\paperw3195 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs22 THE ERECHTHEION\par
Named after the mythological hero Erechtheus, who was the judge in the dispute between Poseidon a
nd Athene over the possession of Attica. The building was built on the highest point of the rock, close to the sacred olive tree of the goddess \b \cf4 \ATXht103 Athene\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 . It contained the tomb of Erechtheus and the archaic wooden statue o
f Athene that was said to have fallen from the sky. The fact that different cults were celebrated in the Erechtheion is the reason for the complex plan of the temple, made up of a main rectangular block, a portico to the north and the loggia of the Koura
i. In this loggia the architect replaced the columns, in accordance with an old Ionic tradition, with statues of women (caryatides).\par
