Propylaea Research Paper

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

devastating Persian war, Athens was the only member of the league capable of providing naval ships. Although the Delian League never formally became the Athenian Empire, Athens did exert its control over other city states. After the war, Athens used other nations funds without permission. The size and cost of the project aimed at enriching Athenian culture angered other city-states, according to www.athensinfoguide.com. Not only did it anger other nations, it threatened them. In 436 B.C. Sparta launched a massive attack against the ever-strengthening state of Athens (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu). Athens quickly withdrew from Peloponnesus, the Spartan homeland, and a peace treaty was signed. However, tensions never subsided and in 431 BC, Sparta declared war on Athens started the massive Peloponnesian War. Pericles’ vision of the Acropolis was never fulfilled, as construction halted at the outbreak of the war. Fortunately, all major plans for the Propylaea had been fulfilled. The creation of the Propylaea is direct result of funds gained from a war. Additionally, the misallocation of said funds is a contributing factor to a second war.
Additionally, there is significant political history in the Propylaea.

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

valuable.

The Propylaea, or the Acropolis as a whole can teach a valuable lesson to the modern world. In ancient Athens, citizens lived their lives on level ground below the acropolis. The acropolis itself was almost occupied by religious buildings. The Propylaea served as a partition between the secular and nonsecular parts of the city ( http://www.ancient.eu/Propylaea). This religious tolerance serves as a reflection on the liberties of Athenian society. The same liberties have been applied to all true democratic societies since. The symbolic border that the Propylaea provides between religion and society should set the standard for all nations in the modern