The Parthenon essays

The Parthenon essays Greek culture blossomed after the Persian Wars. General Pericles around the 450s BC led the reconstruction of Athens; which became the most beautiful city in all of Greece. Pericles greatest structure built under his command was the Parthenon. The Parthenon was a temple built for the patron goddess Athena (goddess of wisdom and art). Construction started 447 BC and continued until 432 BC. The structure is located in Athens Greece, on the acropolis. The architects Ictinus and Callicrates designed the building. The Athenians wanted to achieve the appearance of perfection on the Parthenon. They did this by widening the columns at the center, making them appear strait when viewed from a distance; the steps leading to the Parthenon were lowered in the center giving the impression that they were strait from either side(Farah,116). Phidias was the artist that sculpted the art for the Parthenon. He himself did not sculpt everything but advised the other sculptors. The temple was 102 by 226 feet, rising 60 feet of the ground. It included two rooms, the naos the larger of the two is where a 42 foot tall sculpture of Athenia was located. The smaller room opisthodomos was used as a treasury(Web). Pattern of 8 by 17 Doric fluted columns surround the structure. The Parthenon is a Doric peripteral temple, which means that it consists of a rectangular floor plan with a series of low steps on all sides. Pentelic marble was used as the building material, which came from Mount Pentelicus 11 miles from Athens. The pentelic marble had shots of iron. This gave it a luminescent look when viewed on sunny a day. Lintels, horizontal supporting beams that span between columns were tied by bow-tie shaped iron clamps to secure them. Sculptures once decorated the pediments of the building. The eastern pediment depicted the birth of Athena and western pe ...