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Contribution Of The Parthenon

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Between 447 and 432 BCE during the Age of Pericles, an iconic temple was built at Athens' highest point in the name of the city-state's patron deity, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, and battle strategy. The temple was coined the Parthenon because it was designed to house an 11.5-meter chryselephantine statue called the Athena Parthenos, or simply, The Virgin. The reason for building the Parthenon was to proclaim to the world the success of Athens upon defeating the monstrous invading armies of Darius and Xerxes of the Persian empire. Considering the temple was a monument to a national cataclysm, the Parthenon was to be located on the Acropolis, or the highest place in the city. Before it was burned down by the Persians in 480 BC, the Acropolis was decorated in shrines to former kings as well as life-sized stone sculptures of youths and maidens (Mendelsohn). Now, it would carry the Parthenon and its diverse visitors for hundreds of years. The sculptor of the Parthenos, Phidias (or Pheidias), was very involved in the designing process along with architects Kallikratis and Iktinos. The building would measure 300 by 150 meters and up to 70 meters high of pure Pentelic marble (Cartwright). What is so significant about the design of the Parthenon is the use of gentle curves and inclinations to create optical illusions (Hadingham). For example, the columns that border the temple actually lean slightly inwards, which gives the image of true straight lines

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