The Acropolis In Athens, Greece And The Ise Shrine In Japan

Olivia Flynn
TA: Katherine Pillman
Architectural History 118
1) Both the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, and the Ise Shrine in Japan are sacred sites dedicated to a goddess. The Parthenon, and the entire Acropolis complex, was a site dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of Athens. The Parthenon housed a grand ivory and gold statue of Athena. It was magnificent and demonstrated how it contributed to the way the people of Athens were meant to worship the goddess. 5 The people were meant to come to the temple and Acropolis complex as they please, and worship the goddess there. The Greeks did not disrespect the land, but it was not nearly as meaningful to them as it was (and is) to the Japanese. The Japanese did not have the same types
1 It was in celebration of the patron goddess Athena’s birthday. The Acropolis was built with the purpose of it being a place of the people, and for the people. The people of Athens were welcome to come and go as they please. It was open for worship to all, and the openness conveyed by its form represented this “freedom” and “choice” available to the people. Nearly all the people of Athens had a role in this event. 1 The women of Athens spent great amounts of time on crafting various items utilized at the celebration, such as clothing like robes and multitudes of things used in the ceremonies. The Ise Shrine is one of the most sacred sites in Japan, and the Japanese people come from all over the country to pray. The worshippers “are not allowed to enter the shrines, which are obscured behind high walls, but can pray at the entrance” (Olson 1). There is a clear distinction between the way the Greeks and Japanese each included their worshippers in ritual processions and ceremonies. The Japanese people were meant to come and worship and do their duty of worshipping the goddess, but were more like bystanders. The Greeks were included in the ritualistic ceremonies and celebrations, and personally took part in every step of the process from preparing various materials to be participants in the
The Acropolis has been reconstructed in recent times, but was left alone and crumbled over years of weathering. Additionally, invasions and transfers of power and shifting in widespread religious beliefs occurred over thousands of years, and in this time, there was little attempt at maintenance and/or reconstruction of the Acropolis complex. Though much of the temple remains intact, there has been considerable damage over the years as it was not consciously preserved. In comparison, the Ise Shrine in Japan has been rebuilt every twenty years since its original date of construction. Logically, new wood is used each time, but it is all considered sacred and carefully selected and prepared from the forests in surrounding areas in the forest area in Japan. This manner of preservation relies on a consistent and unchanging set of beliefs and ideals. This rebuilding process is called Shikinen sengu, which is the practice of completely rebuilding structures every twenty years on sites adjacent to their current locations. 2 It relies on this information to be passed on from one generation to the next, no matter how it is communicated, it must be for this to continue to happen. This most obviously demonstrates a steady stream of power and ideals over a long period of time. The fact that the same rituals and construction have been performed for well over one