolis, PI. II. of this volume, if we state
A learned modern traveller, Colonel Leake, viewing in a new
light the design of this edifice, resulting from the consideration
of the principles of ancient military architecture, makes the fol-
lowing remarks : « The whole work may be said to re-
semble the front of a modern fortification ; the great vestibule
or Propylamrn, properly so called, resembling the curtain, and
each of the wings presenting a face and Hank, like two adjoining
bastions." " There can be little doubt indeed, that the Propylaea
was a work of defence, no less than of decoration ; the difference
between it and the front of a modern fortification, being such
only as naturally arises from the difference of weapons and of
the art of war in the two ages, and from the admirable taste
with which the Athenians combined utility with ornament."
The chief circumstance which directed the ancients in the
disposition of the approaches to their fortresses, a point which
must as well have influenced their movements in the field, was
the comparatively unprotected state of the soldier's right side,
in not being covered by the shield. The father of our profession,
Vitruvius, equally a military as a civil architect, from the expe-
rience of this fact, gives the following precept for the for-
mation of the approaches to the gates of cities.
" Curandumque maxime videtur, ut non facilis sit aditus ad
oppugnandum rnurum, sed ita circumdandum ad loca prsecipitia,
et excogitandum, uti portarum itinera non sint directa, sed scoeva:
namque cum ita factum fuerit, tunc dextrum latus accedentibus,
quod scuto non erit tectum, proximum erit rnuro." Vit. L. I.
C. V.
' It is particularly necessary to be cautious that the approach
be rendered difficult for assaulting the walls, which should be
surrounded by precipices, and formed so that the paths to the
gates be not direct, but inclined to the left, by which means the
right flank of the assailants, uncovered by their shields, will be
next to the wall.'
Corresponding with this maxim the existing remains of the ap-
proaches to many ancient fortified places in Greece, Sicily, and
Italy, attest the advantage of the practical application of it;
and the above quoted topographer proceeds to show that the ap-
proach to the Propylaea was regulated accordingly ; from whose
observations on this subject, we will make a further extract.
" As it follows, from the foregoing principle, that the left of the
front of a Greek fortification was more easily defended against
the approach of an enemy than the right, it is obvious that the
western end of the Cecropian hill, the only approach to which
was by the ridge falling to the south-west, must by Grecian tac-
ticians have been considered as greatly favoured by nature. Its
right, which would otherwise have been the weaker end, is de-
fended by steep rocks, while the ridge, which slopes from the
left, by obliging the enemy to approach in that direction, fa-
cilitated the formation of outworks, which would have the effect
of forcing the assailant to mount the steep ascent under the con-
tinual disadvantage of the exposure of his right side to the
enemy.
" In order to render this remark more intelligible, it is ne-
cessary to refer the reader to the plan: a few previous obser-
vations, however, seem necessary.
" In the first place it can scarcely be doubted that the present
road, from the outer gate as far as the front of the Propylaea,
follows precisely the same track as the ancient carriage-way.
Such indeed is the nature of the ground, that a carriage-road
could not easily have been formed in any other direction; and if
the steepness of the ground renders such a circuitous route ne-
cessary for the present horse-path, it must have been still more
so to the carriages of the ancients, who, it should be remembered,
were not so much incommoded as the moderns, by the detour
from the northern part of the city, as they had an access to the
Propylaea for foot-passengers by the steps cut in the rock, traces
of which are still seen near the northern wing of the Pro-
pylaea.
" If the ancient and modern roads coincided, it is also probable
that the ancient gate of the outworks stood nearly in the same
spot as the modern outer gate A ', and that the inscribed stone
the gate at A to correspond with that at (m) on that plan, and the wall 13, C, of the
Acropolis to coincide with the extension of the Cimonian wall fronting O, to the angle
turn'. Sltl»
OF THE PROPYL/EA.
99
' a Work
e ai
of white marble, which surpassed for beauty, and the dimensions of the marble, all that he had before
litiesofth,
'ard'PasseHWll
e drawings of ^
'ilettanti, it» „,,
nriched with the ^
Which is at pre*
>f which willnotH
L The basso refe,.
premature deatt,,!;
long regretted byfc
g also made by Mr, I;
lies made therebyfc
>r of making any rem:
?orm the valuablepanc
ie to Meursius, who,,
allected from anciemi
>ly most aptly to tk
; There is only one e
;e, and fortified iritli
ropylffia, covered sill
arlet garment, audit*
Turks have a sort of «**
)meBpiroteswlomW
ivedatthehouseof)^-
where he op"*1'
vhose means he after**
, where his escape^"
at length joined l£
.ruary, 1754, **J>
^ but the ^;
opposed to pro««;
thence sailed t'U
ithLogothe«;.^f#
e at Wfjji*
E£«*tsP
,3luseuJ»- chanaift--
,deAt«AtD
seen.""
a The entire passages of Pausanias, describing the architecture
of the Propylaea, are in the original as follows :
E; hi TDK Aj-iwroAli. Itrnt EitroJo; f4ia" srsgccv S\ av irccps^frai, ircitra.
<ototo/xo; oiV« mi Tsr^oj E^oura E^goV T« 2e njOTreAaia: AiSoti
E(AOV TT^OEl^/E. TO-f ^tEK OUy Ety.OVa? TWJ/ LKTTEUV OVX E^W C7CC<p0<; EllTsTv, £(Ve
ot TraidE; £((j(v of Bsvo^jwi'tgc, e('te ctAAt^ e's wifgiirshc&v 9TEsro»M*ev«f
Ta» Je IlgoiruAaiai/ ii> Se|ic&, Ni'y.»5 /jrrij ^irTEgou »oo;. 'E»ts59e>> ij
UatAacra-a E£7T( ovi/ottoi;* xcci TU.VT4 pl-^a-s Alytvs eccutov, wj xiyouatv,
eteAeutdctev.......... Etrrt $e e'v agio-TEpct TWf rTgo7njAa(wy o'Uvjpa. Eypv
VgaQir Attica, Cap. XXII.
It is acknowledged by ancient historians, that the Athenian
Acropolis was originally fortified by the Pelasgi, the migratory
remains of a people whose origin is lost in the obscurity of early
tradition. They appear to have possessed a knowledge of the
arts, and particularly of military architecture, far beyond the
nations among whom they sought an asylum. Clidemns, an an-
cient topographer quoted by Suidas, states, that the Pelasgi
levelled the Acropolis and encircled it with the nine-gated Pe-
lasgicum, v.ccl inlhtfii iji 'Axf6VoAii>, TsgiE/3aAAo» S\ ImanvTiot to
riEAao-yiy.ov. The natural formation of the Acropolis indicates
the position of these nine gates to have been at the western end
of it, and they were probably introduced at the traversing wind-
ings of the road which led up to the citadel. These defences
however seem to have been insufficient when the ancient art of
war became more perfected; for the Athenians, at the Persian
invasion, felt it necessary to strengthen the works with pali-
sades, or timber fortifications, against which Xerxes caused ig-
nited arrows to be discharged. The term e'we'« otA^i appears
to have been also applied, subsequent to the time of Pericles,
to the approach to the Acropolis with the existing Propylaea, and
it is to be observed that walls and foundations still exist, which
were anterior to the Persian invasion, and possibly the remains
of the Pelasgic fortifications, to which that term was originally
applied. A portion of these walls were evidently preserved by
the architect of the new edifice as the substruction of part of the
existing Propylaea, although he appears not to have been guided
by the precise aspect or plane of their front.
The Propylaea of Mnesicles, being an edifice of original de-
sign, and to the extent of its completion of felicitous execution,
was the pride of the Athenians and the envy of Greece; for it
is mentioned by iEschines that Epaminondas declared in an
assembly of the Thebans, at the period of their military as-
cendancy, that they ought to remove it to the Cadmcan citadel;
shewing thus early in history an avowed disposition for tasteful
spoliation. He may have ventured to suggest such a transfer
of a civic edifice, but had it related to a temple, the proposition
would probably not have tended to increase the popularity of
that warrior-statesman. The elevated position of this structure,
its enlarged intercolumniations and spacious vestibules, exposed
advantageously to view in that fine climate, the beauty of the
marble and the enrichments of the lacunaria, of which in
temples, though of a more costly character, the narrow peristyles
and generally dimly-lighted interiors afforded little display ; and
thus procured for this structure that general admiration which is
expressed in ancient authors. A fac-simile of this edifice, with
the exception of the wings, was raised to decorate the first en-
trance to the Peribolus of the Eleusinium, which was probably
erected when the dodecastyle portico was added to that temple
by Demetrius Phalerius. From the researches set on foot by the
Dilettanti Society, other elegant examples of Propylaea have been
discovered at Eleusis, Sunium, and Priene; there is a Propy-
laeum also to the Grecian temple at Pompeii: indeed it is high-
ly probable where space was afforded, or the finances of the
country adequate, that such edifices were usually attached to the
periboli of Grecian temples. The Romans do not appear to
have been very scrupulous about encircling their temples with
an enclosure. In the East however, at Balbec and Palmyra, are
found most sumptuous examples of periboli with propylaea raised
during the empire, decorating the approaches to the Great
Temples of the Sun at those extraordinary cities.
1 We beliere the letters of reference in this description will be perfectly in-
telligible on Stuart's Plan of the Acropolis, PI. II. of this volume, if we state
A learned modern traveller, Colonel Leake, viewing in a new
light the design of this edifice, resulting from the consideration
of the principles of ancient military architecture, makes the fol-
lowing remarks : « The whole work may be said to re-
semble the front of a modern fortification ; the great vestibule
or Propylamrn, properly so called, resembling the curtain, and
each of the wings presenting a face and Hank, like two adjoining
bastions." " There can be little doubt indeed, that the Propylaea
was a work of defence, no less than of decoration ; the difference
between it and the front of a modern fortification, being such
only as naturally arises from the difference of weapons and of
the art of war in the two ages, and from the admirable taste
with which the Athenians combined utility with ornament."
The chief circumstance which directed the ancients in the
disposition of the approaches to their fortresses, a point which
must as well have influenced their movements in the field, was
the comparatively unprotected state of the soldier's right side,
in not being covered by the shield. The father of our profession,
Vitruvius, equally a military as a civil architect, from the expe-
rience of this fact, gives the following precept for the for-
mation of the approaches to the gates of cities.
" Curandumque maxime videtur, ut non facilis sit aditus ad
oppugnandum rnurum, sed ita circumdandum ad loca prsecipitia,
et excogitandum, uti portarum itinera non sint directa, sed scoeva:
namque cum ita factum fuerit, tunc dextrum latus accedentibus,
quod scuto non erit tectum, proximum erit rnuro." Vit. L. I.
C. V.
' It is particularly necessary to be cautious that the approach
be rendered difficult for assaulting the walls, which should be
surrounded by precipices, and formed so that the paths to the
gates be not direct, but inclined to the left, by which means the
right flank of the assailants, uncovered by their shields, will be
next to the wall.'
Corresponding with this maxim the existing remains of the ap-
proaches to many ancient fortified places in Greece, Sicily, and
Italy, attest the advantage of the practical application of it;
and the above quoted topographer proceeds to show that the ap-
proach to the Propylaea was regulated accordingly ; from whose
observations on this subject, we will make a further extract.
" As it follows, from the foregoing principle, that the left of the
front of a Greek fortification was more easily defended against
the approach of an enemy than the right, it is obvious that the
western end of the Cecropian hill, the only approach to which
was by the ridge falling to the south-west, must by Grecian tac-
ticians have been considered as greatly favoured by nature. Its
right, which would otherwise have been the weaker end, is de-
fended by steep rocks, while the ridge, which slopes from the
left, by obliging the enemy to approach in that direction, fa-
cilitated the formation of outworks, which would have the effect
of forcing the assailant to mount the steep ascent under the con-
tinual disadvantage of the exposure of his right side to the
enemy.
" In order to render this remark more intelligible, it is ne-
cessary to refer the reader to the plan: a few previous obser-
vations, however, seem necessary.
" In the first place it can scarcely be doubted that the present
road, from the outer gate as far as the front of the Propylaea,
follows precisely the same track as the ancient carriage-way.
Such indeed is the nature of the ground, that a carriage-road
could not easily have been formed in any other direction; and if
the steepness of the ground renders such a circuitous route ne-
cessary for the present horse-path, it must have been still more
so to the carriages of the ancients, who, it should be remembered,
were not so much incommoded as the moderns, by the detour
from the northern part of the city, as they had an access to the
Propylaea for foot-passengers by the steps cut in the rock, traces
of which are still seen near the northern wing of the Pro-
pylaea.
" If the ancient and modern roads coincided, it is also probable
that the ancient gate of the outworks stood nearly in the same
spot as the modern outer gate A ', and that the inscribed stone
the gate at A to correspond with that at (m) on that plan, and the wall 13, C, of the
Acropolis to coincide with the extension of the Cimonian wall fronting O, to the angle