The Parthenon

The Parthenon

Introduction

According to this worldview , moral living requires that we reproduce the given in the world and learn in live by it . The Greek Parthenon is a symbol of the classicist worldview . It represents a world standing in well-balanced proportions . The Greek goddess Athena became the Roman goddess Minerva . Worship continued at the Parthenon in the historical times . The study involves the discussion about the Greek Parthenon in regards to the historical perspective , artist involved , its significance to Greek civilization , architecture , astronomical orientations , and the reason for building

p Discussion

Brief History

The Greeks used three s of architecture in their temple building

Doric , Ionic , and Corinthian . These s are used to this day and are eastly recognized in the modem world , where they appear on the facades of buildings to suggest power and status , both private and public . They are most easily recognized in their elevations wherein it is the columns ' capitals that provide the most obvious index of difference Corinthian made its debut in the PeIoponnese at the temples of Apollo at Bassae and of Athena at Tegea , for example . Its spread was hesitant , but its popularity increased during the Hellenistic period until , for Roman builders and patrons , it became the of choice . The architects of the were lktinos and Kallikrates , and the temple , for all its architectural refinements and sculptural decoration , as built prickly between 447 and 432 BC . In fact , construction was faster than even that suggests , since the building and the great statue of Athena Parthenos was dedicated in 438 . All that remained was for the pedimental figures to be carved and hoisted into place . The planning of the building was driven by concern for proportion . The preoccupation with the achievement of the most harmonious proportions had governed Greek temple building from its earliest years

Architecture , Astrology and Significance

Greek architecture also shows knowledge of the theories of proportion so significant in architectural design . The Parthenon at Athens , usually considered the most perfect of Greek temples , is planned with its two interior spaces each of the Golden 1 :1 , 618 ratio . Its front elevation fits into a rectangle of the same golden proportion , while the column spacing makes it possible to discover a series of connected harmonious relationships . The Parthenon also displays many of the more subtle departures from strict regularly refinements , that are characteristic of the most successful Greek temples . In addition , the horizontal lines of the stylobate base platforms are found to be bent upward in a slight curvature , columns lean slightly inward , and the lines of the entablature are curved . Athenian architects were well aware that from a distance the eye would perceive perfectly straight columns as thin in the middle and appearing to fall outward , and a perfectly horizontal foundation would appear to droop toward the center . Consequently they took pains to create optical illusions by subtle swelling (entasis ) of the midportion of the columns , by tilting the columns toward the interior lest they seem to be falling...