ancient Greek architecture Ancient Greek architecture came from the Greeks, or Hellenes, whose Ancient Greece, culture flourished on the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Asia Minor, Anatolia and Italy for a period from about 900 BC ...

, a propylaion, propylaeon or, in its Latinized form, ''propylaeum''—often used in the plural forms propylaia or propylaea (;

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: προπύλαια)—is a monumental

gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...

way. It serves as a partition, separating the secular and religious parts of a city. The prototypical Greek example is the propylaea that served as the entrance to the

Acropolis of Athens The Acropolis of Athens (; ) is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several Ancient Greek architecture, ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, ...

. The

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate ( ) is an 18th-century Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical monument in Berlin. One of the best-known landmarks of Germany, it was erected on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin t ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and the

Propylaea In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaion, propylaeon or, in its Latinized form, ''propylaeum''—often used in the plural forms propylaia or propylaea (; Greek: προπύλαια)—is a monumental gateway. It serves as a partition, separat ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

both evoke the central portion of the Athens Propylaea.

Etymology

The Greek word , ''propylaeon'' (''propylaeum'' is the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

version), is the union of the

prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed. Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...

προ-, ''pro-'', "before, in front of", plus the plural of πύλη, ''pyle'', "gate", meaning literally "that which is before the gates", but the word has come to mean simply "gate building".

Propylaea of the Athenian Acropolis

The propylaea were the monumental gates to the Acropolis, commissioned by the Athenian leader

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

in order to rebuild the Acropolis at the conclusion of the

Greco-Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Polis, Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world ...

. These propylaea were built wide enough to allow chariots through. The construction was part of Pericles' great rebuilding program for Athens in BCE. The project of the Propylaea began once the Parthenon was almost done. It was overseen by the Athenian architect Mnesicles. Though the work was suspended due to the Peloponnesian War, the important pieces of Mnesicles' vision were able to come through. The architecture is unique in that the horizontal beams across the roof were supported by marble girders, which were supported by iron bars. The only other known use of metal in Greek architecture for structural purposes is the Temple of Zeus at Agrigento.

Propylaea outside the Greco-Roman world

The oldest known freestanding ''propylaeum'' is the one located at the palace area in

Pasargadae Pasargadae (; ) was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), located just north of the town of Madar-e-Soleyman and about to the northeast of the city of Shiraz. It is one of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage Site ...

, an

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

capital. A covered passage, called "the Propylaeum", used to face the

Palace of Darius in Susa The Palace of Darius in Susa was a palace complex that was built at the site of Susa, Iran, during the reign of Darius the Great, Darius I over the Achaemenid Empire. The construction was conducted parallel to that of Persepolis. Manpower and r ...

. In the 18th century, the Athenian Propylaea inspired

Carl Gotthard Langhans Carl Gotthard Langhans (15 December 1732 – 1 October 1808) was a Prussian master builder and royal architect. His churches, palaces, grand houses, interiors, city gates and theatres in Silesia (now Poland), Berlin, Potsdam and elsewhere belo ...

in construction of the

References

Bibliography

* Berve, H.; Gruben, G.; and Hirmer, M. ''Greek Temples, Theaters, and Shrines'' (New York, 1963). A general look at selected Greek structures. * Dinsmoor, William Bell (1922), "Structural Iron in Greek Architecture", ''

American Journal of Archaeology The ''American Journal of Archaeology'' (AJA), the peer-reviewed journal of the Archaeological Institute of America, has been published since 1897 (continuing the ''American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts'' founded by t ...

'', XXVI. * Dinsmoor, W. B., ''The Architecture of Ancient Greece'' (New York, 1975 – but actually a reprint of the 1950 publication). A general book on Greek architecture; dated in many areas but valuable for the Propylaea. * Dinsmoor, W. B. Jr., ''The Propylaia I: The Predecessors'' (Princeton, 1980). A careful study of the predecessors of the Propylaea. * Eiteljorg, Harrison, II, ''The Entrance to the Acropolis Before Mnesicles'' (Dubuque, 1993). A careful study of the predecessors of the Propylaea, with very different conclusions from those of Dinsmoor above. * Lawrence, A. W., ''Greek Architecture'' (Baltimore, 1973). A general book on Greek architecture. * Robertson, D.S. ''Greek and Roman Architecture (Cambridge, 1969). A general book on Greek and Roman architecture. Available in paper, this may be the best place to begin for those with no knowledge of ancient architecture. * Travlos, J., ''Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Athens'' (London, 1971). An encyclopedic approach to the monuments of Athens. * The Perseus Project. An electronic resource that provides quick information, but some of the information about the Propylaea was incorrect when the site was last checked. Several good photographs of the Propylaea are available through the Perseus project. * Cartwright, Mark. "Propylaea". ''World History Encyclopedia'', Https://Www.worldhistory.org#Organization, 24 July 2022, https://www.worldhistory.org/Propylaea/.

External links