Parthenon

Related civilizations: Classical Greece, Athens.

Date: construction, 447–432 b.c.e.

Locale: Athens, the Acropolis

Parthenon

Situated atop the Acropolis (high city), the Parthenon is a temple dedicated to Athena Parthenos (the virgin), patron goddess of Athens. An earlier, unfinished Parthenon was destroyed in about 480 b.c.e. during the Persian invasion of Athens. In 447 b.c.e., under the direction of the statesman Pericles, the Athenians undertook a massive rebuilding project, which included razing the damaged building and constructing in its place the Parthenon that continues to grace the Athenian Acropolis. To pay for the project, Pericles used funds from the Delian League, an organization of Greek city-states formed for mutual defense in case of future invasions. In response, other Greek city-states, most notably Sparta, accused Athens of imperialism and thus began the Peloponnesian War (431–404 b.c.e.), which ended in the defeat of Athens.

The architects Ictinus and Callicrates oversaw the design and construction of the Parthenon. The sculptor Phidias directed the building’s sculptural programs. Constructed of Pentelic marble, which changes hue from white to gold depending on the light, the Parthenon was the most elaborate Greek temple of its day. In scale and detail, the Parthenon reflects Greek humanism. The Parthenon’s simple Doric columns, typical of the Greek mainland, coupled with its elaborate Ionic elements, typical of Asia Minor, may have symbolized the dominance of Athens over all the Greek city-states, or perhaps these features represented the diverse origins of the Athenians themselves.

Following the classical canon of proportions, with modules based on the human form, the Parthenon has eight columns on each end and seventeen columns along each side (x = 2y + 1). Knowing that long, straight horizontal lines appear to sag in the middle, the designers compensated for this optical illusion by incorporating a slight upward curve toward the center of every horizontal element. The architects found that sunlight shining around a column makes it appear narrower, so they made the four corner columns widest. Every column has entasis (a slight bulge in the middle), which gives it the appearance of bearing weight.

The sculptural programs of the Parthenon related Greek myths such as the contest between Poseidon and Athena to be patron deity of Athens (west pediment) and the birth of Athena (east pediment), as well as a procession long believed to represent the Panathenaic festival, an actual contemporary event in celebration of Athena’s birth (exterior cella wall frieze). Inside the Parthenon stood a magnificent chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue of Athena, measuring 40 feet (12 meters) in height.

During the Middle Ages, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church. Later, when the Ottoman Turks occupied Greece, the Parthenon served as an Islamic mosque. In 1687, the Venetians attacked Athens and blew up the Parthenon, which the Turks had been using as an ammunition dump and where hundreds of Turkish civilians had hidden. In addition to wrecking the roof, a Venetian military officer tried to pillage a number sculptures and accidentally smashed them. Later tourists carted off other statues.

Parthenon Today

At the turn of the nineteenth century, many of the Parthenon's architectural elements and statues were removed and shipped to England by Lord Elgin, a British ambassador. Elgin claimed to have had Ottoman authorization and later justified the action as one of preservation; he sold the pieces to the British government. Those and other Parthenon statuary overseas became—and remain—a point of contention, as Greeks have repeatedly demanded their repatriation.

The Parthenon became an archaeological site within a few years of Greece winning its independence, in 1833. Medieval and later structures were removed, and attempts were made to shore up the unsteady building. The worst damage to the Parthenon came not from repurposing and war, but rather was by vehicle exhaust, air pollutants, acid rain, overvisitation by tourists, earthquakes, and poorly executed excavations and restorations.

The Greek government launched a major restoration project in 1975, which ultimately took more than four decades to complete. Ancient materials were used for repairs whenever possible, though new pieces of marble and even entire columns were also installed.

The Parthenon was designated a World Heritage Site in 1987. The New Acropolis Museum, which was built in part to address preservation concerns, opened in 2009. The Parthenon, the Acropolis, and the museum remain major tourist destinations and helped attract much-needed funds to Greece during and after the recession of the late 2000s.

Bibliography

Boardman, John. Oxford History of Classical Art. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Carpenter, Rhys. The Architects of the Parthenon. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1970.

Hadingham, Evan. "Unlocking Mysteries of the Parthenon." Smithsonian, Feb. 2008, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unlocking-mysteries-of-the-parthenon-16621015. Accessed 16 May 2019.

Lobell, Jarrett. "The Acropolis of Athens." Archaeology, Nov.–Dec. 2015, www.archaeology.org/issues/193-1511/features/3765-athens-acropolis-restoration-project. Accessed 16 May 2019.

Mendelsohn, Daniel. "Deep Frieze." The New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2014, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/14/deep-frieze. Accessed 16 May 2019.

Sánchez, Juan Pablo. "How the Parthenon Lost Its Marbles." National Geographic, Mar.–Apr. 2017, www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/03-04/parthenon-sculptures-british-museum-controversy. Accessed 16 May 2019.

Dinsmoor, William Bell. The Architecture of Ancient Greece. New York: W. W. Norton, 1975.

Palagia, Olga. The Pediments of the Parthenon. Boston: Brill, 1998.