Construction and Arrangement In the building of the Parthenon between 447 and 432 B.C., there was a 4 to 9 ratio that was used throughout the structure. It was used for determining heights, widths, lengths, column spacing and length among may other things. This ratio also caused there to be no straight lines found within the structure though it appears straight when being viewed from a distance. It is approximated that roughly 13400 stones were used to build just this structure.
The inside of the Parthenon was split into four different sections: the Pronaos, the Cella (main temple), the Opisthodomos (west room), and the Opisthonao. When entering through the main enterance on the east side of the temple, you would be greeted by a 12 meter tall gold and ivory statue of Athena. On the opposite side of the temple you could find the treasury in the Opisthodomos. In current times you are able to go up to see the remains of the Parthenon and other temples found on the Acropolis even though you are unable to enter them. The Acropolis and Acropolis museum are the most popularly visited sites in all of Greece. This creates a large income for restoration of the sites and for the Greek economy as a whole. |
BackgroundThe Parthenon's construction occured during one of the highest points of time for the ancient Greek empire. This temple is the largest and most elaborate temple found in Greece. It is dedicated to the goddess Athena who won the rights to the area of Athens in a battle against Poseidon.The pediment found on the west side of the building depicted this battle between the two gods. The east side pediment represents the birth of the goddess Athena from her father Zeus. There were also 92 different metopes found on along the Parthenon which all depicted different scenes from Greek myths. A frieze that ran along all four sides of the building can also be found is believed to depict the Panathenaic procession. What remains of both the pediments, all the metopes, and the frieze can be now viewed within the Acropolis museum. Smaller completed reconstructions of them can be viewed there as well.
Though there are several structures and temples found on the Acropolis, the only time they were typically used was for worship. One of the biggest festivals that occured in honor of Athena was the Panthenaic festival which concluded with a sacrifice on an alter on the Acropolis. Though the festival is no longer celebrated, there is still a version of the Panthenaic stadium used today. |
Changes and DestructionThought the Parthenon did originally begin as a temple to worship Athena, its purpose ended up being altered several different times. At one point, early christians used the Parthenon as a church. They are believed to have removed many of the objects representing Athena's birth and of defacing the metopes. During the fifteenth century, the Ottoman's overtook Athens and began to use the structure as a mosque. Finally in 1687, the Turks were using the Parthenon as gunpowder storage during a battle. Unfortunately, this gunpowder was ignited and did a large amount of damage to the structure. There was also an attempt to remove sculptures from the pediments that ended up leaving them very damaged.
Today, you can see that great effort has been put into preserving the Parthenon and any fragements of it that have been found. Restorations and reconstruction projects for the structure are still ongoing. Since this is Greece's largest tourist attraction and such a big part of their history, they will do their best to maintain it as fully as possible. |