Holy Triangle

The Temple of Aphaea was built in 480 BC on top of a prior temple that was destroyed by fire in 510 BC.  Because the ruins of the older temple were used it led to the discovery of many female figurines belonging to the late Bronze Age showing that a Minoan deity existed at this site from 14th century BC. The existing temple is noted for its beautiful sculptures that show the remarkable progress from Archaic to Early Classical techniques. Aphaea, a mountain and a hunting goddess, was particularly dear to Artemis. The Aeginetans say that Britomartis who was the daughter of Zeus appeared on their island while fleeing from King Minos, who lusted after her.  Britomartis escaped by casting herself in the fishermen nets near the coast of Aegina and was seen going up till she vanished and hence the name Aphaea which in Greek means vanish. 

The Parthenon (Greek: Παρθενων) is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece.  It has stood atop of the Acropolis for nearly 2,500 years and was built to give thanks to Athens’ patron goddess, Athena, for the city’s salvation of Athens in the Persian Wars.  The Parthenon was constructed at the 5^th century BC when Pericles suggested it to the citizens of the Athens.  When he secured their approval he engaged Phidias a renowned sculptor and two architects Ictinus and Callicrates who in unison conceived, supervised and constructed it.  It housed the 40-foot-high statue of Goddess Athena and served as the most important temple of the Ancient Greek Religion for a thousand years.  The temple was still intact in the 4th century AD, but in the 5th century the great statue of Athena was looted and taken to Constantinople.  Shortly after the Parthenon was converted to a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary at which time internal columns and sculptures were removed and destroyed.  In 1456 Athens fell to the Ottomans, and the Parthenon was converted into a mosque. A minaret was added to the Parthenon, but otherwise it was not damaged further. European visitors in the 17th century testified that the building was largely intact.  In 1687 the Parthenon suffered its greatest destruction when the Venetians attacked Athens, and a cannonball hit and exploded a magazine as the Parthenon was used to store their powder.  When Greece gained its independence, the minaret and other medieval and modern buildings on the Acropolis were removed. Today, the Parthenon attracts tourists from all over the world who walk the path to the sacred hill of Acropolis to visit the magnificent Parthenon, Erechtheion, Temple of Athena Nike, and Propylaea among others.

In cape Sounion there were temples of the favorite Gods of Athens that of Poseidon, the God of the Sea, and Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom.  The Persians destroyed the older Poseidon’s temple in 480 BC.  The temple as it now stands on the top of the hill was built in 444 BC atop the older temple ruins, which are still visible.  The temple of Athena is in the base of the hill and in close proximity to Poseidon’s temple.  

Ancient Greek mathematicians like Euclid and geographers like Pytheas and Ptolemy instilled the love for geometry and geography to Ancient Greeks.  In addition to building temples in beautiful places they were interested on how they related to one another.  It is interesting if lines are drawn between the three above mentioned temples the form an isosceles triangle with its base being between the temples in Aphaea and Acropolis and its apex at Sounion.