The Roman Pantheon: The Parthenon In Athens

The Rome’s Pantheon and Greek’s Parthenon are both significant and innovative structures that have influenced the architecture around the world. This essay will describe the style and function of each building as well as the similarities and differences between ancient Greece and Rome in four characters including history, design, usage,

The Parthanon was constructed in Athens in the middle of the 5th century B.C. The Greeks had just come up victorious against their arch-rivals the Persians. Greeks of that time firmly believed in the control over their lives as free citizen, they also thought that the Gods had great influence over the existence of men. The leaders of Athens found it wholly appropriate to build a great temple dedicated to Athena, the patron saint of Athens. They did this as thanks for victory, and continued good fortune, as the Gods could be capricious if not curry-favored.

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

It stands magnificently on top of a hill and can be seen from miles away, even at night, because it is illuminated and the lighting adds to its ethereal expression. The Parthenon had undergone adjustments including rebuilding which was completed in 432 (Bruno, 1974). One of the builders, Iktinos, has been given credit because he seemingly, non-coincidentally, had the columns built to 10.34m which reaches the height of the Temple of Zeus (Hurwit, 1999). Although it is unclear how the Parthenon got its name, according to Jeffrey M. Hurwit (1999), the word Parthenon is translated into “a room of the virgins,” and that the statue of Athena gave the building the name, not the reverse. He goes on to state that even though the building may look like a temple, it did not function as one, nor is there evidence of an altar. It is unlike anything else, and provokes emotion and- harmony and pleasure which cannot be found in nature (Bruno, 1974). The Parthenon stands in partial ruins, as attempted destruction of the Acropolis occurred due to violent uprisings, conflicts, occupations, vandalism, and a terrible explosion which occurred when ammunition was stored in one of the buildings and it exploded. The Parthenon is made of limestone and marble which would have stood the test of time were it not for human interventions. The site remains under renovation and daily pilgrimages occur to

The Parthenon at Athens is a Doric temple, eight columns wide by seventeen deep, but it incorporates Ionic attributes, such as slender column proportions and use of the Ionic order in its western opisthodomos or rear porch. The temple represents the Culmination of the Doric order. It stands on a platform or stylobate of three steps (krepidoma), as per the Doric order. In common with other Greek temples, it is of post and lintel construction and is surrounded by columns ("peripteral") carrying an entablature (the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals). The use of eight columns across the gable end, which is unusual in the Doric order, clearly has connections to earlier Ionic temples.

This essay will be about two structures that were built by two different cultures. One was built in Greece and the other was built in Rome. Both structure have the classical style of architecture but were built in two different time periods. Both started out with the same function. One of the two structures are no longer standing in all its glory and the other is still standing and being used today.

Though the Parthenon is now a ruin, it was built in part due to Pericles within the years 447 and 432 BCE (2012) and was used as a temple to honor the goddess, Athena. Immediately, the similarities you can notice is the columns that surround the temple. While the Parthenon has Doric columns, the Pantheon is held up by the more ornate, Corinthian columns. Additionally, on the outside, you can see relief carvings on the pediments, whereas the Pantheon only has a more practical phrase in Latin, "Built by Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time." (2014, para. 3) However, the most

Greek and Roman Architecture Greek and Roman architecture is truly amazing. They each had great ideas, and fabulous productions. It is said that the Pantheon is to Italy what the Parthenon is to Greece. Both are tremendous monuments that reek of culture and history. Each had a purpose which was displayed

Constructed in 432 BCE, the Parthenon was a famous temple that the Greeks made for Athena, one of the Gods that they believed in. The Parthenon is the most famous Doric structure. Made of limestone and Pentelic marble, “a material that was utilized for the first time”, the structure’s main objective was to hold the statue of Athena made of gold and ivory.

The Parthenon, with no doubt, is one of the best well-known Greek temples of all times. It is also the dominant temple on the Akropolis. Its construction began in 447 BC and ended in 438

In this essay I am going to compare the two famous buildings of the classical era; the Parthenon in Athens and the Pantheon in Rome. These two building of striking similarity to a casual eye, have a lot of differences and these differences informs us of the cultures that created them. I argue that the cultures that created them have left a lot of traces which could shed light into understanding these cultures. Without further due, we can delve into the comparative exercise.

The Parthenon Sculptures of Athens, as stated by the Greek Historian Anaxagoras “Are a true representation of the splendour of Athens. They are a gem to the world, worthy of decorating that of Olympus”. Built in 447BCE, during the construction of the Acropolis of Athens, the Sculptures are considered by many in the modern world as being the finest samples of Greek Art during the supposed “Gilded Age” of Greek Culture from 600BCE to 150BCE. They consist of a vast collection of over 92 Metopes, 524 feet of elegant Frieze and 17 standing sculptures. Each of these constructions were formed through the usage of Parian Marble found in the Greek island of Paros, and were constructed alongside that of the Parthenon of Athens by the Athenians. Their primary purpose was to lavishly decorate the Parthenon, an Athenian temple constructed to worship the Greek God Athena. The Marbles were envied by other nearby Mediterranean nations such as Ancient Rome for

Similarities of the two structures lend themselves, not only to the value and appreciation of classical architecture over the centuries, but also the blend and variety of the artistic expression and elements applied to adorn them. Even today when conceptualizing a structure to exude power, stability coupled with artistic expression and contemplation, both the Pantheon and the Parthenon, among others, establish this foundation. Timeless similarities that won’t soon be replaced, even with modern day advancements.

Abstract This paper discusses the similarities and the differences between ancient Parthenon Greece and Pantheon Rome seen in Parthenon, and considers how the style and function of each building serves as a

different locations. The Parthenon The Parthenon is a Greek temple constructed in 447 BC. It was designed by the architect/artist