The smaller, oddly shaped temple on the north side of the rock, with a porch of six stone women holding up its roof, is the Erechtheion. Those women, the Caryatids, are copies. Five of the originals are in the museum down the hill, and one is in London. But the strangest thing about this building is on its far side, in the porch facing north. There's a hole in the roof there, and it's supposed to be there.
The Erechtheion looks lopsided because it had to sit on top of a whole collection of sacred spots at once, and none of them could be moved. Athenians believed this was the place where their city's origin story actually happened.
The story goes like this. Athena and Poseidon both wanted to be the patron god of Athens, and they held a contest on this rock. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident, and a spring of salt water burst out. Athena touched the ground and an olive tree grew. The Athenians chose the olive, which is why the city belongs to Athena.
And the Athenians believe
d they could show you the evidence. In the bedrock under the north porch were marks they said had been left by Poseidon's trident. Ground struck by a god wasn't supposed to be closed in. So when they built the porch, they left an opening in the floor so the marks could be seen, and a matching hole in the roof directly above, to keep the spot open to the sky. It was one of the most expensive buildi
