Ο Παρθενόνας (Parthenon), is an Ancient Greek temple in the Acropolis of Athens, dedicated to Athena Pallas or Parthenos (virgin). It is widely considered to be the epitome the architectural and ideological evolution of the Classical way of thinking.
The classical Parthenon visible today was constructed between 447-432 BCE as the focal point of the Acropolis building complex by the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates (Vitruvius also names Karpion as an architect).
The temple’s main function was to shelter the monumental statue of Athena that was made by Pheidias out of gold and ivory. Temples in Greece were designed to be seen only from the outside. The viewers never entered a temple and could only glimpse the interior statues through the open doors. The temple and the chryselephantine (made of gold and ivory) statue were dedicated in 438, although work on the sculptures of its pediment were concluded in 432 BCE.
Earlier foundations under the Parthenon indicate that the Athenians had began the construction of a building before they were interrupted by the Persian invasions who destroyed the incomplete building in 480 BCE.
Not much is known about this earlier temple, and even if it was still under construction when it was destroyed has been disputed. Its massive foundations were made of limestone, and the columns were made of Pentelic marble, a material that was utilized for the first time. It was presumably dedicated to Athena, and after its destruction much of its ruins were utilized in the building of the fortifications at the north end of the Acropolis.
The Parthenon Architecture
The Parthenon is a temple of the Doric order with eight columns at the façade, and seventeen columns at the flanks, conforming to the established ratio of 9:4. This ratio governed the vertical and horizontal proportions of the temple as well as many other relationships of the building like the spacing between the columns and their height.
The cella was unusually large to accommodate the oversized statue of Athena, confining the front and back porch to a much smaller than usual size. A line of six Doric columns supported the front and back porch, while a colonnade of 23 smaller Doric columns surrounded the statue in a two-storied arrangement that made the interior space seem even larger and taller than the exterior.
The statue of Athena Pallas reflected its immense stature on the tranquil surface of the water-pool that covered the floor.
The placement of columns behind the statue was an unusual development since in previous Doric temples they only appeared on the flanks, but the greater width and length of the Parthenon allowed for a dramatic backdrop of double decked columns instead of a wall.
The back room faced west and sheltered Athena’s treasure. The doors that lead to the cella were abundantly decorated with relief sculptures of gorgons, lion heads and other bronze relief ornaments. Four columns of the Ionic order supported its roof.
It is noteworthy that the Parthenon architects employed both Ionic columns in the interior, and an elaborate continuous Ionic frieze on the exterior wall of the cella.
While the integration of Doric and Ionic elements on the same temple was not a new development in Greek architecture, it was rare, and bestowed on the Parthenon a delicate balance between austere and ornate visual characteristics.
The Parthenon has no no absolute straight lines, giving the structure a subtle organic character despite its obvious geometric disposition.
The columns of the peristyle taper on a slight arc as they reach the top of the building giving the impression that they are swollen from entasis (tension) – as if they were burdened by the weight of the roof; a subtle feature that allots anthropomorphic metaphors to other wise inanimate objects.
The peristyle columns are over ten meters tall, and incline slightly towards the center of the building at the top (about 7 cm), while the platform upon which they rest bows on a gentle arc which brings the corners about 12 cm closer to the ground that the middle.
The architects of the Parthenon appear to be excellent scholars of visual illusion, an attribute undoubtedly sharpened by years of architectural refinement and observation of the natural world.
They designed the columns that appear at the corners of the temple to be 1/40th (about 6 cm) larger in diameter than all the other columns, while they made the space around them smaller than the rest of the columns by about 25 cm.
The reason for this slight adaptation of the corner columns is due to the fact that they are set against the bright sky, which would make them appear a little thinner and a little further apart than the columns set against the darker background of the building wall. The increase in size and decrease of space thus compensates for the illusion that the bright background would normally cause.
These subtle features set the Parthenon apart from all other Greek temples because the overall effect is a departure from the static Doric structures of the past, towards a more dynamic form of architectural expression. Moreover, the intricate refinements of the forms required unprecedented precision that would be challenging to achieve even in our time.
But it was not mere grandeur through subtlety that the Athenians desired. It is evident that they sought to out-shine all other temples of the time through the lavish sculptural decoration of the Parthenon, its decadent marble dress, and its imposing dimensions.
The Sculptures of the Parthenon
As a temple, the Parthenon’s main function was to provide shelter for the monumental chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue of Athena.
The temple on its exterior exhibited an abundance of sculptures.
Its Doric exterior included the traditional Doric frieze that was decorated with alternating metopes and triglyphs, while the exterior wall of the cella exhibited a continuous frieze, which is commonly seen on temples of the Ionic order. The pediments of the Parthenon were decorated with elaborate marble statues dedicated to mythological aspects of Athena. The sculptures of the pediment were monumental in size and arranged in dynamic compositions that filled the confined triangular spaces efficiently.
Learn more about sculptures of the Parthenon…
Parthenon Context
As a “post and lintel” temple, the Parthenon presents no engineering breakthrough in building construction. However its stylistic conventions have become the paradigm of Classical architecture, and its style has influenced architecture across the globe for many centuries after it was built.
The Parthenon is a large temple, but it is by no means the largest one in Greece. Its aesthetic appeal emanates from the refinement of many established norms of Greek architecture, and from the quality of its sculptural decoration.
Some of these details were found in other Greek temples while some were unique to the Parthenon. The temple owes its refined appeal to the subtle details that were built into the architectural elements to accommodate practical needs or to enhance the building’s visual appeal.
The Parthenon epitomizes all the ideals of Greek thought during the apogee of the Classical era through artistic means.
The idealism of the Greek way of living, the attention to detail, as well as the understanding of a mathematically explained harmony in the natural world, were concepts dear to the Athenians.
These ideals are represented in the perfect proportions of the building, in its intricate architectural elements, and in the anthropomorphic statues that adorned it.
The Athenian citizens were proud of their cultural identity, and conscious of the historical magnitude of their ideas. They believed that they were civilized among barbarians, and that their cultural and political achievements were bound to alter the history of all civilized people. The catalyst for all their accomplishments was the development of a system of governance the likes of which the world had never seen: Democracy.
Democracy, arguably the epitome of the Athenian way of thinking, was at center stage while the Parthenon was built. This was a direct democracy where every citizen had a voice in the common issues through the Assembly that met on the Pnyx hill next to the Acropolis forty times per year to decide on all matters of policy, domestic or foreign.
Unseen hiltherto, common people are depicted as individuals on the decorative frieze of the temple.
This was probably the result of the Athenian system of organization where every citizen was recognized as a significant entity and a considerable moving force in the polis and the observable universe. It was therefore natural to accept that common citizens were a worthy subject of sacred iconography-even mingling with the gods.
A Cinematic Approach
The Parthenon was conceived in a way that the aesthetic elements allow for a smooth transition between the exterior and the interior where the chryselephantine statue of Athena was housed.
A visitor to the Acropolis who entered from the Propylaia would be confronted by the majestic proportion of the Parthenon in three quarters view, in full sight of the west pediment and the north colonnade.
As the visitor moved closer to the temple, the details of the sculpted metopes would become decipherable, and when in proximity to the base of the columns, parts of the frieze would become evident in tantalizing colorful glimpses peering from the spaces, high on the cell wall and between the columns.
Moving towards the east and looking up towards the exterior of the cella, a visitor would be mesmerized with the masterful depiction of the Panathenaic procession as it appeared in cinematic fashion on the frieze. Each vignette would be visually interrupted by the Doric columns of the exterior similar to modern film frames. Except, in the Parthenon’s case, it would be the viewer moving instead of the frames.
The Panathenaic procession was certainly a scene that every Athenian could relate to through personal experience, making thus the transition between earth and the divine a smooth one.
Eventually, as the visitor moved farther east, they would eventually turn the corner to face the entrance of the Parthenon. There, high above the columns and the entablature, on the east pediment they would marvel at the sculptures that depict nothing less than the birth of Athena. Just beyond this dramatic central scene, they would see the earthly arrephores folding the peplos among the other Olympian gods and heroes of the frieze.
Then, just below, the “peplos” scene, through the immense open doors, any visitor would be enchanted by the glistening gold and ivory hues of the monumental statue of Athena glistening at the back of the dim cella.
It seems certain that the master planners of the Parthenon conceived it as a theatrical event. The temple was constructed with the movements of the viewer in mind, and by the arrangement of the temple, the monumental sculptures of the pediment, and the detailed frieze, the emotions of the visitors were choreographed to prepare them for the ultimate glimpse of the majestic Athena Parthenos at the interior of the naos, and to maximize the effect of an awe inspiring visit.
The Cost of the Parthenon
The Parthenon construction cost the Athenian treasury 469 silver talents. While it is almost impossible to create a modern equivalent for this amount of money, it might be useful to look at some facts. One talent was the cost to build one trireme, the most advanced warship of the era, and “…one talent was the cost for paying the crew of a warship for a month” (D. Kagan, The Peloponnesian War, 61). According to Kagan, Athens at the beginning of the Peloponnesian war had 200 triremes in service, while the annual gross income of the city of Athens at the time of Perikles was 1000 talents, with another 6000 in reserve at its treasury.
Parthenon Facts
Year Built: 447-432 BCE
Precise Dimensions:
Width East: 30.875 m
Width West: 30.8835 m
Length North: 69.5151 m
Length South: 69.5115 m
Width to Length Ratio: 9:4
Width to height Ratio (without the Pediments): 9:4
Number of stones used to built the Parthenon: Approximated at 13400 stones.
Architects: Iktinos and Kallikrates
Parthenon Cost: 469 talents
Coordinates: 37.9715° N, 23.7267° E
