The Parthenon, an icon of Western civilization, is one of the
most famous buildings in the world. The temple, built in the 5th century BC,
overlooks the city of Athens from its majestic position on top of the sacred Acropolis Hill.
The Parthenon was built in
honor of the goddess Athena Parthenos (virgin Athena), patroness of the city of
Athens. Initially the temple was known as the Great Temple (Megas Naos), but
later became known by the name of Parthenon.
One of the Metopes
History
The current Parthenon was
not the first built here during the Antiquity. There are traces of two earlier
- and slightly smaller - temples, the first in stone, and the second in marble.
Shortly after the Persians destroyed all the buildings on the Acropolis in 480BC, Pericles commissioned the construction of a
Shortly after the Persians destroyed all the buildings on the Acropolis in 480BC, Pericles commissioned the construction of a
new Parthenon and assigned
architect and sculptor Pheidias the supervision of the project. The design of
the Parthenon is attributed to Kallikrates and Iktinos. Construction started in
447 BC and the temple was completed just 9 years later. Pheidias continued to
work on the magnificent sculptures that decorated the temple until 432 BC.
After the Antiquity the Parthenon was converted into a church and during the Ottoman occupation of Athens it was used as an arsenal. It became a ruin only in 1687 when the Venetians, who besieged the Ottomans, bombarded the Acropolis from the Philopappos Hill.
After the Antiquity the Parthenon was converted into a church and during the Ottoman occupation of Athens it was used as an arsenal. It became a ruin only in 1687 when the Venetians, who besieged the Ottomans, bombarded the Acropolis from the Philopappos Hill.
The ammunition that was
stored in the Parthenon exploded, destroying the roof, the interior and 14
columns.
The Temple
The Parthenon was built as
a peripteros - a temple surrounded by columns - in the Doric order. The temple
measures 30.86 by 69.51 meters (approx. 101 x 228 ft) and contained two cellas
(inner chambers). The east cella housed the Athena Parthenos, a large statue of
the goddess Athena. The west cella was exclusively used by priests and
contained the treasury of the
Parthenon
Delian League (an alliance
of Greek city-states).
The Parthenon was decorated with numerous sculptures and reliefs. There were some 50 sculptures on the pediments alone; most of the surviving sculptures are on display at the British Museum in London, while some are at the nearby Acropolis Museum. There were two friezes: the inner frieze at the cella and the outer frieze, which consisted of triglyphs (vertical stripes) and metopes (rectangular tablets) with relief sculptures. The inner frieze was designed by Pheidas and depicted the Panathenaea, the festival held in honor of Athena. Many of the metopes and parts of the inner frieze can be seen in the British Museum as well.
The Parthenon was decorated with numerous sculptures and reliefs. There were some 50 sculptures on the pediments alone; most of the surviving sculptures are on display at the British Museum in London, while some are at the nearby Acropolis Museum. There were two friezes: the inner frieze at the cella and the outer frieze, which consisted of triglyphs (vertical stripes) and metopes (rectangular tablets) with relief sculptures. The inner frieze was designed by Pheidas and depicted the Panathenaea, the festival held in honor of Athena. Many of the metopes and parts of the inner frieze can be seen in the British Museum as well.
To achieve visual perfection, the creators of the Parthenon used optical refinements to seemingly defy the laws of perspective. The columns are slightly slanted inwards and have a curved shape. This results in making the horizontal and vertical lines of the building look perfectly straight to the naked eye.
Most people think that ancient temples always had natural, plain marble colors. But the buildings and statues in the Antiquity were often very colorful. The Parthenon was no exception: sculptures on the friezes and pediment as well as the roof were brightly painted in blue, red and gold colors.
Statue of Athena
Parthenos
Athena Parthenos
The main purpose of the
temple was to house the close to 12 meters tall statue of Athena Parthenos,
created by Phidias. The statue was chryselephantine - made of gold and ivory -
and built around a wooden frame. And like all other Parthenon sculptures, the
statue was painted in bright colors, mainly blue and red.
Athena was depicted standing as a helmeted martial goddess. Her left hand rested on a shield and in her right hand she held a statue of a winged Nike. Unfortunately the original statue is lost but a modern full-scale replica of the Athena Parthenos (and the Parthenon) can be seen in Nashville, TN, in the United States.
Athena was depicted standing as a helmeted martial goddess. Her left hand rested on a shield and in her right hand she held a statue of a winged Nike. Unfortunately the original statue is lost but a modern full-scale replica of the Athena Parthenos (and the Parthenon) can be seen in Nashville, TN, in the United States.
