The CSA Propylaea Project
Harrison Eiteljorg, II, 2013. https://doi.org/10.5284/1022574. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Harrison Eiteljorg, II unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Harrison
Eiteljorg, II
Center for the Study of Architecture
Box 60
Bryn Mawr
PA 19010
USA
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 1591
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1022574
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
Welcome to the Introduction of the Final Report of the CSA Propylaea Project. The project, which began as an idea in 1999, was intended to create a unified digital (i.e., computer-based) resource concerning the Propylaea. This Final Report, which consists of many web documents as well as digital files available for download, includes all materials created in the course of the project — and all supporting materials. Thus, these materials serve as the project's final publication. It should be noted that these documents have not been subjected to peer review.
The Propylaea is the magnificent entrance structure that has guarded the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens since shortly after the middle of the fifth century B.C.E. Designed by the architect Mnesicles, the Propylaea stands today as a glorious testimony to the creativity of the architect and to the soaring power and majesty of the ancient Greek architectural vocabulary when put to use by a master such as Mnesicles.
The central aim of the project was to create a single, integrated, digital resource for any student of the Propylaea. This digital resource was to include both textual and photographic material (some already extant), and it was to include a stone-by-stone CAD model of the building itself. Being digital, this material was to be made available via the propylaea.org website; it was assumed that the project website would ultimately cease to function and that the material would be placed in a digital archives. Thus, the material is now available via the Archaeology Data Service, not the website of the CSA Propylaea Project, which will exist for some time merely to point readers to the relevant ADS pages. Some of that material is available here. Other parts were not completed before the project was terminated near the end of 2008. For scholars and others who wish to examine the project in detail, the recommended starting page is the Project Introduction; for those who have a more general interest in this topic, the better starting point is the Project Background and Rationale.
Please note that there are no Greek translations of this or other pages describing the work of the project. Greek translations had been posted previously on the project website. It became apparent that the difficulties of maintaining up-to-date translations made it preferable to omit translations of any kind. Furthermore, online translation facilities, while not yet adequate for anything so complex as this material, will become more and more useful and will soon take the place of supplied translations, providing virtually any language for any reader. It is important to realize, however, that automated translations remain inadequate at this time (2013); readers should be wary of relying upon any such translation and should be sure to use the posted, English version of any web page for quotation or other citation.
Text of note 1. This postcard was probably sent late in the nineteenth century, apparently to Mademoiselle L. Rubigny in Paris, and ultimately found in an Athens flea market in 2001. The Propylaea is shown after the demolition of the Frankish Tower but before twentieth-century restorations. Note the value of the stamp, .01 drachmas. Our thanks to Chrysanthos Kanellopoulos for finding the postcard and giving it to CSA. Return to text.
About this document:
- Title: "Introduction, Final Report, CSA Propylaea Project
- Author: Harrison Eiteljorg, II and the staff of CSA, Box 60, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, (e-mail: user nicke at (@) the domain csanet.org; tel.: 484-612-5862)
- Original file name: index.html
- Revision history: Since this document is part of the CSA Propylaea Project Final Report and has been archived with the Archaeology Data Service, changes should not occur. Serious mistakes may be corrected; if so, clear indications of corrections will be included.This web page was never posted on the Propylaea website. The previous, very similar, version of it was first posted in September, 2011. It replaced a previous (much longer) home page that included most of the information on the new Final Report, CSA Propylaea Project: General Introduction and Project Rationale page. Modifications to make it clear that this is part of the Final Report of the CSA Propylaea Project were made in July of 2012, though not posted.
- Internet access: This document was first prepared for propylaea.csanet.org, operated by the Center for the Study of Architecture and Harrison Eiteljorg, II. It has been turned over to the Archaeology Data Service for archival preservation.
- Long-term availability: This document or its successors will be maintained for electronic access indefinitely.
