Athena patronizes those striving for knowledge, cities and states, sciences and crafts, intelligence, dexterity, and helps those who pray to her to increase their ingenuity in this or that matter. At one time she was one of the most revered and beloved goddesses, competing with Zeus, since she was equal to him in strength and wisdom. She was very proud of the fact that she remained a virgin forever.
Birth of Athena
She was born in an unusual way, like most divine creatures. According to the most common version, Almighty Zeus heeded the advice given by Uranus and Gaia, after which he absorbed his first wife Metis-Wisdom at the time of her pregnancy. A son could be born who would eventually overthrow the Thunderer. After being absorbed from the head of Zeus, his heir, Athena, was born.
Description
The warrior goddess differed from her companions in the pantheon in that she had an extremely unusual appearance. Other female deities were gentle and graceful, while Athena did not hesitate to use male attribute in conducting business. So, she was remembered for wearing armor. She also had her spear with her.
The patroness of urban planning also kept an animal near her, which was given a sacred role. She wore a Corinthian helmet, on the top of which there was a high crest. It is typical for her to wear an aegis, which was covered with goat skin. This shield was decorated with the head that the Winged One, a companion of Athena, lost in the past. The ancient Greeks considered the olive to be a sacred tree and associated it directly with this deity. The symbol of wisdom was the owl, which was not inferior to the snake in this responsible role.
According to legend, Pallas had gray eyes and brown hair. Her eyes were great. In addition to beauty, she also had good military training. She carefully polished her armor and was always ready for battle: her spear was sharpened, and her chariot was ready to rush to the battle for justice. In preparation for battle, she turned to the Cyclops blacksmiths for help.
Shrines erected in her honor
She came to us from ancient times, but the goddess is still worshiped today. Athena is widely revered. The temple is the place where everyone can come and turn to her. People are trying to preserve these places of worship.
One of the most significant buildings glorifying the goddess can be considered the temple created by Pisistratus. Archaeologists excavated two pediments and other details. The Hecatompedon was built in the sixth century. The dimensions of the cella reached one hundred feet. It was found in the nineteenth century by German archaeologists.
On the walls of the building there were paintings from the mythology of the ancient Greeks. For example, there you can see Hercules fighting terrible monsters. An extremely picturesque place!
When this happened, they began building the Opitodom, also dedicated to the warrior. The construction could not be completed, because the Persians soon attacked and plundered the city. Column drums from the northern walls of the Erechtheion have been discovered.
The Parthenon is also considered one of the most significant monuments. This is a unique structure, erected in honor of Athena the Virgin. The structure dates back to the mid-fifth century BC. The architect is considered to be Kallikart.
The old Parthenon left behind several details that were used to build up the Acropolis. Phidias did this during the era of Pericles. Due to the widespread veneration of Athena, temples in her honor were numerous and pompous. Most likely, many of them have not yet been found and will pleasantly please us in the future. Although even now there are a large number of buildings representing a rich historical heritage.
In Athens it can be called an outstanding monument. It was built by Greek architects. The temple of Pallas Athena is located in the north - near the Parthenon on the Acropolis. It was built between 421 and 406 BC, according to archaeologists.
Athena inspired the people to create this beautiful structure. The temple is a model In addition to the goddess of war and knowledge, within these walls you can venerate the ruler of the seas, Poseidon, and even the Athenian king Erechtheus, about whom we can learn from legends.
Historical reference
When Pericles died, Greece began to build the temple of Athena, whose construction was not such a simple task and was completed at the time when the city was destroyed.
According to legend, at the point where the structure was built, the warrior goddess and Poseidon once argued. Everyone wanted to become the ruler of Attica. Information about the Temple of Athena includes references to the most important relics of the polis kept here. Previously, the archaic Hecatompedon, which was built during the reign of Pisistratus, was allocated for this.
The temple was destroyed during the Greco-Persian conflict. The goddess Athena also played a big role in this place. The temple included her wooden idol, which was supposed to have fallen from the sky. Hermes was also revered here.
In the temple, great importance was attached to the flame of the golden lamp, which never went out. It was enough to pour oil into it just once a year. The temple was named in reference to the remains that used to be the tomb of Erechtheus. In addition to everything listed above, there were many other shrines, which, however, were not of such great importance.
Serving the Warrior Goddess
As one of the most important Greek deities, temples and statues of Athena are numerous and impressive. An olive tree was associated with the goddess, which was burned in 480, but it grew from the ashes and continued its life.
The tree grew not far from the temple-sanctuary dedicated to the nymph Pandrosa. Having entered the holy place, one could look into the waters of the well, which was replenished from a salty water spring. It was assumed that the god Poseidon himself knocked him out.
Transfer of ownership of the temple
The goddess Athena did not always reign within these walls. The temple belonged to Christians for some time, who held their services here during the existence of Byzantium.
Until the 17th century, the structure was monitored, maintained and looked after. The damage was done when 1687 brought Venetian troops to Athens. During the siege, the shrine was damaged. When Greek independence was restored, the fragments that had fallen were put back in their proper places. At the moment, unfortunately, there is nothing left but ruins. You can still see the former features in the portico of Pandrosa, which is located on the north side.
Lord Elgin, who was sent by the British to Constantinople in 1802, received permission given by Sultan Selim III to remove from the country all parts of the shrine that could be found with inscriptions or images. One caryatid of the temple was transported to Britain. Now this relic, like the Parthenon frieze, is an exhibit of the British Museum.
Architectural design
This sanctuary has an unusual asymmetrical layout. This is due to the fact that there was a difference between the heights of the soil on which the construction took place. From south to north the ground level decreases. There are two cellas. Each of them had to have an entrance. The structure is abundantly filled with relics of antiquity. Parishioners entered from two entrances: northern and eastern. Ionic porticoes were their decoration.
In the eastern part of the Erechtheion, which was located higher, there was a space dedicated to the guardian of the city, who was Athena-Poliada. The wooden image of the goddess was kept here. When the Panathenaea passed, they made an offering to him of a new peplos. The portico of this cella has six columns.
Interior view of the temple
In the western part of the temple one could see things and elements that glorified Poseidon and Erechtheus. On the front side there is a restriction that is created by two antas. Between them there are four semi-columns.
The presence of two porticoes has been confirmed: northern and southern. The doorway's entrance frame to the north included carvings that included rosettes. The southern side is notable for the famous Portico of the Caryatids.
It was named after six statues just over two meters high. They support the architrave. The sculptures include Pentelicon marble. Today, they are replaced by copies. As for the originals, the British Museum became their repository. Lord Elgin brought one caryatid there.
Also the Acropolis Museum contains the rest. Pandrozeion - this was the name of the portico of the caryatids. Pandrosa was the daughter of Kekrops. The building is named after her. The myths telling about the Cecropids and Erechtheus were taken as the plot on which the frieze was built. Some remains of the monument have survived to this day. The statues, the material for which was Parian marble, were fixed in front of a dark background, which formed the Eleusinian material.
On the Athenian Acropolis stands the temple of the Virgin Athena Parthenos, dedicated to the patroness of the city of Athens (daughter of the supreme god Zeus) during the reign of Pericles.
Work on its construction began in 447 BC and ended mainly in 438 BC. e., and finishing and sculptural work was carried out even before 434 BC. e.
The architect of the Parthenon is Ictinus, his assistant is Callicrates. The creator of the Parthenon is the famous ancient Greek sculptor Phidias, based on sketches and under whose general supervision work was carried out to create sculptures: the Virgin Athena Parthenos, the marble frieze, metopes, dandies of the Parthenon by the best masters of the 5th century BC.
The Parthenon in Athens was built in honor of the victory of the Greeks over the Persians, which was expressed in the solemnity of the forms of the Doric columns of the temple, in its harmony and harmony, in its proportions.
The interior of the temple was given a majestic appearance by a two-story colonnade. At the same time, the Parthenon inside was divided into the eastern part (a larger room), where there was a statue of Athena Parthenos, made in the chrysoelephantine technique, and the western part, called, in fact, the Parthenon, in which the Athenian treasury was kept.
Architectural and structural solution of the Parthenon
The Parthenon in ancient Greece is a temple of the Doric order, the architecture of the Parthenon is such that in plan it has the shape of a rectangle, its height is 24 m. Its base is the flat top of a huge rock of the acropolis, which seems to serve as a natural pedestal.
The optimal dimensions of the Parthenon, which was supposed to stand on a rock, were determined according to the principle of the “golden ratio”, namely: the ratio of the mass of the temple and the rock should correspond to the proportions of the temple - this ratio, by the way, was considered harmonious in the times of ancient Greece.
The Parthenon in Athens is surrounded on all sides by columns: the architecture of the Parthenon included 8 columns on the short sides and 14 on the long sides. Parthenon columns were placed more often than in the earliest Doric temples.
The entablature is not so massive, so it seems that the columns easily support the ceiling. The columns of the Parthenon are not strictly vertical, but slightly inclined into the building. And they are not all the same thickness. The corner ones are made thicker than the others, but against a light background they appear thinner.
By slightly tilting the columns, making them of different thicknesses, the creators of the temple thereby corrected optical distortions that violated the harmony and plasticity of the building, giving it harmony.
The Parthenon column is divided by vertical grooves - flutes, which make the horizontal seams between the parts of the column almost invisible and seem to eliminate its closedness.
Artistic and decorative design of the Parthenon
The structures that decorated the Parthenon are of significant value to us: a marble frieze, 92 metopes located on the four sides of the temple, two pediments.
Frieze of the Parthenon. On the upper part of the temple wall behind the outer colonnade you can see a frieze - zophorus. It is a continuous multi-figure 160-meter bas-relief marble ribbon, which depicts 350 people and 250 animals from various angles.
The Parthenon frieze was dedicated to the Great Panathenaia festival, which was held in Athens every 4 years in honor of the patroness of the city, the goddess Athena.
At the beginning of the frieze, a competition of horsemen is shown, then there are slaughtered animals, they are replaced by a procession of festively dressed people of Athens, carrying to the Parthenon the festive robe of Athena (peplos), woven by Athenian girls.
At the end of the procession, the end part of the frieze shows the feast of the 12 gods of Olympus. The frieze groups are small in size, but expressive, never repeating the many hundreds of figures of people and animals.
The architecture of the Parthenon involved the placement of metopes above the colonnade, on the outside of the temple, the plots of which were built on the mythological stories of Attica, depicting the minor exploits of Athena.
There were 92 metopes in total - 14 on the front sides and 32 on the side walls. They were carved in high relief - high relief. On the eastern pediment, a scene of a battle between gods and giants is depicted. On the western side there is a scene of the Greeks fighting the Amazons.
On the metopes on the northern side of the temple is the fall of Troy, on the southern side is the struggle between the Lapiths and the centaurs. But the pediment groups are dedicated to the main and most important events in the life of the goddess.
- eastern and western. The eastern pediment, which is better preserved, depicts the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus, according to ancient Greek myth.
In the right corner of the eastern pediment there are three female figures, perhaps these are three Moiras (goddesses of fate). The smooth softness and warmth of chiaroscuro in the folds of clothing of the female figures are interestingly conveyed.
The western pediment depicts a dispute between Athena and Poseidon over dominance over Attica.
Parthenon painting, cladding. The Parthenon was built entirely from squares of white Pentelic marble, laid dry. The properties of this marble are such that, due to the presence of iron in it, over time it acquired a golden patina, which gave the slabs a warm, yellowish tint.
However, some of the Parthenon slabs were painted when it was necessary to highlight some individual elements. Thus, the triglyphs, which were obscured by the cornice, were covered with blue paint. Blue paint was also used for the background of the metopes and pediments.
Gilding was used to paint the vertical slabs of the pediments. The upper parts of the temple were painted dark red, sometimes occasionally shaded with narrow strips of gilding.
The Parthenon in Athens in its original form existed for about two millennia. The following have survived to this day: on the territory of the acropolis - destroyed columns of the temple, a few fragments of metopes, friezes, pediments - are stored in various museums around the world.
The Parthenon is one of the most famous monuments of ancient architecture. This 2,500-year-old magnificent temple on the Acropolis in Athens has survived earthquakes, fires, explosions and repeated looting attempts. And although the Parthenon was in no way an engineering breakthrough in construction, its style became the paradigm of classical architecture.
1. Acropolis in Athens
Sacred rock.
The Acropolis in Athens, where the Parthenon is located, is also called the "sacred rock" and was used for defensive purposes.
2. Cultural layers
Ancient history of the Parthenon.
Cultural layers discovered on the slopes of the Acropolis indicate that there were settlements on the hill since 2800 BC, that is, long before the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures.
3. The Acropolis was a sacred place
The Acropolis is a sacred place.
Long before the construction of the Parthenon, the Acropolis was a sacred place and there were other temples on it. The Parthenon replaced the old Temple of Athena, which was destroyed during the Persian invasion in 480 BC.
4. House Parthenos
House of Parthenos.
The name "Parthenon" is derived from one of the many epithets of Athena (Athena Parthenos), and it means ""house of Parthenos"". This name was given to the temple in the 5th century BC because a cult statue of Athena was installed inside it.
5. Construction of the Parthenon
Construction of the Parthenon.
Construction of the Parthenon began in 447 BC. and was completed in 438 BC, but the final decoration of the temple continued until 432 BC.
6. Ictinus, Callicrates and Phidias
Ictinus, Callicrates and Phidias are the architects of the Parthenon.
The Parthenon, which was built by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates under the supervision of the sculptor Phidias, is considered by most modern architects and historians to be the highest expression of ancient Greek architectural genius. The temple is also considered the culmination of the development of the Doric order, the simplest of the three classical Greek architectural styles.
7. 192 Greek warriors
192 Greek warrior heroes.
Several modern historians (including art historian John Boardman) believe that the frieze above the Doric columns of the Parthenon depicts the 192 Greek soldiers who died at the Battle of Marathon against the Persians in 490 BC.
8. Stones from Pentelikon
Stones from Pentelikon.
Some of the financial records of the construction of the Parthenon have been preserved, which show that the largest expense was the transportation of stones from Pentelikon, which was located sixteen kilometers from the Acropolis of Athens.
9. The Greek government and the EU have been restoring the Parthenon for 42 years
Restoration of the Parthenon.
The Parthenon restoration project (which is funded by the Greek government and the European Union) has been ongoing for 42 years. It took the ancient Athenians only 10 years to build the Parthenon.
10. 12-meter statue of the goddess Athena
Statue of the goddess Athena.
The rectangular building, 31 meters wide and 70 meters high, was built of white marble. Surrounded by forty-six columns stood a 12-meter statue of the goddess Athena, made of wood, gold and ivory.
11. Tyrant Lahar
Tyrant Lahar.
Although much of the structure remains intact, the Parthenon has suffered significant damage over the centuries. It all started in 296 BC, when the Athenian tyrant Lacharus removed the gold covering from the statue of Athena in order to pay the debt of his army.
12. In the fifth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church
The Parthenon became a church.
In the fifth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church, and in 1460 a Turkish mosque was located in the Parthenon. In 1687, the Ottoman Turks placed a gunpowder warehouse in the temple, which exploded when the temple was shelled by the Venetian army. At the same time, part of the temple turned into ruins.
13. 46 external columns and 23 internal
Columns of the Parthenon.
The Parthenon had 46 outer columns and 23 inner columns, but not all remain today. In addition, the Parthenon used to have a roof (it currently does not).
14. The Parthenon's design is earthquake resistant
Earthquake resistant design.
The Parthenon's design is earthquake-resistant, even though the temple's columns are quite thin.
15. The Parthenon was used as a city treasury
The Parthenon as a city treasury.
The Parthenon was also used as the city's treasury, like many other Greek temples of the era.
16. The construction of the Parthenon was not financed by the Athenians.
Parthenon as a national project.
Even though the Parthenon is the most popular Athenian building of all time, its construction was not financed by the Athenians. After the end of the Persian Wars, Athens became, in 447 BC, the dominant power in what is now Greece. Funds for the construction of the temple were taken from the tribute paid to Athens by other city-states of the Delian League.
17. Delhi League deposits were kept in an opisthodome
Opisthodom is a place where cash deposits are stored.
The money deposits of the Delian League, which was ruled by Athens, were kept in the opisthodome - the rear closed part of the temple.
18. The Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Temple of Nike were built over the ruins of the Acropolis.
Ancient new buildings.
During the "classical period" not only the Parthenon, but also the Erechtheion and the Temple of Nike were built over the ruins of the Acropolis.
19. The first theater in history
Theater of Dionysus - the first theater in history
Besides these structures, another important monument at the foot of the Acropolis is the "Theater of Dionysus", which is considered to be the first theater in history.
20. The Parthenon had a multi-colored facade
Facade of the Parthenon.
While modern media depicts Greek temples and structures with a white facade, the Parthenon most likely had a multi-colored facade. The paint has worn off over the centuries.
21. The Parthenon appeared thanks to Pericles
Pericles is the initiator of the construction of the Parthenon.
Pericles was probably the most outstanding Athenian statesman in history. It was thanks to him that the city got the Parthenon.
22. Temple sculptures were sold to the British Museum
The Parthenon sculptures are in the British Museum.
From 1801 to 1803, part of the remaining sculptures of the temple were taken away by the Turks (who controlled Greece at that time). These sculptures were subsequently sold to the British Museum.
23. A full-scale replica of the Parthenon is located in Nashville, Tennessee.
Copy of the Parthenon.
The Parthenon is the most copied building in the world. There are many buildings around the world that were created in the same style. There is also a full-size replica of the Parthenon located in Nashville, Tennessee.
24. The opening of the Acropolis Museum took place in 2009
Acropolis Museum.
More than half a million people visited the new Acropolis Museum within the first two months of its opening in 2009.
25. Golden Rectangle of the Parthenon
Golden Rectangle of the Parthenon.
A rectangle's length to width ratio of 1.618 was considered most pleasing to the eye. This ratio was called the "golden ratio" by the Greeks. In the world of mathematics, this number is called "phi" and it was named after the Greek sculptor Phidias, who used the golden ratio in his sculptures. From the outside, the Parthenon is a perfect “golden rectangle”.
Around the location where the Parthenon can be found today, the ancient Athenians began construction of a building that was burned by the Persians in 480 BC. until the project is completed. Apparently it was dedicated to Athena. After its destruction, its ruins were used to fortify the northern part of the Acropolis. Very little information has been preserved about the temple. It is known that its massive bases were made of limestone, and its pillars were made of marble.
Classical Parthenon of ancient Greece
The classical Parthenon was built between 447-432 BC. and occupied a central place in the architecture of ancient Greece at the Acropolis. The designers were Iktin and Kallikrates. The name of Vitruvius is also inscribed on the walls of the temple, as the architect involved in the construction of the building. It was dedicated to Athena Pallas or Parthenos (which means “virgin” in Greek). The temple was erected to house within its walls a monumental statue of Athena, which was made by the sculptor Phidias from gold and ivory. It was placed in the Parthenon in 438 BC. However, finishing work lasted until 432 BC.
The construction of the Parthenon cost the Athenian treasury 469 talents of silver. It is difficult to imagine the equivalent of this amount today. For comparison, it cost talent to equip one of the best ships of the era of the ancient state of Greece.
“This amount would be enough to pay the ship’s crew a month’s wages.”, writes D. Kagan in “The Peloponnesian War.” According to his data, about 200 palai were used during military operations, and the annual gross income of the city of Athens during the time of Pericles was 1000 talents.
Parthenon architecture
The temple of ancient Greece is decorated with eight columns on the facade, seventeen columns are located on the flanks with the ratio 9:04 accepted in architecture. It refers to the calculation of the vertical and horizontal proportions of a temple, as well as other measurements such as the distance between columns and their height.
In order to house the massive statue, a large room was allocated among Doric columns on all sides. The room behind the sculpture was intended to store Athena's treasures. Four columns of the Ionic order supported the roof. The integration of Doric and Ionic elements in one temple was an innovation in the architecture of ancient Greece and was quite rare.
All temples in Greece were designed in such a way as to appreciate the greatness of the building from the outside. Spectators could not cross the threshold of the temple and could only see the interior through open doors.
Visitors to the Acropolis, viewing the temple from the Propylaea, could appreciate the majestic proportions of the Parthenon with its western fronts or a series of colonnades in the northern part.
From the eastern part of the Parthenon you can see images of a religious procession, which is represented on a frieze decorated with Doric columns.
On the eastern side of the temple you can see a painting depicting the birth of Athena. The huge statue of Pallas Athena, made of gold and ivory, is framed by Doric columns. Judging by the beauty and grandeur of this temple, we can say that the designers of the Parthenon tried to recreate within its walls a dramatic living image that would magically capture the viewer’s gaze.
Temples of ancient Greece
The construction of the Parthenon did not mark a breakthrough in the art of ancient Greece. However, its forms became the standard of classical architecture. His style was used for many centuries long after the construction of the temple was completed.
The Parthenon is undoubtedly a fairly massive building, but by no means is it the largest in the architectural ensemble of ancient Greece. Its aesthetic appeal is determined by the refinement of the forms used in construction and the quality of the sculptural decoration.
The Parthenon embodies the high canons of Greek art at the apogee of the classical era through artistic means. The idealism of the Greek way of life, attention to detail, as well as mathematical precision determine the harmony in which all elements of the structure are combined. They are presented in exact proportions of the building, anthropomorphic statues that decorated the halls of the temple.
Athenian citizens were proud of their historical past and culture, recognizing the greatness of ideas and their implementation. They believed that the population of ancient Greece was the only civilized people in a world of barbarians. And their cultural and political achievements changed the history of the whole world. The catalyst for all the innovations was the development of a control system the likes of which the world had never seen before. It was democracy. She became the embodiment of the Athenian way of thinking, which was the focus of the artists during the construction of the Parthenon. It was a direct democracy, where every citizen had the right to vote on any issue in the Assembly, which met on the Pnyx hill next to the Acropolis.
The fact that ordinary people were depicted in the frescoes of the Parthenon frieze was due to the fact that for the first time in the history of ancient civilizations, every citizen of the city was recognized as an important figure in the state, whose actions were monitored by the entire Universe.
Parthenon: facts
Year of construction: 447-432 BC
Dimensions
Width East: 30.875 m
Width West: 30.8835 m
Length North: 69.5151 m
Length South: 69.5115 m
Aspect Ratio: 9:04
Number of stones used for the Parthenon built: approximately 13,400.
Architects: Iktin and Kallikrates
Parthenon construction cost: 469 talents
Coordinates (Plaka area just below the Acropolis): 37°58’N, 23°43’.
One of the most revered goddesses by the ancient Greeks, Pallas Athena, was born in a rather unusual way: Zeus, her father, swallowed her mother, Metis (Wisdom), when she was expecting a child. He did this for one simple reason: after the birth of his daughter, he was predicted to have a son who would overthrow the Thunderer from the throne.
But Athena did not want to sink into oblivion - so after a while the Supreme God began to suffer from an unbearable headache: her daughter asked to come out. His head hurt so badly that the Thunderer, unable to bear it, ordered Hephaestus to take an ax and hit him on the head with it. He obeyed and cut his head, releasing Athena. Her eyes were full of wisdom, and she was dressed in warrior clothes, holding a spear in her hand, and an iron helmet on her head.
The goddess of wisdom turned out to be an active resident of Olympus: she came down to the people and taught them a lot, giving them knowledge and crafts. She also paid attention to women: she taught them to do needlework and weave, and took an active part in government affairs - she was the patroness of a just struggle (she taught them how to solve problems peacefully), taught them to write laws, thus becoming the patroness of many Greek cities. For such a majestic goddess it was necessary to build a temple, which, according to descriptions, would not be equal in the whole world.
The Parthenon is located in the capital of Greece, Athens, in the southern part of the Acropolis, an ancient architectural complex located on a rocky hill at an altitude exceeding 150 meters above sea level. m. You can find the Athenian Acropolis Parthenon at the address: Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, Athens 117 42, and on a geographical map you can find out its exact location at the following coordinates: 37° 58′ 17″ N. latitude, 23° 43′ 36″ e. d.
The Parthenon Temple, dedicated to Athena, began to be built on the territory of the Acropolis around 447 BC. e. instead of the unfinished sanctuary destroyed by the Persians. The construction of this unique architectural monument was entrusted to the architect Kallikrates, who erected the building according to the design of Iktin.
It took the Hellenes about fifteen years to build the temple, which at that time was a fairly short term, considering that construction and finishing materials were brought from all over Greece. Fortunately, there was enough money: Athens, whose ruler was Pericles, was just experiencing a period of greatest prosperity and was not only the cultural capital, but also the political center of Attica.
Callicrates and Iktinus, having access to considerable funds and opportunities, during the construction of the temple were able to implement more than one innovative design solution, as a result of which the architecture of the Parthenon turned out to be unlike any other structure of this type.
The main feature of the sanctuary was that the facade of the building from one point was perfectly visible from three sides at once.
This was achieved by installing the columns in relation to each other not parallel, but at an angle. Also, the fact that all the pillars had a different shape played a role: so that from a distance the central columns seemed slimmer and not so thin, all the pillars were given a convex shape (the outermost columns turned out to be the thickest), slightly tilting the corner columns towards the center, the central ones away from it .
Penelian marble, mined near the Acropolis, was used as the main building material; according to the description, it is a rather interesting material, since initially it is white, but after some time, under the influence of sunlight, it begins to turn yellow. Therefore, the Parthenon in Athens, upon completion of construction work, turned out to be unevenly painted, which gave it an original and interesting look: on the north side the temple had a gray-ash tint, on the south it turned out to be golden-yellow in color.
Another feature of the ancient temple was that when laying marble blocks, Greek craftsmen did not use either cement or any other solution: the builders carefully ground them around the edges and adjusted them to size to each other (at the same time, they did not trim the inside - this saved time and labor). Larger blocks were located at the base of the building; smaller stones were laid on them, fastened horizontally with iron fasteners, which were inserted into special holes and filled with lead. The blocks were connected vertically with iron pins.
Description
Three steps lead up to the temple, which was dedicated to Athena and is a rectangular building. The Athenian Acropolis Parthenon, about seventy meters long and a little more than thirty wide, was surrounded along the perimeter by ten-meter Doric columns about ten meters high. There were seventeen pillars along the side facades, and eight at the ends where the entrances were located.
Unfortunately, due to the fact that most of the pediments were destroyed (only thirty statues survived in very poor condition), there are very few descriptions of exactly what the Parthenon's exterior looked like.
It is known that all sculptural compositions were created with the direct participation of Phidias, who was not only the main architect of the entire Acropolis and developed the plan for this architectural complex, but is also known as the author of one of the wonders of the world - the statue of Zeus at Olympia. There is an assumption that the eastern pediment of the Parthenon contained a bas-relief depicting the birth of Pallas Athena, and the western pediment depicted her dispute with the god of the seas, Poseidon, about who would be the patron of Athens and the whole of Attica.
But the friezes of the temple are well preserved: it is absolutely known that on the eastern side of the Parthenon the struggle of the Lapiths with the centaurs was depicted, on the western side - episodes from the Trojan War, on the southern side - the battle of the Amazons with the Greeks. A total of 92 metopes with various high reliefs were installed, most of which have been preserved. Forty-two slabs are kept in the Acropolis Museum of Athens, fifteen in the British Museum.
Parthenon from inside
To get inside the temple, in addition to the external steps, it was necessary to overcome two more internal ones. The area in the middle of the temple was 59 meters long and 21.7 meters wide and consisted of three rooms. The largest, central one, was surrounded on three sides by 21 columns, which separated it from two small rooms located on either side of it. The inner frieze of the sanctuary depicted a festive procession from Athens to the Acropolis, when the maidens carried a gift to Athena.
In the center of the main platform was the statue of Athena Parthenos, made by Phidias. The sculpture dedicated to the goddess was a real masterpiece. The statue of Athena was thirteen meters high and showed a proudly standing goddess, with a spear in one hand and a two-meter sculpture of Nike in the other. Pallas wore a three-crested helmet on his head, and near his feet there was a shield on which, in addition to scenes from various battles, the initiator of construction, Pericles, was depicted.
It took Phidias more than a ton of gold to make the sculpture (weapons and clothes were poured from it); ebony from which the frame of the statue is made; Athena's face and hands were carved from ivory of the highest quality; precious stones shining in the eyes of the goddess; the most expensive marble was also used. Unfortunately, the statue did not survive: when Christianity became the ruling religion in the country, it was taken to Constantinople, where it was in the 5th century. burned during a strong fire.
Near the western entrance to the shrine there was an opisthodome - a closed room in the back where the city archives and the treasury of the maritime union were kept. The length of the room was 19 m and the width was 14 m.
The room was called the Parthenon (it was thanks to this room that the temple got its name), which translated means “house for girls.” In this room, selected maidens, priestesses, made peplos (sleeveless women's outerwear sewn from light material, which Athenians wore over a tunic), which was presented to Athena during a solemn procession that took place every four years.
Dark days of the Parthenon
The last ruler who favored and cared for this architectural monument was Alexander the Great (he even installed fourteen shields on the eastern pediment and presented the goddess with the armor of three hundred defeated enemies). After his death, dark days came for the temple.
One of the Macedonian rulers, Demetrius I Poliorcetes, settled here with his mistresses, and the next ruler of Athens, Lacharus, tore off all the gold from the sculpture of the goddess, and the shields of Alexander from the pediments, in order to pay off the soldiers. In III Art. BC e a major fire occurred in the temple, during which the roof and fittings collapsed, the marble cracked, the colonnade partially collapsed, the doors of the temple, one of the friezes and ceilings burned down.
When the Greeks adopted Christianity, they made a church out of the Parthenon (this happened in the 6th century AD), making appropriate changes to its architecture and completing the premises necessary for Christian rituals. The most valuable thing that was in the pagan temple was taken to Constantinople, and the rest was either destroyed or severely damaged (primarily this applies to sculptures and bas-reliefs of the building).
In the XV century. Athens came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, as a result of which the temple was transformed into a mosque. The Turks did not make any special alterations and calmly held services among Christian paintings. It was the Turkish period that turned out to be one of the most tragic events in the history of the Parthenon: in 1686, the Venetians shelled the Acropolis and Parthenon, where the Turks stored gunpowder.
After about seven hundred cannonballs hit the building, the shrine exploded, as a result of which the central part of the Parthenon, all the internal columns and rooms were completely destroyed, and the roof on the north side collapsed.
After this, the ancient shrine began to be robbed and destroyed by everyone who could: the Athenians used its fragments for domestic needs, and Europeans were able to take the surviving fragments and statues to their homeland (currently, most of the found remains are located either in the Louvre or in the British Museum ).
Restoration
The revival of the Parthenon began no earlier than Greece gained independence, in 1832, and two years later the government declared the Parthenon a monument of ancient heritage. As a result of the work carried out, already fifty years later on the territory of the Acropolis there was practically nothing left of the “barbarian presence”: absolutely all buildings that were not related to the ancient complex were demolished, and the Acropolis itself began to be restored according to the surviving descriptions of what the Parthenon looked like in ancient Greece (currently the temple, like the entire Acropolis, is under the protection of UNESCO).
In addition to the fact that the Parthenon was restored to the best of its ability, and the original statues were replaced with copies and sent to the museum for storage, the Greek government is actively working to return the exported fragments of the temple to the country. And here there is an interesting point: the British Museum agreed to do this, but on the condition that the Greek government recognizes the museum as their legal owner. But the Greeks do not agree with this formulation of the issue, since this would mean that they have forgiven the theft of the statues two hundred years ago and are actively fighting for the statues to be returned to them without any conditions.
