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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. Still, the Parthenon will not be restored to its original glory. Instead, it will stay a partial ruin and will feature design elements and artifacts that reflect its rich, diverse history. Renovations are ongoing at the Parthenon and the entire Acropolis; however, tourists can still visit the historical site.
Areas undergoing a makeover may be off-limits. Some important artifacts and remaining Parthenon sculptures were moved to the nearby Acropolis Museum. Secrets of the Parthenon.
The Glorious Parthenon. The Parthenon. Oxford Bibliographies. Reed College. The Parthenon: Religion, Art and Politics. The State University of New York. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present.
The Acropolis of Athens is one of the most famous ancient archaeological sites in the world. Located on a limestone hill high above Athens, Greece, the Acropolis has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Over the centuries, the Acropolis was many things: a home to kings, a Few monuments in the world are more recognizable than the Parthenon.
Sitting atop a limestone hill rising some feet above the Ilissos Valley in Athens, this soaring marble temple built in tribute to the goddess Athena brings the glory of ancient Greece into the modern world.
The term Ancient, or Archaic, Greece refers to the years B. Archaic Greece saw advances in art, poetry and technology, but is known as the age in which the polis, or city-state, was Ancient Greek ruins that survive today are among the most iconic landmarks in the world.
Grand structures like the Acropolis in Athens are a testament to a culture defined by advancement and innovation, especially in art and architecture. In the middle of 5th Mycenae is an ancient city located on a small hill between two larger hills on the fertile Argolid Plain in Peloponnese, Greece. The last of the sculptural ornaments was completed in BC but only three years later Pericles and many of his fellow citizens succumbed to a horrific plague that devastated Athens.
The Parthenon served as a temple to Athena for almost a millennium. The zealous Christians smashed or defaced a number of the sculptures that they felt were pagan or secular and they made minor alterations to the architecture. It was now a Catholic church.
By Athens was overrun by the Turks who promptly converted the ancient Greek temple into an Islamic mosque, complete with minaret. The Turkish governor took over the adjacent Erechtheum the temple which features caryatids, draped female figures, in lieu of columns , in which to accommodate his harem. In the Venetians, who were warring against the Turks, bombarded the Parthenon with mortar and cannon fire.
The Turks had felt so confident that the Venetians would not attack this venerable religious building that their women and children were sheltered inside- along with their stores of gunpowder.
Many pieces of sculpture shattered by the explosion still lay buried or half-buried on the Parthenon grounds. Lord Elgin's agents were not content for long in picking up broken pieces of sculpture. Soon they were prying pieces off the building and, later, using saws to remove the artwork in sizable chunks. In their defense, they would have been familiar with other destructive practices of the era.
The Turks had used some of the Parthenon sculptures for target practice and had lopped the heads off a few figures within reach likely Pericles among them. In addition, the Turks used whitewash to paint their buildings, which had sprung up all around the Parthenon. Marble, when burned, produces lime and lime mixed with water makes whitewash.
It was a recipe that would result in the destruction of both broken and complete marble statuary in Athens and elsewhere. Today the remains of the Parthenon, the bleached bones of what was once an architectural masterpiece for the ages, provide mute testimony to the glory that was ancient Greece. The artworks that once adorned the marble walls can be found, in bits and pieces still clinging to the remnants of the ancient temple or scattered amongst the world's leading museums in Athens, London, Paris, Munich, Rome, Copenhagen, Vienna, etc.
In at least one case a marble sculpture taken from the temple was broken apart and pieces of it can be found in three major cities. Britain has refused, saying the collection was legally acquired from the Government then in power and they have no intention of returning anything.
And there the matter rests. Back to Exhibitions. The Parthenon: Modern technology helps archaeologists piece together the puzzle of the Parthenon's original structure. The goddess Artemis adjusts her chiton. Copyright: Thomas Sakoulas, Ancient-Greece. This was a meter ft. It encircled the Cella at the ceiling. It would have been very difficult to see and appreciate from the temple floor, the usual place from where it could be seen. Phideas had the top portion of the frieze cut to that depth and the bottom portion incised somewhat less so as to make the scenes more apparent from the distant floor.
Despite the fact that it would have been difficult to discern details of the artwork from that viewpoint, especially given the dim, shadowy light of the temple, no less care was lavished on these images than on the other groupings. If only the gods could see and appreciate them, then that was sufficient. Seated gods wait to receive the new peplos , detail from Parthenon frieze, Slab IV. The West Pediment.
There are two triangular pediments, one on each narrow end of the structure, and these were commonly used on temples as a place within which to display sculptures appropriate to the nature of the building.
The theme of the west pediment is the mythological competition between Athena and Poseidon to determine who should be patron of the city.
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