The Parthenon Essay

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

The Parthenon was home to the Athena Parthenos, but where it was located in the Parthenon is crucial. It was located in a special chamber called the cella.*footnote* The only people that were actually allowed into the Parthenon were priests, who are could be considered the holiest of all people in their culture.*footnote* This elevates the Athena Parthenos to a very high level of holiness, that most would consider to be Goddess-like. Normal citizens of Athens had to worship in a courtyard outside of the Parthenon, which means that they couldn’t even be under the same roof as the Athena Parthenos.*footnote* The placement of the statute clearly indicates a very high level of religious standing, that could be best described as Goddess-like.

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 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

Many Greek people valued strength and believed that it was the most important virtue of all. According to the article Athens was determined to be the most powerful, so for them to do that they decided to organize campaigns. In these campaigns they decided that building a grand building was the way to go; and in these buildings they would place grand statues. The Parthenon building was filled with statues one of them being of the greek goddess Athena. Athena was made of ivory and covered in gold; she also is depicted as having a spear and a shield in her hand. The sculptor created her this way to show that one of the main virtues was to be strong, and protect the city. The statue of Athena representing strength, was accompanied by a very strong military to protect the great structure

“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

Nashville's Parthenon is the world's only full-scale replica of the ancient Parthenon in Athens, Greece. The original Parthenon was completed in 438 BCE and was a temple to the goddess Athena, protector and patron goddess of Athens. It is widely considered to be the pinnacle of Classical Greek architecture, and today, nearly 2500 years later, it remains a symbol of the ideals of ancient Greek democracy. Nashville's Parthenon was originally built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. The previous year, however, Tennessee celebrated its hundred-year anniversary as a state, but the six-month Centennial Exposition was not held until 1897 so that the necessary funds could be raised. Like other fairs and expositions of the Victorian

The Acropolis is a large worship complex built on a mountain overlooking the city of Athens. Both the residents of the city and those traveling to Athens would have been able to see it at all points throughout the day. Inside the structure lies the Parthenon, the main temple, dedicated to the goddess Athena, who was the guardian of the city of Athens. The location itself was a holy site as it was believed to be the place where Athena won against Poseidon and earned her patronage. Poseidon gave the Greeks a salt well where as Athena gave them a olive branch, and as her gift was deemed better, they erected the Parthenon in her name. There is also a smaller temple dedicated to Poseidon in the Acropolis. The olive branch given to them was said to be within the Parthenon and the salt well was said to be in the temple to Poseidon. Finally, the Parthenon is covered in the carved stories of the victories of both Athens and Athena herself. These re-introduced their beliefs and glorified Athena for her helping of

The Athenians built the Parthenon in 447 BC, as a replacement of their first temple and a monument of victory after leading the Greeks to victory against the Persians. Funded by the wealthy members of the society and money appropriated by the recently moved from the Bank of Delian league, the Parthenon stood as political statement of democracy in addition to its religious function. Geographically located at the highest point of the city and within proximity of the acropolis, Athenians and visitors would be able to witness the grandeur of Athenian wealth during their height of power. Being a cultural center for art and the leaders of the other Greek City-States during the war, the Athenian claim to being the most quintessential Greeks. Through

The rectangular structure covers over 23000 square feet. Builders made complex adjustments geometrically to make the structure appear perfectly straight from all vantage points.[1] A temple of this magnitude reinforced the idea, and the realty, that Athens was the predominant city state of that period. Religion was much more personally and societally institutionalized. Completely circling the cella , the inner chamber, is the Parthenon frieze. Sculpted of marble in low relief, a majority of the frieze is devoted to a depiction of the great procession held each year on Athena's birthday.[2] This great parade made it's way through Athens and ended at the Parthenon. Animal sacrifices were then made, and then ceremony or services were presided over by priests. Every four years a great celebration was held, the Greater Panathenaia. Athletic games, military competition and art and poetry competitions were held. But the procession and the Parthenon remained first and fore

The Parthenon is known for being one of the greatest achievements of the Athenians. The massive building is a work of perfection and beauty. The Parthenon, which took ten years to build was placed on the highest point of the Acropolis that overlooks the Athenian City. Constructed entirely of marble and embellished with sculptures, the Parthenon is one of the finest examples of the Classical style. It has columns that are specific to the Classical style.

The Parthenon had sculptured panels along its exterior above the columns (called metopes) and sculptures in the triangular spaces underneath the roof line at both ends of the building (called pediments) and a unique sculptural feature the Ionic frieze which was around the top of the walls (wikipedia, 2006). The Parthenon's frieze depicted the Athenian religious ritual called the Panathenaic festival, in which a procession of citizens paraded to the Acropolis to present to Athena a new robe woven by specially selected Athenian girls, which was held every 4 years. The frieze showed men riding spirited horses, women walking along carrying sacred implements, and the gods gathering together at the head of the parade to observe their human worshippers (‘Parthenon', 2006). This showed how over-confident the spirit of the Athenians where, because they dared put themselves where ordinarily only gods and heroes might be found.

One of the most impressive accomplishments of Ancient Greece is the remarkable structure of the Parthenon on the Acropolis. The Parthenon is one of the most inspiring works of architecture known to mankind. The project of the extraordinary Acropolis was taken on by one of the most influential leaders of history, Pericles. Pericles influenced not only the building of one of the grandest works but the example of democracy displayed by the Greeks. The architecture was unique for its time, it featured excellent structure,the breathtaking Metopes featuring the epic battles of the gods, the Frieze a detailed sculpture displaying a procession of Greeks, and was built to house the magnificent statue of Athena adorned in gold. The Parthenon was