The two other temples which still adorn the Acropolis are of the Ionic order. They are much smaller and less imposing than the Parthenon, but [Illustration: THE CARYATID PORTICO OF THE ERECHTHEUM FROM THE WEST On the extreme right show two columns of the north-east angle of the Parthenon; in the distance is Mount Hymettos.] in some respects they may be regarded as even more beautiful. With regard to the Erechtheum, whatever may have been the case before the destruction of the sacred buildings by the Persians, it was the temple which now bears this name that was subsequently recognised by the state as the official place of worship, in which were preserved the ancient wooden image of Athena _Polias_ (carefully removed to Salamis on the approach of the Persians) and the golden lamp which was never allowed to go out. Its erection a few years after the dedication of the Parthenon was probably due to the conservative tendencies in the state, of which Nicias was the exponent, in opposition to the bolder and more progressive policy of Pericles. There seems to have been considerable delay in the process of building, owing to the Peloponnesian war, and it was not till 408 B.C. that the work was complete. Nothing could be more exquisitely beautiful than the Ionic columns of the porch at the eastern end, and the _Caryatidæ_, or “Maidens,” supporting the architrave of the portico on the southern side. Originally there were six of the former, but one of them was removed by Lord Elgin, and is now in the British Museum. The same fate befell one of the Caryatidæ, which has been replaced with a terra-cotta cast, while another bears the marks of modern reconstruction. On the northern side of the temple, projecting a little beyond the west end, and at a considerably lower level than the parts already mentioned (the difference of height amounting to nine feet), there is a beautiful entrance, with four columns in front and one on either side. The doorway is regarded as the finest thing of the kind in existence. It leads into the Erechtheum proper. As already indicated, Erechtheus is one of the oldest names in Attic mythology. According to Hesiod, his daughter Creüsa married Xuthus, son of Hellen and brother of Æolus and Dorus, the heads of the Æolian and Dorian branches of the Hellenic race; and, through his grandsons, Achæus and Ion, Erechtheus became the progenitor of the Achæans and Ionians. Homer again tells us that Erechtheus was worshipped in the temple of Athena (_Il._ ii. 549-551), and we learn from Pausanias that sacrifices were offered to him on the altar of Poseidon, by command of the oracle. The peculiar construction of the temple was doubtless due to the fact that it was intended for the accommodation of more than one deity. Under the lower chambers were shown (as they still are!) the marks of Poseidon’s trident and the sea-spring (now a great covered cistern) through which the noise of the waves could be heard when the wind was blowing from the