Ἐρέχθειον

The summer hols have started with a bit of culture.................

The Erechtheion is a Greek temple (completed in 406BC) on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens which was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon.

"Porch of the Maidens", with six draped female figures (caryatids) as supporting columns was built to conceal the giant 15-ft beam needed to support the southwest corner over the metropolis, after the building was drastically reduced in size and budget following the onset of the Peloponnesian war.

Lord Elgin was unable to take the statues with his marbles as at the time this building was used as a "bordello" by the senior officers of the Turkish garrison in Athens.