The Parthenon is one of the most important buildings in Greece and in the World. It is generally considered to be the culmination of the development of theDoric order.
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When was it built and why it is so important?
The Parthenon is anancienttemple, on theAthenian Acropolis, in Greece, dedicated to theGoddess Athena, whom the Athenians considered their protector.
Construction began in the period in which the Athenian empire was at the height of its strength, in447 BC.It was completed in 438 BC although the decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building ofClassical Greece, generally considered the zenith ofthe Doric order. Itsdecorative sculpturesare considered to be some of the high points ofGreek art. The Parthenon is consideredone of the greatest cultural monuments in the world, a symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy, and western civilization.
Architecture:
The basic structure of the Parthenon remained intact, despite the whitemarblehaving suffered damage over the centuries, including the loss of most of its sculpture.
Acolonnadeof baseless fluted columns withsquare capitalsstands on athree-stepbase and supports anentablature.
- Entablature, or roof structure, consisting of asimple architrave, or stone band;
- analternating frieze of triglyphs(vertically grooved blocks) andmetopes(smooth blocks with relief sculpture, now partially removed);
- and, at the east and west ends, alow triangular pediment, also with relief sculpture (now largely removed).
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The colonnade, composed of8 columns to the east and west and 17 to the north and south, encloses a walled internal rectangular chamber, calledcella,originally divided intothree navesbytwo smaller Doric colonnadesclosed at the western end just behind the great cult statue.
Behind the cella, is a smaller,square chamber这是来自西方的访问。一个six-column portico faces the east and west ends of the building’s interior. Starting at the top step of the base, the building is 101.34 feet (30.89 meters) wide and 228.14 feet (69.54 meters) long.
Decoration:
The Parthenon is aDoric temple with Ionic structural characteristics.The richness of the Parthenon is a unique decorations for a classic Greek temple.
Metope:
The frieze of the Parthenon’s entablature containedninety-two metopes Doric(made by Phidias and his pupils), carved as浮雕. The metopes, agreeing with the logs of the buildings, are dated as the years 446-440 BC.
- The metopes of theeast sideof the Parthenon, above the main entrance, depict theGigantomachy(a mythical battles between the Olympian gods and the Giants).
- The metopes of thewest sideshowAmazonomachy(mythical battle of the Athenians against the Amazons).
- The metopes of thesouth side– except for 13-20 metopes now lost – show theThessalian Centauromachy.
- Onthe north sideof the Parthenon, the metopes are poorly preserved, but the subject seems to bethe sack of Troy.
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Frieze:
The most characteristic feature in the decoration of the Parthenon is surely thelong Ionic friezeon the outside walls of the cell. It is an innovative feature since the rest of the temple is built in Doric style.
The continuous marble frieze was 160 meters long of which 130 have survived, about 80%, now located in various European museums.
In a first simple reading, the frieze is thesolemn processionthat was held every four years during thePanathenaic festivals.
Are possibledifferent interpretationsabout the meaning of the representation, or its possible attribution to a specific historical event.
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The fact that it is the representation of acommunity event, which was tied to theworship of Athenaand then of the home and the goddess represented:individuals of all stratum of society could identify with the characters of the frieze and recognize the various moments of the ceremony.
The entire frieze was designed to beread from the corner south-west: the viewer from this angle could choose to head north, or head directly to the east. From the corner southwest of the frieze take-off thus two processions run around the cell to merge then on the east side (the entrance to the temple), the center of which is represented the gesture of delivery of Peplum to the goddess Athena. The gesture of delivery attends to the hosts of gods and heroes.
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Pediments:
The travelerPausanias, when he visited theAcropolisand saw the Parthenon, he only described thegables.
- TheEast pedimentnarratesthe birth of Athena from the head of her father, Zeus.
- TheWest pedimentnarratesthe dispute between Athena(the olive branch)and Poseidon(which gives the water) during their competition for the honor of becoming the city’s patron, and consists of statues in the round recessed in the eardrum.
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The carvings of the pediments of the Parthenon are some of the best examples ofclassical Greek art, the work on the pediments lasted from 438 to 432 BC.
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/d35fb059-ee69-49ad-a4f2-06e2fe608e8abyGary Lee Todd, Ph.D.
Info sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon
