How Did Greek Government Build 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

Greeks learned how to behave by reading myths and looking at how the people treated gods. It

Ancient Greek architecture advanced over hundreds years; starting in the new stone age, and ending in the archaic period. The Greeks are known for their large stone columns and huge stone buildings. Ancient architects are even credited for building one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the statue of Zeus at Olympia. The earliest buildings were

When people wonder about Ancient Greece the first thing that comes to their minds is Greek mythology; gods and goddesses that have helped shape many historical events. “In ancient Greece, stories about gods and goddesses and heroes and monsters were an important part of everyday life.” (“Greek Mythology.”) The civilization showed that numerous characters and stories helped shape Greeks. The beliefs the Greeks had with mythologies was they understood the meaning behind all the characters that are known today. However, to the Greeks, they were not just characters, these were their gods and goddesses who gave them meaning and understanding of the world around them. Worshiping the gods and goddesses helped them with their religious rituals and the temperament of the weather. A famous wine-jar that was made during this time period was “Achilles killing the Amazon Queen Penthesilea, 540-530 BCE, black-figured amphora”. (Khan Academy) The civilization that they lived in grew around their worship and achievements.

The Athenian Greeks at the height of their power built a temple called the Parthenon which was a monument to their core values of perfectionism, humanism, and rationalism. It is important to understand that the human eye has imperfections which deceive the mind, so one can understand the unique steps that were taken to achieve the illusion of perfection to the human eye. The Greeks loved perfection, and as seen in the Parthenon, the Greek architects purposely made the Parthenon imperfect to account for the imperfections in the human eye. This was done so that when one views the Parthenon with the naked eye, it appears to be perfectly symmetrical, straight, and proportional. The entire Parthenon does not have a single right angle. An example of the Greeks compensating for the imperfections of the human eye is seen in the base of the Parthenon, which from a picture or in real life looks perfectly straight, but in reality it is actually curved slightly upward. It is curved because the Greeks knew that if you have a perfectly flat base for a building, it appears curved to the human eye. To account for that, the Greeks made it so that the base was already curved. The Greeks also curved the columns of the Parthenon inward, because if the columns were straight, it would appear to be curving outward. Again, the Greeks knew about how the human eye deceives the mind, and decided that they must trick the eye to please the mind. This was all done because the Greeks strived for

Greek art, unlike the art of the East, resulted from the intellectual mastery of form and proportion. However, it also resulted from a spiritual ability to recognize beauty in the reality and perfection of the natural world.

According to the "Idealism in Greek Art" written by Percy Gardner, he mentions that with the growth of naturalism in Greek sculpture, they have a of idealism of Greek. However whereas naturalism grows steadily and has no sets-back, Greek idealism have more influence on social and political conditions. (Gardner 420) The society of ancient Greek was based on a devotion to the highest standards of brilliance. They are very enthusiasm to be perfect and they expressed the perfection of human being into three aspects which are the body, mind and spirit. The ancients Greeks went to the gym

“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.

in architecture of the times. Several elements of the Parthenon follow nature-based models. The rectangular shape of The Parthenon was derived from the Golden Ratio of 5:8, which can be seen in some flowers and nautilus seashells. The drums of The Parthenon?s columns also have natural characteristics. Their diameter is similar to the height of man. Plato?s view of compensation making The Parthenon ?less real? can be contradicted with the nature based models that were used to construct it.

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

The Parthenon is known as the Temple of Athena Parthenos. Phidias and his team (Ictinus and Callicrates) began the process of building the Parthenon in 447 B.C.E. “It is one of the main buildings in the Acropolis and was dedicated to honor Athena. The buildings showed a lot of wealth and power to the Athenian empire. The architecture of the Parthenon shows elements of the clarity.” The Parthenon has a rather uniquely structured building. There is nothing cookie-cutter about the shape. The surfaces are rarely straight and there are hardly any completely horizontal or vertical lines. Instead of using the straight lines they went with more of a slight curve. Also the floor was not flat it had a more pronounced curve than people had seen before which made it stand out. The outer floor was had about a 6-inch difference from the inner floor. The unusual structure of the Parthenon was not due to poor architect skills it was completely

The Parthenon reflects this Greek culture as it is also built on a platform of three steps. Greeks were famous for their three type of columns Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Most of their temples and the government building had these columns. We see the Greek culture reflected in the Parthenon, as it is a Doric temple with Ionic architectural features. The platform of the Parthenon measures 69.5 by 30.9 meters, surrounded by Doric columns.

In 447 BCE, construction began under the guidance of Pericles of Athens. To build the Parthenon, the best architects and sculptors were hired, among which was Phidias, who created the statue of Zeus at Olympia. Phidias produced the statue of Athena made out of gold and ivory, which resided in Acropolis until it was destroyed.

The Parthenon was an architectural masterpiece because of its great size and elaborate decoration. It was constructed between 447 and 438 BCE on the acropolis of

The ancient Greek education system acted as an institutionalized method to oppress the lower classes. Carr states, that “Any boy who was poor,even if he was free, also could not go to school: his family could not afford to pay the teacher”. This illustrates that the upper class boys could only really get the education they needed to prosper in academia. Although the lower class could join the military, then move their way into the upper class that would take the time and the education does not stay in the heads like it would if they were taught when they were younger. This shows oppression through the way the people who controlled the prices of classes taught (the upper class). The classes usually costed around “100 drachmae (cost of class)and 100 pupils per