Erechtheion
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The Erechtheion was built on ground uneven with shrines and alters, on the spot where Poseidon was believed to have hit the earth with his trident, but despite these layout challenges, it is an intricate and rather graceful building very different to it’s dominant, angular neighbour, the Parthenon. It was built between 421 and 407 BC to replace the ‘Old Temple’ the grounds of which lie between the Erechtheion and the Parthenon and house important relics. Facing east, the northern and western walls are three metres taller than those on the south and eastern sides. The temple’s most striking feature are the six massive female statues who hold up the roof on their heads like columns (five of the originals are housed in the Acropolis Museum in Athens and one is in the British Museum - appropriated by Lord Elgin - and there are exact replicas on the building itself.). It also has marble friezes and elaborately carved doorways and columns.
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