Callicrates

Alongside Ictinus, Callicrates is credited as the chief co-architect of the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis in the fifth century BCE. He is also widely recognized for designing the small but elegant Temple of Athena Nike, located directly on the edge of the Acropolis.

Historical records indicate that Callicrates was contracted as a master-builder for the Middle Wall of the Long Walls, which connected Athens to its port city of Piraeus. These massive fortifications were crucial for protecting the city's vital maritime supply lines during times of war.

The Temple of Athena Nike, completed around 420 BCE, is considered the earliest fully Ionic temple built on the Acropolis. Callicrates designed it to be an amphiprostyle temple, meaning it features a portico of columns on both the front and rear facades rather than surrounding the entire structure.

Callicrates carried out his most famous architectural commissions under the leadership of the powerful Athenian statesman Pericles. Pericles used the massive wealth of the Delian League to finance the ambitious rebuilding of the Acropolis after the Persian destruction of the city.