The Parthenon At Athens

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 Parthenon was an amazing and expensive achievement of ancient Greece. Although it is mostly in ruins today, there is enough knowledge about its construction to allow others to recreate the structure. The Parthenon is often constructed not only to honor the ancient Greeks, but also to honor the culture and place where it is recreated. Although the Parthenon’s influence is tremendous throughout the western world, it is generally only faithfully represented in part- the nearest representations found during my research include the Walhalla and the Nashville Parthenon. This paper focuses mostly on the original building’s history and its influence on American architecture, with a short discussion on a site in Germany. Research was conducted through the use of our course’s textbook, our consortium library, and educational websites. After my research was concluded, I became particularly fascinated with the golden ratio, which is debated to have been used during the construction of the Parthenon. I would like to research this in future work.

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

The columns, which are the strongest support system of the structure, are enormous. T Nashville Parthenon has a total of 58 exterior columns–8 at each façade, 15 on each side, and 6 on both front and back porches. The order they take is neat and near perfect; they are all evenly spaced. The six porch columns are parallel to the façade columns, as are both of the lengthwise sides to each other. Known as an entasis, the columns become slimmer as they go upward. This is done so that the naked eye does not see a “slouch”, but a more pleasing, straightening effect to the visual aspect of the Parthenon. Up close, one can see the flutes of the columns, which are ellipse-shaped. If you look down the length of the structure, everything appears to be extremely calculated and flawless. It is very directional and almost like a “light at the end of the

During the time of prosperity in Greece, war is done, and a sculptor rebuilds Athens. Phidias, a sculptor in the Golden Age of Greece, rebuilt Athens after Persia burned the polis to the ground. He constructed temples like the Parthenon for the Acropolis and statues such as The Promachos and Statue of Zeus.

The British Government have an obligation to give back the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum back to the Greek government. This is due to the importance the Statues have in Greek Culture, the importance of having the Acropolis once again united, and the high level of evidence supporting the claim that the British stole the statues. This essay will aim to explain each of these points, a well as the British Rebuttals. Not only this, but a recount will be made on the attempt made by myself and a classmate as we attempted to replicate this debate and negotiate for a peaceful outcome.

For nearly 2500 years the Parthenon, located in Athens, Greece has manifested the ancient Greek notions of justice, freedom and artistic excellence. One of the most well-known artifacts that were once on the Parthenon 's exterior were the Elgin Marbles. These sacred marbles were crafted by the well-regarded Phidias, consisting of an extensive amount of Greek ideologies and exceptional artistic impressions. The Elgin marbles were taken from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin and brought to Britain. Hundreds of years later, the Greeks claim these marbles were once their prized possession, and demand the return of them. Many may wonder, why let a so called 'prized possession ' be kept in such a low security setting with little protection? The only

The Parthenon is located on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece; is a former temple which was dedicated to Greek goddess Athena, whom the Athens considered their leader. According to the British Museum (2015), The Parthenon was built nearly 2500 years ago and has a long and complex history. After thousands of years it became a church of the Virgin Mary of the Athenians, then a mosque and then finally resulted in a archaeological ruin. After the result of a ruin, the buildings were reformed in which various sculptures were damaged. During the 1800’s after the Parthenon being damaged, the Elgin marbles (Elgin) a part of the remaining sculpture, was removed and given to a British museum. For hundreds of years there has been a question if the British museum should return the Elgin marbles back to the Athenians or not. I believe that that the safest and most beneficial place for the Elgin marbles is the British museum, therefore the British should not return the marble to the Athenians.

If the Parthenon had never been built, history would have drastically changed. Democracy would still have been created of course, but would have had no symbol to represent it, as the Parthenon does now. The democratic system also might have not spread to countries such as France and the United States if the Parthenon did not exist. Those countries looked at the accomplishments the Parthenon fulfilled and thought of them perfect, and without it these countries might would have never adopted the system on their own countries.

After standing for approximately 2500 years, the Greek Parthenon is still a marvel of engineering and even though it is in disrepair, one can still see the ultimate beauty of the personification of classical Greek architecture. Construction began in 448 B.C.E., 32 years after most of Athens was destroyed by the Persian Army, Perikles with the guidance from Phidias employed the best artist and artisans to rebuild the grand acropolis. Architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, started building on the highest point on the Acropolis with the Parthenon standing as the largest Doric building on the Greek Mainland. What makes the Parthenon look so beautiful is the facade based on the Golden Section. The Golden Section is defined as a structure with a

The Greeks created an astonishing and long lasting legacy of architecture. Ancient Greek architecture is still displayed today, through the beauty and abundance of talent incorporated in the structures spread across the land. The Parthenon is still standing today although some parts of the structure have been worn away over the years. Many people visit the Parthenon to learn more about the history of Ancient Greece. The structure is very detailed and complex from its unique principles and components. When the Athenians built this temple they were at the highest of their riches and could afford great building materials that help keep some parts of the structure still standing tall today. The temple not only represented great riches, it was

I believe that the Parthenon's statues belong to the Greeks. Yes, they would be more safe in Great Britain than in Greece. However, this argument was only valuable back in 1795, now Greece is a developed country which has what it takes to take care of a such as architecture. Lastly, Greece is the best place for the statutes, not only because it literally belongs to them, but because it gives a better legitimize to the statutes if they are in their own

However the columns are not of equal distance from each other around the Parthenon. The columns at the entrance are set further apart to a clear entrance to the temple. The columns on the corners are set just slightly closer to their neighboring columns to give way for the human eye. This compensation prevents the illusion of the columns leaning outward and being further apart than the other columns. The stylobate, the floor of the temple, was also built to allow for an optical illusion.

After reviewing the lectures and smart history materials, I found that the Parthenon was very interesting. I believe that the Parthenon is one of the most beautiful architectural structures in Greek history. It was built around 447-432 BCE, and is located on the hill of Acropolis. Individuals named, Iktinos and Kallikrates were the architects of this temple. This structure was actually so important and popular that replicas of this temple were built in other locations such as Nashville, Tennessee. The Parthenon is made completely out of marble and was built in devotion to a Greek goddess named Athena. This temple shows the authority, prosperity and culture of the Athenian society (Ancient-Greece).

The priestess entered the inner chamber of the Parthenon carrying a basket heavily laden with rich offerings for the Goddess. Eirene did not know if Athena even cared for the lavish display - heavy gold bracelets and finely woven cloths, gems and a necklaces that spoke to the wealth of Athens and the abundant blessings of her patron Goddess. As usual, Eirene made running commentary as she laid out the baubles and draped the jewelry at the foot of the great chryselephantine statue.