The Propylaea is how visitors were to enter the Acropolis. Its purpose both now and then is to be the grand entrance to the top of the Acropolis. The Propylaea was built by Mnesikles on the west side of the Acropolis starting around 437 BCE when the Parthenon was completed. In 432 BCE, the construction was interrupted as the Peloponnesian War arose and kept the Athenians preoccupied. Because of this outbreak of war, the Propylaea was never completed in its entirety based on the original plan.
Architecture
The central building of the Propylaea faces East and West and has six Doric columns facing either way. The building is separated into two parts by a cross-wall with five separate doorways. The longer hall is closer to the western side and had three aisles which are marked by two rows of Ionic columns. There are two wings to the north and south of the central building. The north wing of the Propylaea may have served as a banquet hall for worshippers on the plateau. It had many paintings and was referred to as the "Pinakotheke" by Pausinias of the 2nd century A.D. The south wing was a porch which led to the sanctuary of Athena Nike, and it was later turned into a Christian Basilica. In 1640 the Propylaea was turned into a palace, and the south wing became a tower during the Ottoman Occupation. This was soon destroyed by either lightning or an explosion of gunpowder from a cannonball.
The Shrine of Athena Hygieia and Hygieia
A shrine which is dedicated to Athena Hygieia and the god of medicine, Hygieia, is situated southeast of the main building of the Propylaea. The Athena Hygieia cult dates to the 6th century BC, while the Hygieian cult dates to about 420 BC. Inside the shrine, there is a rectangular altar and a marble base that once held a bronze statue of Hygieia. This statue had been sculpted by Pyrrhos of Athens. This statue was thought to be dedicated to a worker who had died in the construction of the Propylaea, but is more likely dedicated to the people of the city during a plague that had struck at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War.