An Essay On The Parthenon

Building the Parthenon was a greater feat than they ever would have known. Work on the Parthenon began in 477 BC. A much smaller shrine already stood on this site, one to which we can attribute various pieces of surviving decorative material--lions and snakes, a cornice incised with flying birds, and a blue-bearded trinity that may conceivably represent Cecrops, Erechtheus, and Poseidon. If such an edifice in fact existed, it was torn down to make way for a huge limestone platform, roughly 252 by 103 feet in size, that was built as a base for the new temple. The slope of the Acropolis was such that while on the north side the foundations rested directly on bedrocks, the southeast corner needed to be built up with no

The Greeks finished building an exquisite temple to their beloved goddess, Athena in the year 432 BCE. (Sayre 60). The name of this enriched, unique temple was the Parthenon. The Parthenon took the Greeks approximately fifteen years to complete and as Pericles stated, it was built to give gratitude to their goddess Athena for the salvation of their city, Athens and all of Greece in the Persian Wars (Sayre 60). It was also a symbol of their power and superiority among other cultures. It was something the Greeks took great pride in and recognized it to a great extent. The Parthenon was built on the highest point of the city of Athens to look over the precious Greek city. On the exterior walls of the Parthenon there was beautiful artwork that

“This worship took the form of building elaborate temples and sanctuaries, holding festivals, making animal sacrifices, and offering them the fruits of the harvest” (Pearson, A. 2014). Athens’ patron goddess was Athena who is the goddess of wisdom, warfare, practical reason and handicraft. As temples were often “built to celebrate a city’s success or to thank a patron God for help during times of war,” (Pearson, A. 2014) it is often believed that the Parthenon’s sole purpose was to be a temple dedicated to Athena; however, it also symbolized the “wealth and exuberance of Athenian power” (Ancientgreece.com, 2012). This secondary source written by Pollard J.R.T. and Adkins A.W.H. supports this concept stating that “The Parthenon and other Athenian temples of the late 5th century proclaim the taste and power of the Athenians rather than their awe of the gods” (Pollard J.R.T. and Adkins A.W.H. 2016). Another religious aspect of the Parthenon is the Parthenon frieze (appendix 1) which runs around the outside of the cella wall. The Parthenon frieze depicts the Panathenaic Procession which is a Greek religious festival where “the sacrifice of several animals were offered... contests were held, and portions of epic poems were recited” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016). Unfortunately, many of the sculptures on the Parthenon frieze are in poor condition so historians cannot be certain as to what the Parthenon frieze illustrates as it is possible that it could represent a mythical

Many people consider the Parthenon to be an extraordinary building. Why is this building so celebrated and influential? The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the building’s history, examine the intricate architectural choices, and explore the extent to which selected Classically-inspired architectural works have taken influence from the Parthenon.

The Parthenon is a classical style of ancient Greek architecture and the most important building in the city and it self replaced on older temple of Athena, which called Pre-Parthenon. It was built and completed in 438 B.C buy Iktinos and Kallikrates, after that destroyed by Persian in 480 B.C. The Temple all made form marble and its 20 miles far from Athens. Later

Dedicated to the goddess Athena, the warrior maiden, the Parthenon is a Doric style temple (Gilbert 368). It took about 15 years to complete this strucutre (Gilbert 370). A lot like the Roman Pantheon, it had many columns surrounding the interior and exterior of this structure. This place was decorated with many sculptures along the inner roof top. It was painted in vivid colors, such as red and blue (Gilbert 370). Refered to as the cella its inner chamber housed the monumental statue of the Goddess Athena. Pheidias' hisself created this thirty foot high statue of Athena Parthenos, consisting of a frame made of wood, metal, clay, and plaster.

The Parthenon is created as an optical illusion. It appears to consist of straight lines but in fact, almost every surface is built to lean and curved from its columns to its foundations. It gives a unique insight into the best that ancient Greek sculptors could produce at the best period of Greek art. The Parthenon is a Doric peripteral temple; it consists of a rectangular floor plan with a series of low steps, and a colonnade of Doric columns. The three main types of columns used in Greek temples and other public buildings are Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Many of the sculpture

“The Parthenon was commissioned by Pericles sometime after Greek victories over the Persians between 490 and 480 BC” (Glancey 26, 27). During the Persian Greek wars, Athens believed that Athena watched over them and that she helped them throughout the war. The Parthenon represents the wealth, power, society, and culture of Athens. The building of the Parthenon cost the Athenians four hundred and sixty nine talents, which symbolized Athens as wealthy.

The philosophical ideas of Plato that relate to the Parthenon include whether the structure is an element of the Visible World or the Intelligible World. In my opinion, Plato would view the Parthenon as an object in the Visible World. The Parthenon is a one of a kind monument that is tangible and exists in our real world. The Parthenon is an architectural project and deals with forms of science and mathematics. Plato's view of science and mathematics are categorized as forms in the Intelligible World, which are intangible. Through analysis of illusory tactics, the Tripartite Soul, the simile of the line, and the artistic qualities of architecture, Plato's, as well as my view of the Parthenon will become

As you approach the Nashville Parthenon, the first thing you notice is the colossal size of the architecture itself. It is intimidating to say the least. The stairs are massive, and extra stairs were placed in between the larger ones so that it is accessible. At the four corners of the building, a gryphon sits. It was noted that ancient Greeks believed a gryphon was a protector or guardian of the stream in the north of Greece that flowed with gold. The porches seem to be a very sturdy foundation to the overall structure of the Parthenon. The doors, which will be discussed in more detail later, appear to be as tall as four to five people.

The Parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, built between 447 BCE and 432 BCE to honor the Greek goddess Athena. The Parthenon located in the acropolis is located on the top of a big hill. This could be a tactic to protect the structure from invaders, however, this is also symbolic of wanting to be closer to the gods, in this case closer to Athena. This great architectural piece made of huge slabs of marble creates a sense of grandness only the gods deserved. The architect included relief sculpture of larger than

In approximately 450 BC Athens’ premier statesman, Pericles, initiated a program of works designed to embellish his city in order to demonstrate the superiority of the city of Athens3. This crowing achievement of this program was The Parthenon, supervised by Pheidias3. It was built on the Acropolis; a mass of rock sharply rising out of the plain around Athens. The Parthenon is a replacement for an unfinished earlier temple that was destroyed by the Persians; the archaic remains of this were partially used to construct this magnificent building. The construction began in about 447 BC and was completed by 432 BC3. The three major elements forming the sculpted ornament on The Parthenon consists of the metopes, pediments, and the frieze. While

The Parthenon’s construction began in 447 BC, and was finished in 438 BC. The exterior decoration continued until 432 BC. The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena, the Athenian’s patron goddess. This ancient building was constructedbuilt under the sculptor, Phidias. Phidias put a gold and ivory statue

It is a good example of the Greek culture because it deploys how every other temple was built (stones interlocked – no cement) but also because it served another purpose/function: to guard the city's treasury, which was something that was done in many other Greek temples, according to the Parthenon's wikipedia page. This function did not occur in Roman temples.

There are three types of columuns in the Parthenon building which differ in size and shape. This difference give differnt appearance to the