PARTHENON (432 BCE)
Architects: Iktinos, Kallikrates, Phidias
Location: Athens, Greece
Style: Ancient Greek
Material: Marble
“The sumptuous temple of Athena stands out and is well worth a look.”
Heracleides of Crete, geographer
—————————————————
“The silhouette of the ruined Parthenon has become a symbol of Western couture. Originally built as a pagan temple to goddess Athena and funded by the profits of Athenas’s empire, it was not the largest temple of antiquity, but certainly the most richly adorned. The surviving sculpture (controversially divided between Athens and London since the nineteenth century) came from the building’s exterior and celebrated the religious tradition, myth, and history of Athens. The most important piece, however, has long been destroyed: a 40-foot-high (12 m) gold-and-ivory “cult statue” of the goddess that stood inside. In fact, the function of the Parthenon was not congregational. The purpose of the building (which comprised just two simple chambers) was to house this statue and other Athenian treasures.
Historians do not know exactly who was responsible for the design. The sculptor Pheidias is associated with the statue of Athena and he may have has some control over the architecture too. The name of Kallikrates and Iktinos are also mentioned. But whoever played the leading part, the architectural details have been praised and minutely examined since the nineteenth century — especially the so-called “optical refinements,” those tiny adjustments in its dimensions to make the building appear perfectly regular to the naked eye. Calculations show that the columns at either end, if continued upward, would actually meet 31 miles (50 km) above ground.
The Parthenon was used long after the end of antiquity — converted first into a church and in the fifteenth century into a splendid mosque. It became a ruin only after a Venetian cannonball hit it in 1687. Since then it has inspired imitations worldwide, from Ludwig I’s Walhalla in Bavaria to an exact replica in Nashville, Tennessee, and the unfinished “Parthenon” on Calton Hill, Edinburgh.”
#1transcribedtext
#1001beforeyoudiecollections
Site1001beforeyoudiecollection 