The construction of the Erechtheion began in 421 BCE. The Athenians, who had completed the Parthenon more than a decade earlier, decided it was time to erect a magnificent new temple to house the revered wooden statue of the goddess Athena. They had been at war with Sparta for the past ten years but now peace had returned and they had time and the resources to turn to the task at hand. It was not easy though, for soon Athens found itself embroiled in new hostilities against Sparta and it was only in the period 409-405 BCE that the Erechtheion was finally completed. It is a temple unlike any other anywhere in the Greek world and was designed to accommodate numerous deities and traditions which accounts for its peculiar plan.