A t h e n s T e m p
l e s
THE PARTHENON
The Pre-Parthenon
The Project
The Plan
The Pediments
The Frieze
The Metopes
Inside
History
The Cult
Present State
Views
Links
The Pre-Parthenon:
Slightly east of the center of the Acropolis
a Doric peripteral temple was discovered under the remains of the Parthenon.
This temple was built ca. 488 - 480 B.C.E. with 102.9 ft. x 252 ft. (31.39
m x 76.82 m). With 6 x 16 columns, double cella (inner sanctum)
with a long cella at the east end and a smaller cella at
the west end, with opisthodomos (the rear room) and pronaos
(the antechamber), both with prostyle. The east cella has
2 rows of interior columns with 10 columns in each row. The west cella
has 4 interior columns arranged in a square in the center.
This Temple was never completed and must
not have past the lower column drums and cella courses. The construction
must have been pulled down shortly after the Persians invasion of 480/79
B.C.E., to make way for a new marble Sanctuary dedicated to the Goddess
Athena. Many components from this Temple were subsequently re-utilized.
The Project:
In the time of Pericles all Athens was willing
to contribute to the building and ornamentation of a great new Temple,
in addition to a number of other monuments. Plutarch commented: The
monuments were imposing in their unrivaled grandeur, beauty and grace;
the artists vied with one another in the technical perfection of their
work, but the most admirable thing was the speed of execution. Pericles
entrusted the overall management of the project to the sculptor Phidias,
who presided over everything especially the decor, for which he
employed Athens' greatest artists. The architects Ictinos and Callicrates
were commissioned to draw up and execute the plans. Construction began
in 447 B.C.E. and was completed nine years later, the last of the sculptures
being set place in 432 B.C.E. Pericles and his architects decided from
the start to build the new sanctuary on the foundations of the Pre-Parthenon;
slightly south and east of the center of the Acropolis. Apart from the
limestone foundations and the ceilings and wooden doors, the Temple was
built entirely of marble, even its roof tiles. The stone came from the
quarries of the Pentelic Mountains. Parian marble being reserved for the
sculptures.
The Plan:
The Parthenon rests on a plinth three steps
high. The upper level of the plinth measures about 225 x 85 feet (30.88
m x 69.50 m). It is a Temple surrounded by a single row of columns. This
peristyle consists of eight Doric columns on the west and east sides and
seventeen along the north and south sides. The shafts consist of twelve
fluted drums and are about 33 feet high (10.43 m), including the capitals,
with diameters tapering from 6 feet 3 inches (1.92 m) at the base to 4
feet 9 inches (1.49 m) at the top. There is a perceptible bulge two fifths
up each column; the Greeks knew the principle of the outward curvature
of a column (entasis), which compensates for the optical effect
that makes columns seem thinner in the middle when viewed from below. The
corner columns are thicker, reducing the space between them and their neighbors:
because they receive more sunlight, they would otherwise have appeared
thinner than the rest. Finally, to give the impression of absolute perfection,
the plinth gradually increased in height, by about 4 inches in the middle
of the long sides and by about 3 inches at the center of the facades.
The Pediments:
The theme of the east pediment is Zeus'
presentation of Athena to the Gods of Olympus. The west pediment portrays
Athena's strife with Poseidon for the land of Attica.
The Frieze:
In the frieze the sculptor innovated by
crowning a Doric ensemble with an Ionic frieze. The subject matter is the
procession of the Panathenaic Games, celebrated each year on the occasion
of Athena's birthday.
The Metopes:
Each metope featured a different scene,
consisting of two figures in high relief. The metopes along the east side
of the Temple represent the struggle between the Gods and the Giants; those
of the west side, an Amazonomachy; those of the south side, the battle
between the Lapiths and the Centaurs; and those on the north side, scenes
from the Trojan War. The theme common to all is the triumph of the Greeks
and of their Gods over their human or mythical adversaries.
Inside:
Inside, the Temple has a double cella
( inner sanctum) with pronaos (the antechamber, with the only door
into the cella) and opisthodomos (the rear room). The smaller
west cella had 4 interior columns. Inside the east cella
was a U-shaped colonnade of 9 columns and a pier on each long side, and
3 columns between the 2 piers on the short side. (Travlos reconstructs
columns in place of the piers.) Toward the west end of the interior colonnade
was a statue base for the cult statue of Athena Parthenos with a large
shallow rectangle cut to create a reflecting pool in front of it. The Phidias'
statue was made of gold and ivory with polychrome details. The sculptor
handed his work to a painter, whose job was to add the final touch of
perfection and endow the statue with religious meaning. Bronze doors
are postulated for both eastern and western cellas.
History:
The Temple was opened to the public the
moment it was finished, and was formally dedicated to the Goddess during
the Panathenaic Games of 438 B.C.E.
The Classical Parthenon seems to have been
damaged by fire but the exact date of the fire and subsequent repairs is
debated, with suggestions ranging from 150 B.C.E. to 267 C.E. (during the
invasion of the Herulians). In any case, repairs included the exact reconstruction
of the colonnade of the eastern cella, a new statue base and repairs
to the capitals on the columns of the western porch.
The Parthenon was converted to a Christian
church ca. 600 C.E., and in 1687 a small mosque was built in the cella.
The Cult:
It was only later that this great edifice
housed a cult at all: it was built originally as a proud statement of civic
strength rather than a place of worship.
Present state:
The first restoration work was begun in
1834. Throughout the 19th century both Greeks and foreigners applied themselves
to the work of restoration, but the Parthenon as we see it today was mostly
reconstructed at the turn of the century. The intensive excavations on
the Acropolis between 1885 and 1890 yielded many of the unique works of
art now on view in the museum.
Between 1923 and 1933 Balanos rebuilt the
north colonnade and part of the south colonnade. His efforts were something
of a disaster, because he cut holes in the marble and inserted steel tenons
that later rusted. Orlandos, his associate, was against the restoration
of the south colonnade without a similar restoration of the walls of the
cella. On Balanos' death, in 1942, Orlandos took over the work,
guided by the conviction that restoring the monument as closely as possible
to its original form would allow visitors to appreciate its beauty properly.
The new work on the Parthenon began with
the east facade, which was judged to be in most danger after the damage
caused by the 1981 earthquake. From 1992 to 1993 a very delicate operation
was performed on the west side of the cella. The ceiling beams and
the blocks below the entablature of the opistodomos (the back chamber)
were lowered to the ground, and the portion of the frieze hitherto in
situ was taken to the museum.
By the year 2000, up to 50 percent of the
side walls of the Parthenon will have been restored. The calculation of
the exact position of each block of marble has been made easier by the
use of a specially devised computer program.
Views:
Scale
model of the Acropolis from W
Scale
model of the Acropolis from S (N.Y. Met. Mus.)
Aerial
view of Acropolis, from SE
Aerial
view of Acropolis, from SW
Aerial
view of Acropolis, from SE, showing its steep elevation above Pnyx
and Agora, which are also seen well
Aerial
view of Acropolis, from S-SE, Close; good view of Theater, Odeum, Stoa,
etc.
View through columns
of Propylon
Overall
view of the Parthenon and Erechtheion, from E
Northeast
corner of Parthenon and Erechtheion, from E
Front
of Parthenon with Propylaea in distance, from E
East
facade from E
Southeast
corner of Parthenon, from N-NE
North two columns
of E side, from SE
North section of E
side crepidoma, from SE
East end of N side entablature,
from NW
Detail of E end of N entablature
East central section of N entablature,
from NE
Central section of N entablature,
from N
Northwest
corner, from NW and the Panathenaic Way approach
Overview
of Parthenon from NW
Foundations
of Parthenon
Parthenon stylobate:
curved base under temple
Western
facade of Temple
Walkway between
inner and outer colonnade from SW corner of Parthenon
Doric
entablature of Parthenon
Detail of Doric
column looking up
Detail of foot
of column in Parthenon
Overview
of Parthenon from E
Interior
of Parthenon
Interior
of Parthenon
Palmette
antefix from Parthenon with some paint remaining
SW
corner of Parthenon showing entablature
Detail of NW
corner of entablature
West
facade of Parthenon from W
West
pediment
Northwest
corner of the W entablature and pediment, from NW
Southwest
corner of the W entablature and pediment, from NW
Sculptures in W
pediment
Opisthodomos
door at sunset
View of corner
metopes
View across W crepidoma and terrace
foundations, from N
West
crepidoma and terrace foundations, from NW
Northwest
corner of the crepidoma and stylobate, from NW
West end of N side entablature
with sima, from NE
Northeast
corner and E side (with scaffolding), from N
North and E colonnades from W
frieze
Entablature
at NE corner (with scaffolding), from NE
North section of E
side entablature (with scaffolding), from SE
South three columns
of E side (with scaffolding), from NE
South end of E
side crepidoma, from NE
Central E
side crepidoma and stylobate, from E
Central E
side entablature (with scaffolding), from E
Architrave and architectural fragments
E of Temple, from NE
Architrave and architectural fragments
E of Temple, from N
North half of E
side entablature, from E
Southwest
corner columns and entablature, from S
West half of S
colonnade
Center of S
side, from SW
Columns and entablature at W
end of S side, from SE
Marble architectural fragment
debris S of Parthenon
Fragment of unfinished
marble column drum S of Parthenon
Marble
block fragment S of Parthenon
Architectural fragments
E of Parthenon
Unfinished column
drum
Reconstruction drawing
of interior of Parthenon, showing statue of Athena Parthenos
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Copyright
©1998-1999 Roy George
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