The Propylaea, which has now come to mean any gateway, was originally an entrance to what magnificent ancient construction?
Propylaea Propylaea A propylaea, propylea or propylaia (; Greek: Προπύλαια) is any monumental gateway in ancient Greek architecture. The prototypical Greek example is the propylaea that serves as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. The Greek Revival Brandenburg Gate of Berlin and the Propylaea in Munich both evoke the central portion of the Athens propylaea. The Greek word προπύλαιον "propylaeon" ("propylaeum" is the Latin version) is the union of the prefix προ- "pro-", "before, in front of" plus the plural of πύλη "pyle" "gate," meaning literally "that which is before the gates," but the word has come to mean simply
Propylaea "gate building." The monumental gateway to the Acropolis, the Propylaea, was one of several public works commissioned by the Athenian leader Pericles in order to rebuild the Acropolis at the conclusion of the Persian Wars. Pericles appointed his friend Phidias as the supervisor and lead architect of this massive project, which Pericles allegedly financed with funds appropriated from the treasury of the Delian League. According to Plutarch, the Propylaea was designed by the architect Mnesicles, about whom nothing else is known. Construction began in 437 BC and was terminated in 432, when the building was still unfinished. The Propylaea was