Greek Art / Parthenon –Architecture The Architecture of the Parthenon [Parthenon when it was fully constructed in 5th Century BCE. ] The Parthenon, a very famous Greek temple honoring the goddess Athena, is renowned for its architectural style. The Parthenon is found on the Athenian Acropolis, a well-known, ancient city on a mountain. In fact, the Greek word “acros” means “high or above” and the Greek word “polis” means “city”. The Parthenon was competed in 432 BCE and was a great accomplishment of the architects Kallikrates and Iktinos (Art: A Brief History, 86). The Parthenon was hugely important to Athens in the ancient times, and it continues still to be a place of great interest and beauty. The Parthenon is considered a Doric temple, but not your average Doric temple, for the Parthenon has four Ionic columns as support columns. The outer frieze, or decorated blocks on top of the columns, is Doric, and the inner frieze is Ionic (Art Through the Ages, 148-149).

A Parthenon frieze is shown in the picture below. The Parthenon is more lavishly decorated than any other classic Greek Ionic or Doric Temple because it symbolizes a shelter and home for Athena, who is an illustrious goddess and the patron saint of Athens, Greece (Art: A Brief History, 86). However, it did not highlight religion as many other temples did, but instead power, prestige, and patriotism (Greek Art, 14).The Parthenon emulates Classical architecture. That basically means that when people think of Classical Greek architecture, they think of the Parthenon because it is so clean-cut and neat with "harmonious proportions, subtle details, and rational relationship of part to part" (Art: A Brief History, 86). In fact, it refined Greek architecture by replacing the usual terra cotta with the finest Pentelic marble, and by using a cella and peristyle plan(Classical Civilizations 25). The cella is the main open room of a temple where an image of the god was erected. A peristyle is an open garden surrounded by columns. Optical illusions are implemented throughout the entire building.

They are seen in the width of the columns to make the corner columns look to be equal in size to [Parthenon Frieze. 5th cent. BCE, 3 ft. tall the other columns; and also the horizontal lines of the roof are curved slightly .com/athens/Parthenon/frieze01_eg.html] upward. If the horizontal lines were not arched, the stone looked as though it was sagging. Columns are wider at the bottom than the top because, from far away, they look more balanced and straight. There are eight columns on the short sides of the temple and seventeen on the long sides. The architects used the algebraic equation x=2y + 1 to build the Panthenon, so its proportions would be perfect. That equation was used to determine the number of columns, the distance between columns, and the size of the cella (Art Through the Ages, 150). Much planning went into the architecture of the Parthenon, and it still provides much inspiration for and is admired by architects today. [Floor plan of the parthenon. 5th Century BCE.

] Parthenon - Ancient History Encyclopedia Parthenon by Mark Cartwright published on 28 October 2012 The magnificent temple on the Acropolis of Athens , known as the Parthenon , was built between 447 and 432 BCE in the Age of Pericles , and it was dedicated to the city ’s patron deity Athena . The temple was constructed to house the new cult statue of the goddess by Pheidias and to proclaim to the world the success of Athens as leader of the coalition of Greek forces which had defeated the invading Persian armies of Darius and Xerxes . The temple would remain in use for more than a thousand years, and despite the ravages of time, explosions, looting, and pollution damage, it still dominates the modern city of Athens, a magnificent testimony to the glory and renown the city enjoyed throughout antiquity.

The project to build a new temple to replace the damaged buildings of the acropolis following the Persian attack on the city in 480 BCE and restart the aborted temple project begun in 490 BCE was instigated by Pericles and funded by surplus from the war treasury of the Delian League , a political alliance of Greek city-states that had formed together to repel the threat of Persian invasion. Over time the confederation transformed into the Athenian Empire , and Pericles therefore had no qualms in using the League’s funds to embark on a massive building project to glorify Athens. Remove Ads Advertisement The acropolis itself measures some 300 by 150 metres and is 70 metres high at its maximum. The temple, which would sit on the highest part of the acropolis, was designed by the architects Iktinos and Kallikratis, and the project was overseen by the sculptor Pheidias. Pentelic marble from the nearby Mt. Pentelicus was used for the building, and never before had so much marble (22,000 tons) been used in a Greek temple. Pentelic marble was known for its pure white appearance and fine grain.

It also contains traces of iron which over time has oxidised, giving the marble a soft honey colour, a quality particularly evident at sunrise and sunset. The name Parthenon derives from one of Athena’s many epithets: Athena Parthenos, meaning Virgin. Parthenon means ‘house of Parthenos’ which was the name given in the 5th century BCE to the chamber inside the temple which housed the cult statue. The temple itself was known as the mega neos or ‘large temple’ or alternatively as Hekatompedos neos, which referred to the length of the inner cella: 100 ancient feet. From the 4th century BCE the whole building acquired the name Parthenon. Parthenon Design & Dimensions No previous Greek temple was so richly decorated with sculpture. The Parthenon would become the largest Doric Greek temple, although it was innovative in that it mixed the two architectural styles of Doric and the newer Ionic. The temple measured 30.88 m by 69.5 m and was constructed using a 4:9 ratio in several aspects.

The diameter of the columns in relation to the space between columns, the height of the building in relation to its width, and the width of the inner cella in relation to its length are all 4:9. Other sophisticated architectural techniques were used to combat the problem that anything on that scale of size when perfectly straight seems from a distance to be curved. To give the illusion of true straight lines, the columns lean ever so slightly inwards, a feature which also gives a lifting effect to the building making it appear lighter than its construction material would suggest. Also, the stylobate or floor of the temple is not exactly flat but rises slightly in the centre. The columns also have entasis, that is, a slight fattening in their middle, and the four corner columns are imperceptibly fatter than the other columns. The combination of these refinements makes the temple seem perfectly straight, symmetrically in harmony, and gives the entire building a certain vibrancy. Remove Ads Advertisement The outer columns of the temple were Doric with eight seen from the front and back and 17 seen from the sides. This was in contrast to the normal 6x13 Doric arrangement, and they were also slimmer and closer together than usual.

Within, the inner cella (or opisthodomos) was fronted by six columns at the back and front. It was entered through large wooden doors embellished with decorations in bronze, ivory, and gold . The cella consisted of two separated rooms. The smaller room contained four Ionic columns to support the roof section and was used as the city’s treasury. The larger room housed the cult statue and was surrounded by a Doric colonnade on three sides. The roof was constructed using cedar wood beams and marble tiles and would have been decorated with akroteria (of palms or figures) at the corners and central apexes. The roof corners also carried lion-headed spouts to drain away water. Parthenon Decorative Sculpture The temple was unprecedented in both the quantity and quality of architectural sculpture used to decorate it. No previous Greek temple was so richly decorated. The Parthenon had 92 metopes carved in high relief (each was on average 1.2 m x 1.25 m square with relief of 25 cm in depth), a frieze running around all four sides of the building, and both pediments filled with monumental sculpture.

Remove Ads Advertisement The subjects of the sculpture reflected the turbulent times that Athens had and still faced. Defeating the Persians at Marathon in 490 BCE, at Salamis in 480 BCE, and at Plataea in 479 BCE, the Parthenon was symbolic of the superiority of Greek culture against ‘barbarian’ foreign forces. This conflict between order and chaos was symbolised in particular by the sculptures on the metopes running around the exterior of the temple, 32 along the long sides and 14 on each of the short. These depicted the Olympian gods fighting the giants (East metopes - the most important, as this was the side where the principal temple entrance was), Greeks, probably including Theseus , fighting Amazons (West metopes), the Fall of Troy (North metopes), and Greeks fighting Centaurs, possibly at the wedding of the king of the Lapiths Perithous (South metopes). The frieze ran around all four sides of the building (an Ionic feature). Beginning at the southwest corner, the narrative follows around the two sides, meeting again at the far end.

It presents a total of 160 m of sculpture with 380 figures and 220 animals, principally horses. This was more usual for a treasury building and perhaps reflects the Parthenon’s double function as a religious temple and a treasury. The frieze was different from all previous temples in that all sides depicted a single subject, in this case, the Panathenaic procession which was held in Athens every four years and which delivered a new, specially woven robe (peplos) to the ancient wooden cult statue of Athena housed in the Erechtheion . The subject itself was a unique choice, as usually scenes from Greek mythology were chosen to decorate buildings. Depicted in the procession are dignitaries, musicians, horsemen, charioteers, and the Olympian Gods with Athena centre stage. To mitigate the difficulty in viewing the frieze at such a steep angle from the narrow space between cella and outer columns, the background was painted blue and the relief varied so that the carving was always deeper at the top. Also, all of the sculptures were brightly painted, mostly using blue red and gold. Details such as weapons and horses reigns were added in bronze and coloured glass was used for eyes.

The most important sculpture was not outside but inside the temple. The pediments of the temple measured 28.55 m in length with a maximum height of 3.45 m at their centre. They were filled with around 50 figures sculpted in the round, an unprecedented quantity of sculpture. Only eleven figures survive and their condition is so poor that many are difficult to identify with certainty. With the aid of descriptions by Pausanias of the 2nd century CE, it is, however, possible to identify the general subjects. The east pediment as a whole depicts the birth of Athena and the west side the competition between Athena and Poseidon to become patron of the great city. One of the problems of pediments for the sculptor is the diminished space at the corners of the triangle. Once again, the Parthenon presented a unique solution by dissolving the figures into an imaginary sea (e.g. the figure of Okeanus) or having the sculpture overlap the lower edge of the pediment (e.g. the horse head). Statue of Athena The most important sculpture of the Parthenon though was not outside but inside.

There is evidence that the temple was built to measure in order to accommodate the chryselephantine statue of Athena by Pheidias. This was a gigantic statue over 12 m high and made of carved ivory for flesh parts and gold (1140 kilos or 44 talents of it) for everything else, all wrapped around a wooden core. The gold parts could also be easily removed if necessary in times of financial necessity. The statue stood on a pedestal measuring 4.09 by 8.04 metres. The statue has been lost (it may have been removed in the 5th century CE and taken to Constantinople ), but smaller Roman copies survive, and they show Athena standing majestic, fully armed, wearing an aegis with the head of Medusa prominent, holding Nike in her right hand and with a shield in her left hand depicting scenes from the Battles of the Amazons and the Giants. A large coiled snake resided behind the shield. On her helmet stood a sphinx and two griffins.

In front of the statue was a large shallow basin of water, which not only added the humidity necessary for the preservation of the ivory, but also acted as a reflector of light coming through the doorway. The statue must have been nothing less than awe-inspiring and the richness of it - both artistically and literally - must have sent a very clear message of the wealth and power of the city that could produce such a tribute to their patron god. The Parthenon serenely fulfilled its function as the religious centre of Athens for over a thousand years. However, in the 5th century CE the pagan temple was converted into a church by the early Christians. An apse was added to the east end which required the removal of part of the east frieze. Many of the metopes on the other sides of the building were deliberately damaged and figures in the central part of the east pediment were removed. Windows were set into the walls, destroying more parts of the frieze, and a bell tower was added to the west end. Later History In its new form the building survived for another thousand years. Then in 1458 CE the occupying Turks converted the building into a mosque and so added a minaret in the southwest corner.

In 1674 CE a visiting Flemish artist (possibly one Jacques Carey) took drawings of much of the sculpture, an extremely fortuitous action considering the disaster that was about to strike. In 1687 CE the Venetian army under General Francesco Morosini besieged the acropolis which had been occupied by Turkish forces who used the Parthenon as a powder magazine. On the 26th of September a direct hit from a Venetian shell ignited the magazine and the massive explosion ripped apart the Parthenon. All the interior walls except the east side were blown out, columns collapsed on the north and south sides, carrying with them half of the metopes. If that wasn’t enough, Morosini further damaged the central figures of the west pediment in an unsuccessful attempt to loot them and smashed to pieces the horses from the west pediment when his lifting tackle collapsed. From the rubble, the Turks cleared a space and built a smaller mosque, but no attempt was made to gather together the fallen ruins or protect them from any casual artefact robber. Frequently, in the 18th century CE, foreign tourists helped themselves to a souvenir from the celebrated ruin.

It was in this context of neglect that Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, paid the indifferent Turkish authorities for the right to take away a large collection of sculpture, inscriptions, and architectural pieces from the Acropolis. In 1816 CE the British Government bought the collection, now known as the Elgin Marbles, which now resides in the British Museum of London. Elgin took away 14 metopes (mostly from the south side), a large number of the best preserved slabs from the frieze (and casts of the rest), and some figures from the pediments (notably the torso sections of Athena, Poseidon, and Hermes , a reasonably well preserved Dionysos , and a horse head). The other pieces of sculpture left at the site suffered the fate of exposure to weather, and particularly in the late 20th century CE, the ruinous effects of chronic air pollution. Indeed, it was not until 1993 CE that the remaining frieze slabs were removed from the exposed ruin for safer keeping.

However, the most important pieces now reside in the Acropolis Museum, a purpose built state-of-the-art exhibition space which opened in 2011 CE and stands in full view of the ruined temple just 300m away, still majestically dominating the skyline of Athens. Pericles had made no idle boast then when he emphatically stated that ‘...we shall be the marvel of the present day and of ages yet to come’. About the Author Parthenon Continued from page 1 As a post and lintel temple, the Parthenon presents no engineering breakthrough in building construction. However its stylistic conventions have become the paradigm of Classical architecture, and its style has influenced architecture for many centuries after it was built. The Parthenon is a large temple, but it is by no means the largest one in Greece. Its aesthetic appeal emanates from the refinement of many established norms of Greek architecture, and from the quality of its sculptural decoration. The Parthenon epitomizes all the ideals of Greek thought during the apogee of the Classical era through artistic means.

The idealism of the Greek way of living, the attention to detail, as well as the understanding of a mathematically explained harmony in the natural world, were concepts that in every Athenian’s eyes set them apart from the barbarians. These ideals are represented in the perfect proportions of the building, in its intricate architectural elements, and in the anthropomorphic statues that adorned it. Some of these details were found in other Greek temples while some were unique to the Parthenon. The temple owes its refined appeal to the subtle details that were built into the architectural elements to accommodate practical needs or to enhance the building’s visual appeal. The fact that there are no absolute straight lines on the Parthenon bestows a subtle organic character to an obvious geometric structure. The columns of the peristyle taper on a slight arc as they reach the top of the building giving the impression that they are swollen from entasis (tension) - as if they were burdened by the weight of the roof; a subtle feature that allots anthropomorphic metaphors to other wise inanimate objects.

The peristyle columns are over ten meters tall, and incline slightly towards the center of the building at the top (about 7 cm), while the platform upon which they rest bows on a gentle arc which brings the corners about 12 cm closer to the ground that the middle. The architects of the Parthenon appear to be excellent scholars of visual illusion, an attribute undoubtedly sharpened by years of architectural refinement and observation of the natural world. They designed the columns that appear at the corners of the temple to be 1/40th (about 6 cm) larger in diameter than all the other columns, while they made the space around them smaller than the rest of the columns by about 25 cm. The reason for this slight adaptation of the corner columns is due to the fact that they are set against the bright sky, which would make them appear a little thinner and a little further apart than the columns set against the darker background of the building wall. The increase in size and decrease of space thus compensates for the illusion that the bright background would normally cause.

These subtle features set the Parthenon apart from all other Greek temples because the overall effect is a departure from the static Doric structures of the past, towards a more dynamic form of architectural expression. Moreover, the intricate refinements of the forms required unprecedented precision that would be challenging to achieve even in our time. But it was not mere grandeur through subtlety that the Athenians desired. It is evident that they sought to out-shine all other temples of the time through the lavish sculptural decoration of the Parthenon, and its imposing dimensions. The doors that lead to the cella were abundantly decorated with relief sculptures of gorgons, lion heads and other bronze relief ornaments. The Athenian citizens were proud of their cultural identity, and conscious of the historical magnitude of their ideas. They believed that they were civilized among barbarians, and that their cultural and political achievements were bound to alter the history of all civilized people. The catalyst for all their accomplishments was the development of a system of governance the likes of which the world had never seen: Democracy. Democracy, arguably the epitome of the Athenian way of thinking, was at center stage while the Parthenon was built.

This was a direct democracy where every citizen had a voice in the common issues through the Assembly that met on the Pnyx hill next to the Acropolis forty times per year to decide on all matters of policy, domestic or foreign. The fact that common people are depicted as individuals for the first time at the Parthenon frieze was owed to the fact that for the first time in history every citizen of a city was recognized as a significant entity and a considerable moving force in the polis and the observable universe. Parthenon Facts Parthenon Setting | Architecture | Orders | Metopes | Pediments | Frieze | Ancient Authors | Other Historical Setting When work began on the Parthenon in 447 BC, the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. Work on the temple continued until 432; the Parthenon, then, represents the tangible and visible efflorescence of Athenian imperial power, unencumbered by the depradations of the Peloponnesian War. Likewise, it symbolizes the power and influence of the Athenian politician, Perikles, who championed its construction.

Some historians believe that Athens concluded a peace treaty with Persia in 449, two years before work began on the Parthenon. The significance of this would be that the Delian League/Athenian Empire continued to exist, even after the reason for its existence (a mutual defense league against the Persians) had ceased to be valid. In other words it was now openly acknowledged that Athens was not just the head of the Greek defense league but actually an imperial master over other Greek states. The decision by the Athenians in 454 BC to move the League treasury from the Panhellenic sanctuary at Delos to the Athenian acropolis points in the same direction. Because the Parthenon was built with League funds, the building may be read as an expression of the confidence of the Athenians in this newly naked imperialism.

But the piety of this undertaking should not be underestimated; the Persians had sacked the temples on the Athenian acropolis in 480, and rebuilding them fulfilled, in Bury's words, the Athenians' "debt of gratitude to heaven for the defeat of the Mede." Setting | Architecture | Orders | Metopes | Pediments | Frieze | Ancient Authors | Other Architectural Features The Parthenon is a Doric peripteral temple, which means that it consists of a rectangular floor plan with a series of low steps on every side, and a colonnade (8 x 17) of Doric columns extending around the periphery of the entire structure. Each entrance has an additional six columns in front of it. The larger of the two interior rooms, the naos, housed the cult statue. The smaller room (the opisthodomos) was used as a treasury. Here is a plan of the temple: It was built to replace two earlier temples of Athena on the Acropolis. One of these, of which almost no trace remains today, stood south of the Parthenon (between the Parthenon and the Erechtheum).

The other, which was still being built at the time of the Persian sack in 480, was on the same spot as the Parthenon. We know the names of the architects (Iktinos and Kallikrates) and also of the sculptor (Pheidias) who made the massive chryselephantine cult statue of the goddess. Setting | Architecture | Orders | Metopes | Pediments | Frieze | Ancient Authors | Other The Orders The three main types of columns used in Greek temples and other public buildings are Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The truest and most basic difference among the orders has to do with proportions (Doric columns, for example, being thicker and shorter, Ionic columns taller and slimmer). As a shortcut, the orders may be distinguished most easily by their capitals (the tops of the columns).

As you can see from the following examples, the Doric capital has the simplest design; the Ionic has the curlicues called volutes, and the Corinthian has the acanthus leaves: Doric Capital Ionic Capital Corinthian Capital Doric is not only a type of column, but an "order"; this means that temples of the Doric order not only have this type of column, but also have a certain structure at the upper levels. The different types of orders (column plus entablature) are illustrated by these diagrams, from Perseus: Doric order , and Ionic order. The Doric order is characterized by the series of triglyphs and metopes on the entablature. Each metope was occupied by a panel of relief sculpture. The Parthenon combines elements of the Doric and Ionic orders. Basically a Doric peripteral temple, it features a continuous sculpted frieze borrowed from the Ionic order, as well as four Ionic columns supporting the roof of the opisthodomos.

Setting | Architecture | Orders | Metopes | Pediments | Frieze | Ancient Authors | Other The Metopes The metopes of the Parthenon all represented various instances of the struggle between the forces of order and justice, on the one hand, and criminal chaos on the other. On the west side, the mythical battle against the Amazons (Amazonomachy); on the south, the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs (Centauromachy); on the east, the battle between the gods and the giants (Gigantomachy); on the north, the Greeks versus the Trojans. Of the panels the best preserved are those showing the Centauromachy. Here are South Metope 31 and 30 (compare the discussion in Pollitt, Art & Experience, 82-83): For a complete catalogue, with images and descriptions of all the Parthenon metopes, see Perseus' Parthenon Metope Page (photos will be available only if you are on a Reed computer or a computer on another campus which has enhanced access to the Perseus photos by license agreement), and theAustralian National University collection (photos, but no text).

Setting | Architecture | Orders | Metopes | Pediments | Frieze | Ancient Authors | Other The Pedimental Sculptures These relief sculptures, larger than those of the metopes, occupied the triangular space above the triglyphs and metopes. Those at the west end of the temple depicted the contest between Poseidon and Athena for the right to be the patron deity of Athens (Athena's gift of the olive tree was preferred over Poseidon's spring). The eastern pedimental group showed the birth of Athena from Zeus' head. The pedimental sculpture suffered badly when the Parthenon was hit by a Venetian shell in 1687 and the powder magazine inside exploded. This reclining god (probably Dionysus) from the east pediment gives some sense of the quality of the sculpture: For a complete catalogue, with images and descriptions of all the Parthenon pedimental sculpture, see Perseus' Parthenon East Pediment Page and West Pediment Page (photos will be available only if you are on a Reed computer or a computer on another campus which has enhanced access to the Perseus photos by license agreement).

Setting | Architecture | Orders | Metopes | Pediments | Frieze | Ancient Authors | Other The Frieze The Parthenon frieze runs around the upper edge of the temple wall. Its relatively small size (3 feet 5 inches tall) and placement (inside from the triglyphs and metopes) made it fairly hard to see from the ground. Unlike the metopes, the frieze has a single subject on all four sides. On three sides (north, west, and south) it depicts a procession of horsemen, musicians, sacrificial animals, and other figures with various ritual functions. On the east side there is a scene centered on a child handing a folded cloth to an older man. On one side of them seated gods and goddess are in attendance; on the other, two girls are carrying something. Although the state of preservation is poor, the interpretation of the subject has hotly debated.

Most scholars agree that it represents the Panathenaic procession, but some think it is a mythical, "original" procession, while others believe that it is the procession which took place in the same period as the temple was built, and that this illustrates the (over-)confident spirit of the Athenians, who dared to put themselves where ordinarily only gods and heroes might be found. Recently the debate has taken a new turn with the publication of a radical original theory by Joan B. Connelly. Here is a detailed summary of Connelly's ideas and some questions about them. Connelly's theory depends on a reinterpretation of this scene from the east frieze: For a complete set of images and descriptions of the Parthenon frieze, see the Perseus Parthenon Frieze Page (photos will be available only if you are on a Reed computer or a computer on another campus which has enhanced access to the Perseus photos by license agreement). Art and Architecture Art and Architecture Pericles, Athens leader at the time, commissioned building the Parthenon.

Under the supervision of Pheidias, and the architect Iktinos, the Parthenon was begun in 447 BC and was finished around 438 BC ( Andronicos,7-8; Haynes, 2; Robertson, 9; Rodenwaldt,29 ). General Features The Parthenon had a rectangular shape with the dimensions of 70 meters by 30 meters, facing east, as any traditional Greek temple ( Haynes, 3 ). The whole temple was made out of marble ( Hopper, 121 ). The Parthenon was a Doric temple, and it happened to be the first Doric peripteral temple in the Greek world ( Andronicos, 7; Hopper, 121 ). Unlike any other Greek temple, the Parthenon had 8 columns in the front and the back, and 17 columns on each side ( Hopper, 121; Robertson, 6 ). All other Greek temples were 6 x 13.

Looking at the ground plan of the Parthenon ( Biers, 201 ), the following sums up the general architectural features of the Parthenon: There were 8 columns in the front and 8 in th back, and 17 columns on each of the sides. In the interior, there were 6 columns not in antis in the front as well as in the back. The cella contained two rooms separated by a wall. The room in the back, contained 4 Ionic columns in the center. This room could be entered from the opisthodomos (the small room in the very back). It was probably used as a treasury. The room in the front (east of the back room) was designed to house the gold and ivory statue of Athena. The statue would be placed toward the western end of this room, and would be surrounded by a two-storied Doric colonnade. Even though the Parthenon was a Doric temple, it incorporated an ionic feature, namely the frieze, which occurred around the outside of the cella of the temple ( Hopper, 121; Robertson, 6; Rodenwaldt, 33 ).

Both Ionic and Doric elements were created in harmony. Pediments The pediments of the Parthenon summarized the vital moments of Athena's legend. The east pediment showed Athena's birth from Zeus ( Haynes, 7; Robertson, 8; Rodenwaldt, 34 ). The west pediment showed Athena's contest with Poseidon over Attica (including Athens) ( Haynes, 7; Robertson, 8; Rodenwaldt, 34 ). Poseidon struck the ground with his tripode and water came out, while Athena made an olive tree ( Andronicos, 9 ). Obviously, we know who won the contest. Unfortunately, not much of the pediments have survived. The images below are courtesy of Dr. Solomon. Notice how detailed and how elaborate the figures were. They seem almost real, and the drapery seem like it was and still is wet. Metopes Pheidias used 92 metopes ( Andronicos, 7 ) to characterize the struggle and triumph of the civilization (the Greeks) over the barbarians ( Haynes, 7; Hopper, 125 ).

The metopes in the east, narrated the Gigantomachy, or the battles between the Gods and the Giants; in the west, the metopes narrated the Amazonomachy, or the battles between the Greeks and the Amazons; in the South, the Centauromachy, the battles between the Lapiths (the good guys) and the Centaurs (half-human, half-horse, the bad guys); in the North, the sack of Troy and the Trojan Wars were represented ( Andronicos, 7; Robertson, 8; Rodenwaldt, 34-5 ). It is interesting to observe two different styles represented in different metopes ( Rodenwaldt, 36 ). The first type, which was probably the older of two, represented more or less vertically alligned figures. The second, and newer style, however, filled the whole space. Looking at the first image (the older style), we can see that both the centaur and the Lapith were vertically alligned. In the second image, however, the spread of drapery as well as the position at which the figures were sculpted implied motion and flexibility, which made it life-like.

Both images below are courtesy of Dr. Solomon. Over the years, metops suffered greatly due to the historical conditions discussed in the History section. Out of the 92 metopes, only 28 survive ( Hopper, 150 ). Pheidias felt that the metopes did not provide enough space to record and characterize the greatness of Athens. He wanted to unify all aspects of Athens: Athena, the gods, men, women, children, and maidens, all in one composition depicting a very important ceremony, namely the Panathenaic festival ( Andronicos, 7-8 ). The Panathenaic festival symbolized an event when all of Athens came together. Thus, Pheidias decided to add a frieze, an Ionic feature, to the Parthenon, which would unify all aspects of Athens in the Panathenaic festival. This was rather ingenous and creative of him.

Frieze Pheidias designed a frieze that would surround the pronaos, and the opisthodomos, which included a length of 160 meters, and a height of about 1 meter, and he utilized this space to paint us a scene very crucial to the Greek culture at the time ( Andronicos, 8; Robertson, 10 ). Out of the 160 meters, there are 75 meters in the British Museum, 19 meters are in situ (still in position), 35 meters are in other museus, which leaves about 31 meters which have been lost ( Haynes, 8 ), 17 meters of those 31 meters, however, are known to us from drawings ( Hopper, 154 ). Briefly, the Panathenaic festival was the celebration of Athena's birth during the 28th of the Hekatombaion, July-August ( Robertson, 8 ). Every fourth year, the celebration involved a procession of citizens to the Acropolis.

Athenian maidens and matrons were chosen to make a robe ( Haynes, 6 ) which had the Giganamachy woven on it, and it was to be carried and wrapped around Athena's olive-wood image ( Robertson, 8 ). Pheidias job was to represent this event on the frieze. Successfully, Pheidias was able to design a narrative and continuous frieze that depicted the Panathenaic festival. This image (also courtesy of Dr. Solomon) shows the robe which would be used to wrap Athena's statue. Starting from the south-western corner of the frieze, the procession moved in two direction, to the north and then east, and then south, and the other moved east and then north, both converged at the center of the eastern side of the frieze (at the front of the temple, and this was where the gods were placed, where the culmination of the festival took place; the handing of the robe from a member of the procession to the gods. ( Andronicos, 8; Haynes, 8 ).

Only the eastern side of the frieze represented the gods, all the other sides represented mortals ( Rodenwadt, 35 ). Never before of any of the Greek temples where ordinary mortals were represented, not to mention they were represented alongside the gods ( Haynes, 7 ). The image below is courtesy of Dr. Solomon. It shows part of the horsemen procession. The fact that Pericles and Pheidias decided to represent mortals on the frieze is worth noting. This was making a profound statement, reflecting the way Athenians were thinking at that time, particularly Pericles, their leader. Pericles had a sense of pride about what Athens had accomplished and he wanted to use the frieze as a celebration of the achievements of the citizens of Athens. The frieze served as another Ode to Man (Sophocles, Antigone lines 332-74). The frieze was some 12 meters above the ground, which made it almost impossible to see ( Robertson, 10 ). In addition, as discussed previously, this frieze was actually located in the inside of the temple, which eliminated the possibility of being seen from far away.

We can almost conclude that the frieze was not placed with the viewer in mind. This image shows how difficult it was to look at the frieze from ground level and how difficult it would be to look at details with the front columns in the way. The image is courtesy of Dr. Solomon. Nonetheless, we can see that great effort was spent on the frieze, and fine details were not ignored, but the sculptors spent a great deal of effort to produce perfect and idealized figures. This shows the dedication that the workers had. In addition, it is also important to remember that the Parthenon was build as a holy house for Athena. Thus, it was not for humans to enjoy per se, but it was built in honor of Athena. The sculptors took this very seriously, and perfected their figures to make it an offering and an honor to Athena. Sculpture It is almost impossible to talk about the Parthenon without mentioning Pheidias' colossal gold and ivory (chryselephantine) statue of Athena. This statue was 12 meters high ( Robertson, 6 ).

Athena's statue was portrayed advancing, holding a shield in her left arm and a lance in her right hand ( Rodenwaldt, 31 ). The inside of the shield had the Gigantomachy carved on it, while the Amazonomachy on the outside ( Robertson, 8 ). Around the rims of the statue's sandals, the Centauromachy was carved ( Robertson, 8 ). The image below is courtesy of Dr. Solomon. Take note of the size of the two people at the bottom right of the image, and compare them to the size of Athena. Other sculptures from the pediments, survive in museums in Athens, Paris, and London, while many other sculptures were destroyed ( Hopper, 150 ). The western pediment, for instance, was destroyed in the 1687 explosion, while the eastern pediment shared a similar disaster when the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church ( Hopper, 150 ). The church destroyed some of the sculptures because they were scared that those sculptures would become a symbol for paganism.

Parthenon Photographs The Parthenon At the approximate position where the Parthenon was built later, the Athenians began the construction of a building that was burned by the Persians while it was still under construction in 480 BCE. It was presumably dedicated to Athena, and after its destruction much of its ruins were utilized in the building of the fortifications at the north end of the Acropolis. Not much is known about this temple, and whether or not it was still under construction when it was destroyed has been disputed. Its massive foundations were made of limestone, and the columns were made of Pentelic marble, a material that was utilized for the first time. The classicalParthenon was constructed between 447-432 BCE to be the focus of the Acropolis building complex. The architects were Iktinos and Kallikrates (Vitruvius also names Karpion as an architect) and it was dedicated to the goddess Athena Pallas or Parthenos (virgin). The temple’s main function was to shelter the monumental statue of Athena that was made by Pheidias out of gold and ivory.

The temple and the chryselephantine statue were dedicated in 438, although work on the sculptures of its pediment continued until completion in 432 BCE. The Parthenon construction cost the Athenian treasury 469 silver talents. While it is almost impossible to create a modern equivalent for this amount of money, it might be useful to look at some facts. One talent was the cost to build one trireme, the most advanced warship of the era. ( and “…one talent was the cost for paying the crew of a warship for a month” (D. Kagan, The Peloponnesian War, 61). According to Kagan, Athens at the beginning of the Peloponnesian war had 200 triremes in service, while the annual gross income of the city of Athens at the time of Perikles was 1000 talents, with another 6000 in reserve at its treasury. The Parthenon is a temple of the Doric order with eight columns at the façade, and seventeen columns at the flanks, conforming to the established ratio of 9:4.

This ratio governed the vertical and horizontal proportions of the temple as well as many other relationships of the building like the spacing between the columns and their height. The cella was unusually large to accommodate the oversized statue of Athena, confining the front and back porch to a much smaller than usual size. A line of six Doric columns supported the front and back porch, while a colonnade of 23 smaller Doric columns surrounded the statue in a two-storied arrangement. The placement of columns behind the statue was an unusual development since in previous Doric temples they only appeared on the flanks, but the greater width and length of the Parthenon allowed for a dramatic backdrop of double decked columns instead of a wall. The back room sheltered Athena’s treasure and four columns of the Ionic order supported its roof. The introduction of elements of the Ionic order in a predominately Doric temple was more dramatic in the development of a continuous freeze on the exterior wall of the cella. While the integration of Doric and Ionic elements on the same temple was not a new development in Greek architecture, it was rare, and bestowed on the Parthenon a delicate balance between austere and delicate visual characteristics.

All temples in Greece were designed to be seen only from the outside. The viewers never entered a temple and could only glimpse the interior statues through the open doors. The Parthenon was conceived in a way that the aesthetic elements allow for a smooth transition between the exterior and the interior that housed the chryselephantine statue of Athena. A visitor to the Acropolis who entered from the Propylaia would be confronted by the majestic proportion of the Parthenon in three quarters view, with full view of the west pediment and the north colonnade. As the viewer moved closer, the details of the sculpted metopes would become decipherable, and when in proximity to the base of the columns, parts of the frieze would become evident in tantalizing colorful glimpses peering from the spaces between the columns. Moving towards the east and looking up towards the exterior of the cella, a visitor would be mesmerized with the masterful depiction of the Panathenaic procession as it appeared in cinematic fashion on the frieze which was visually interrupted by the Doric columns of the exterior. This was certainly a scene that every Athenian could relate to through personal experience, making thus the transition between earth and the divine a smooth one.

A visitor moving east would eventually turn the corner to face the entrance of the Parthenon, and there he would be confronted with the birth of Athena high above on the east pediment , and just beyond it, the arrephores folding the peplos among the Olympian gods and the heroes of the frieze. Then, just below, the “peplos” scene, through the immense open doors, any visitor would be enchanted by the glistening gold and ivory hues of the monumental statue of Athena standing at the back of the dim cella. The statue of Athena Pallas reflected its immense stature on the tranquil surface of the water-pool floor, and was framed by yet more Doric columns, this time smaller, in a double-decked arrangement that made the interior space seem as if it were even larger and taller than the exterior. It seems certain that the master planners of the Parthenon conceived it as a theatrical event.

The temple was constructed with the movements of the viewer in mind, and by the arrangement of the temple, the monumental sculptures of the pediment, and the detailed frieze, the emotions of the visitors were choreographed to prepare them for the ultimate glimpse of the majestic Athena Parthenos at the interior of the naos, and to maximize the effect of an awe inspiring visit. Architecture in Greece: Periods and styles - Greeka.com Culture Greece Architecture Ancient Greece has influenced many world architectural movements along centuries, as for example the movement of Renaissance and the Neoclassical style. Many of the world wide masterpieces were inspired by the architecture in Greece, particularly the ancient Greek style of Doric, Ionic or Corinthian rhythm. In fact, the Neoclassical style that was so popular in the 19th century was actually a revival of the ancient architecture of Greece. Due to the rich diversity along centuries, the architectural style is divided in several periods. You can see samples of the architecture in Greece with a simple walk in the centre of Athens, even the Cycladic one.

You will find in our guide a description of every architectural period but also links to architecture of many locations and islands of Greece: Architecture during the Minoan Civilization, the Mycenaean civilization, the classical antiquity and more. Read also: After reading about the architecture, get also informed about the museums in Greece . Guide to architecture by historical periods We propose bellow information about the different architectural periods and styles in Greece and the Greek islands from the Minoan times to modern days. Minoan Architecture The Minoan civilization prospered on the greek island of Crete from the 27th till the 15th century BC. The most famous architectural achievement of this period is definitely the impressive Palace of Knossos . The palace is situated on a hill and surrounded by pine forests. It is divided in two courts: the west wing, where you can visit the religious and official staterooms, and the East Wing, which was used for domestic and workshop purposes.

Archaeologists have found the wonderful frescoes of Knossos almost untouched, under layers of ash, which leads them to believe that the destruction of the Minoan town of Knossos is probably connected to the huge volcanic eruption of the Santorini in about 1,450 BC. These frescoes have vivid colours and represent happy scenes from everyday life and festivities. These frescoes in combination with the fact that the Minoan towns had no walls show that the Minoans had peaceful relationships with other cultures and did not interfere in wars. Other important Minoan sites in Crete are the Minoan Palace of Phaestos and the Palace of Zakros . Mycenaean Architecture The Mycenaean architecture, that flourished from 1600 to 1200 BC, differs a lot from the Minoan. Unlike the Minoans, whose society was based on trade, the Mycenaean society advanced through warfare. The Mycenaeans were frequently involved in wars and that is why their towns had so strong and tall walls. These walls took the name Cyclopean because people thought that only Cyclopes could lift the huge stones to build them.

The walls of Mycenae and Tiryntha have very characteristic Cyclopean walls . Very typical of Mycenaen architecture are also the vaulted tombs where king and high priests were usually buried. In fact, the most famous vaulted tomb is the Treasury of Atreus in Mycenae, which is believed to be the tomb of king Agamemnon. Classical Architecture Architecture in the Greek classical antiquity reveals unique marble temples that were characterized by three different orders: the austere Doric style, the elegant Ionian style and the Corinthian style. a mixture of the two previous styles. All over the mainland of Greece and the Greek islands, there are many ancient temples dedicated to various gods, including the temple of Apollo in Delphi, the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, the temple of Athena Aphaia in Aegina and others. However, the greatest Greek monument is the Temple of Parthenon , constructed on the sacred site of the Acropolis Athens. The Parthenon, built from 447 to 438 BC, is a brilliant example of Doric and Ionian architecture.

This octostyle, peripteral temple was dedicated to goddess Athena, the protector of the town, and housed a giant chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenon, sculpted by Phidias. The Corinthian style was not so popular in the classical architecture, but still a very important monument in Athens is made of Corinthian rhythm: the Temple of Olympian Zeus in the city centre. Very typical structures of the Classical architecture are also the Ancient Theatres. At first, these theatres were actually places of gathering for people who wanted to take part in a ritual. For example, during the festivities to honor a god, people would gather in the theatre to take part in the offerings headed by the priest of the god. With the invention of theatre as an art form, the drama performances became part of such religious festivities and thus they were presented in the theatres. The most typical ancient Greek theatre is the Theatre of Epidaurus that was constructed in the 4th century BC and stands out for the perfect symmetry and amazing accoustics.

Other famous theatres are the Theatre of Dionysus , that is considered the first theatre of the world, and the Theatre of Herodes Atticus , both located at the foot of the Acropolis. Roman Architecture In the 2nd century BC, the Romans conquered Greece and marked a new era in the Greek architecture. The Roman architecture was actually a mixture of the ancient Greek, the Phoenician and the Etruscan style with few influences from other cultures of the Roman empire. In Athens particularly, there are many structures from the Roman period with characteristic arches and stone carvings of Roman battles. The Arch of Hadrian , for example, was constructed in 132 AD to mark the borders between the old (classical) Athens and the new (Roman) part of the town. The Roman Agora and the Library of Hadrian are also important structures and so is the Stoa of Attalos, the first mall in the world. Byzantine Architecture As the Eastern Roman Empire was gradually transformed in the Byzantine Empire in the 3rd and 4th century AD, a new architectural style made its presence. The Byzantine Empire had a strong religious base and quickly Christianity was made the official religion.

Many churches were constructed in the almost 10 centuries that the Byzantine Empire lasted. Although the first Byzantine churches had one central aisle and oblong size, then a great innovation appeared: the dome. The typical Byzantine church, as dominated along time, has a square plan crowned by one or more circular domes. The floor and the church yard had impressive mosaics, while the walls were decorated with coloured frescoes. The most usual material for the construction of a church was the brick. The most famous Byzantine church is the Church of Agia Sofia in Constantinople, while very interesting Byzantine chapels are found in Mystras , Thessaloniki , Meteora and Mount Athos . Medieval Architecture As the Byzantine Empire was starting to fall down in the 12th century BC, Greece was gradually conquered by the Venetians. Till 1453, when Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, the Venetians had already conquered the western side of the old Byzantine Empire, as the eastern side had been conquered by the Ottomans. Therefore, almost all the mainland of Greece and the Greek islands were at the hand of Venice.

The Venetians reconstructed the towns with stone houses, paved streets and many public buildings. They also reinforced the ports, as the largest part of the Venetian societies was coming from trade. The most famous Venetian towns in Greece are the Old Town of Rhodes, Corfu, Chania and Rethymno in Crete. The Venetians had no large army, but they had a very powerful fleet. Their war strategy was to build strong castles that could resist the Turkish or Arabian attacks till help would arrive from the sea. This they built huge castles in every strategic part of the Greek mainland and in almost all the Greek islands. The majority of these castles underwent few reconstructions along time and survive till today. Ottoman Architecture After the 16th century, almost the entire country fell to the Ottomans, who also left a vivid sign in many towns and islands. Ottoman remains include mosques, baths, fortification towers and castles in strategic spots. Very characteristic Ottoman monuments are the mosques in Kos , Crete and Rhodes as well as the Ottoman baths in the Old Town of Chania.

Neoclassical architecture The establishment of the modern Greek state in the late 1820s, after four centuries of Ottoman rule, marks a crucial point in the historical course of Greece. King Otto, the first king of modern Greece, tried to inspire a new sence of nationalism to the citizens. In this effort to connect the glorious classical past with the present, he made Athens the capital of Greece, he ordered to found the modern town of Sparta and also invited the famous Austrian architect Theophil Hansen to build monuments of Neoclassical style all over Greece, an architectural style that was already flourishing in Europe that time. Theophil Hansen and his student Ernst Ziller designed many important buildings of Neoclassical style in Greece, including the Neoclassical trilogy in the centre of Athens: the Academy, the Library and the University of Athens. Particularly Ziller traveled all around the country and designed any kind of buildings, from private houses to town halls, theatre, train stations and churches.

Among his most famous works are the Presidential Mansion of Athens, the Athens Numismatic Museum that was originally the house of archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, the Town Hall of Syros , the Apollo Theatre in Patras, the Church of Saint Gregory Palamas in Thessaloniki, the Royal Palace in Tatoi Attica, the train station in Olympia and many others. The most characteristic features of the Neoclassical style are the symmetrical shape, the tall columns that rise the full height of the building, the triangular pediment and the domed roof. One great example of the Neoclassical architecture is the town of Nafplion in Peloponnese. More: Cycladic architecture The Greek islands are known for their special architecture. More, the ambassador of Greek islands architecture is the Cyclades. The local architecture in the Cyclades islands has a special interest, highlighting beautiful houses, stones churches and paved town streets. The most characteristic feature of Cycladic architecture is the colours: blue and white are the dominating colours in all the islands of the complex. It is quite interesting the fact that houses were painted in these two colours after a government act.

The Greek prime-minister Ioannis Metaxas actually ordered in 1936 the inhabitants of Cyclades to paint their houses white with blue doors and windows so that these colours match with the blue sky and the white wave foams of Greece. These two colours are also used for churches, as the walls are painted white and the domes are blue. The houses in Cyclades are small and have a rectangular shape with a flat roof, as the strong winds do not allow the construction of triangular roofs. They are built with stones and bricks and most of them have flowered yards or gardens. The inner streets of the towns are narrow and paved, as in the old times all transportation was done on foot or by donkey. Most capitals in the islands of Cyclades are called Chora. Many of them are built on the back side of slopes, so that they were not visible by pirates that used to plunder the Aegean islands till the late 19th century. One of the most beautiful sample of Cycladic architecture can be seen in the villages of Oia in Santorini island.

Columns - Greek Architecture Style and Columns Greek Architecture Style and Columns Bibliography A column is a freestanding vertical architectural element that can be used in rows, letting the thickness of the walls be reduced by supporting weight from above. Columns can be made of various types of materials, like wood, stone, etc. The parts of a column usually consist of the base (lowest part), shaft (upright and cylindrical), and the capital (on top of the shaft) The horizontal area above the column is called the entablature. The base, column, and entablature together make an order. The ancient Greeks had three basic classical orders, the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, that they refined to a high degree. The shaft diameter of each type of column decreases gradually as the shaft rises. Each type of column also has a subtle outward curve called the entasis. Parts of columns The Doric column is the oldest and simplest of the three types of columns. It had developed mostly on Greece's mainland and its western colonies. One characteristic of this column was that it had no base. Usually, the shaft tapers upwards to a height of 5 to 7 times the lower diameter of the column.

Along the shaft, there were 16 to 20 shallow vertical grooves called flutes that met in sharp ridges. One or several horizontal grooves, called necking, marked the meeting of the shaft and the capital of the column. The capital had two parts with almost equal thickness- an upper part that was a flat square block called the abacus, which rested on a round pillowlike tablet called the echinus. One famous building that used the Doric column was the Parthenon, on the Acropolis of Athens. Doric Columns The Ionic column was a little more slender and decorative than the Doric order. It was invented by the Greeks of the Aegean Islands and Asia Minor. The Ionic order stands on a circular base, which sometimes includes and square block at the bottom that it called a plinth. This column's height is usually 9 to 10 times it's diameter. Most of the time, there are 24 flutes, divided by narrow fillets, or flat surfaces that run along the shaft. The capital has volutes, or scrolls that seperate the enchinus, a round pillowlike tablet, from the abacus (the flat slab on top of a capital, supporting the architrave).

The architrave is the main beam resting across the tops of columns, specifically the lower third entablature (a horizontal, continuous lintel on a classical building supported by columns, comprising the architrave, frieze, and cornice). One example of Ionic columns being used in ancinet Greek architecture are the columns that stand on the Erechtheum at Athens. Ionic columns The third Greek column was the Corinthian column, which is the most ornamental of the Greek orders. The Corinthian order is a varition of the Ionic, it has a similar fluted shaft, but has a more elaborate capital. The capital consists of a central core resembling an inverted bell. The core is surrounded by carvings of acanthus leaves arranged in rows. From these leaves, four volutes , or scrolls that separate the enchinus from the abacus, project to meet the corners of the abacus. The monument of Lysicrates at Athens uses Corinthian columns.

Monument of Lysicrates Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns Create a free website Ancient Greek to Modern Architecture with Greek Influence - News - Greek Gateway Ancient Greek to Modern Architecture with Greek Influence Tweet {nocomments} No matter where you are in the world today, chances are you have come across a piece of Greek-inspired architecture. Buildings, monuments, and even houses have always borrowed ideas from some of Greeceâs most famous landmarks throughout history, and as time goes on, the thoughts used for these once-traditional structures have begun to take a turn for the contemporary. Modern Greek architecture is commonly defined as architecture which has followed international and cultural trends; however, real modern Greek architecture actually began when the Modern Greek state was established after the countryâs war of independence in 1821. The materials mostly used by Greeks when it came to constructing their structures primarily consisted of wood, unbaked bricks, limestone and marble, and terracotta and metals. Today, these supplies are still used by contractors who build edifices, whether they are structures signifying religion, politics, or recreation.

Of all the architectural designs used by ancient Greeks throughout history, three major systems have withstood the test of time and are today still used. These include the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles. Each order has its own definitive characteristics, however they can also be easily confused to the untrained eye. The first order is the Doric style of architecture. This style is arguably the most famous Greek system used around the world today. It is what you will find when visiting the Parthenon and Acropolis, distinguished by vertical columns and a plain roof. It has also been used historically by colonies of southern Italy and Sicily, and is one of the oldest architectural orders that exists today. The second style is known as the Ionic order. This style is described as more delicate, intricate, and elegant than Doric architecture. Having originated in eastern Greece, Ionic structures are believed to have become dominant during the Hellenistic period. Lastly we have the Corinthian style of architecture. Corinthian architecture is intended to be an altered version of the Ionic style. There is much detail used in the Corinthian order, although surprisingly it is not commonly found in Greece.

Check out our gallery of both ancient and modern structures using the blueprints discussed above: The Acropolis in Athens The White House in Washington, D.C. A rendering of the Temple of Zeus in Athens, Greece The Temple of Apollo in Bassae The Oslo Trading Building in Norway A house-style cottage somewhere in the United States The Coliseum in Rome, featuring all three orders of Greek architecture Corinthian architecture at the Fontana di Trevi in Rome Several balconies using Doric columns A detailed Corinthian column at the Temple of Zeus The Temple of Poseidon in Paestum, Italy Ionic columns at the Chamber of Commerce in Dougherty County, Georgia And who can forget the house from Hollywoodâs âMy Big Fat Greek Weddingââ¦ By Staff Writer â Jonathan Bliangas

Question: The columns of the Parthenon in Athens are a famous example of which architectural style?
Answer: DORIC