Since childhood I dreamed of visiting Greece. The mysterious country from a school history textbook I read long ago always attracted me and seemed like an amazing place. But what do we really know about her?
Probably, each of us, when we hear the word “Greece,” imagines the bright sun, the sound of the sea, the taste of olives and majestic ancient ruins. And most people probably remember the same ruins of the ancient Parthenon, located on a rocky hill - a huge structure with high marble columns and a crowd of tourists nearby. Which, however, is not surprising, since this is the most recognizable temple in Greece and must have been one of the most famous buildings of antiquity. In a word, this unique place, next to which I feel like I’m going back in time.
A little history of the Parthenon
As I already said, the Parthenon is located on the Acropolis of Athens - ancient city on a high rocky hill. It was built in 447-438 BC. e. by order of the Athenian ruler Pericles by the architect Callicrates and decorated in 438-431 BC. e. under the leadership of Phidias, the great ancient Greek sculptor. The same one who is the author of one of the wonders of the world - the statue of Zeus in Olympia.
The Parthenon was built in honor of the patroness of the city, the goddess of wisdom and just war. During the heyday of the Athenian state, it was the main temple of the city, and the treasury was also kept there. But the years passed, in the Middle Ages the Parthenon was first Catholic, and then Orthodox Church, and after the conquest of Greece by the Ottoman Empire, a mosque was built inside.
In general, when I climbed the Acropolis and stood at the steps of the Parthenon, an unforgettable sight opened up: at the foot of the hill there was a large city, surrounded by small mountains on one side and the sea on the other. In ancient times, when the Parthenon in Athens was just being built, the sea was much closer, and if you give free rein to your imagination, removing the chimneys of factories on the outskirts and power lines above houses, you can try to see Greece as the ancient Greeks saw it - with the endless blue sea and green hills around. I was there in May, and the picture was complemented by the incredible smell of oranges growing in the gardens at the foot.
The Parthenon itself is a building 70 meters long and 30 meters wide, it is surrounded by a colonnade of 8 columns in the facades and 17 on the sides. Another unique architectural feature is that the Parthenon is built in such a way that it looks perfectly rectilinear, but in reality it has practically no straight lines in its contours. Needless to say, the ancients knew how to build - there are no other similar buildings in the world. The temple was once decorated with high reliefs, many of which have survived - some in the Acropolis Museum (a large glass building next to the entrance to the Acropolis), some in (and this is already in London). But, unfortunately, you won’t be able to get inside the Parthenon - the temple is under restoration.
How to get to the Parthenon
The Parthenon is located at the southern end of the Acropolis of Athens, a huge rocky hill that is visible from almost everywhere in the city center. Exact address: Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, Athens 117 42.
Now I will talk about the most convenient way to get to the Parthenon:
- On foot. If you are staying in the center, then, as mentioned above, the Parthenon is visible from everywhere, and finding it will not be a problem. The nearest residential areas are Plaka and Anafiotika. Not a bad option for those who are staying in the city center or just like to walk around beautiful places, for example, like me.
- Metro. The nearest station is Akropoli. A ticket costs 1.2 euros, people over 65 years old and under 18 years old - 0.6 euros, they are sold in special terminals. For 70 minutes, the pass will also be valid for the tram, so this method will be convenient if you are coming from the outskirts of the city. I recommend this option: it is cheaper and faster.
- By taxi. There are a lot of them in Athens, they are yellow and can be found almost everywhere. The price starts from 1 euro and then 0.34 euros/km, which makes a taxi a fairly inexpensive mode of transport. But remember that traffic jams and rush hours have not yet been canceled, and not every driver can deny themselves the pleasure of making extra money on tourists by raising the price.
Conditions for visiting the Parthenon
The Parthenon is open daily from 8.00 to 18.30 from April to October, from 8.00 to 17.00 from November to March.
The ticket costs 12 euros, sold at the box office at the entrance to the Acropolis. There are several ticket offices, as well as entrances. There, for 20 euros, they sell a complex ticket, which includes visits to the Kerameilos cemetery, the Temple pf Olympian Zeus, the Roman Agora, the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Theater of Dionysus. Dionysus). This ticket allows you to save a pretty penny on seeing all these places (and they are worth it), and, apparently, for this reason, information about its existence is given in small print in the corner of the ticket office.
There are a lot of tourists at any time of the day, so I recommend coming early to avoid standing in line in the heat.
On a note
I will give some more tips that may be useful to you:
Take water with you. Although there are tents with drinks and food on the territory of the acropolis, the path from the top to them is not short.
Be sure to take a hat with you - you will have to climb to the top of the hill, it will be hot.
Like other Greek landmarks, the Parthenon is closed holidays: January 1, January 6, March 25, May 1, August 15, October 28, December 25–26. It is also closed on religious Orthodox holidays: Easter, Clean Monday, Good Friday, Spiritual Day, Ascension of the Lord, Trinity.
There is no need to leave trash behind - there are no employees only at first glance, but they are there and they see everything.
The creators of the Athenian Acropolis undoubtedly knew about the special purpose and existence of the Parthenon. Universal truths always break through from the heights of their existence and become reality in the actions of creators endowed with the Divine prophetic gift. Moreover, the meaning of secret knowledge may even be unknown to them. It is enough that they are creators acting in accordance with the intentions of the Higher Powers.
The creators of the Athenian Acropolis could not help but belong to people for whom secret knowledge was revealed, because otherwise the path of appearance into the world would have been prohibited for the divinely beautiful buildings. At the same time, the authors had to be in a free search - to independently choose what they should or should not do.
Fragment of the painting “Phidias showing the Parthenon frieze to friends.” Hood, Lawrence Alma-Tadema. 1868
Cicero wrote about Phidias: “When he created Athena and Zeus, he had no earthly original in front of him that he could use. But in his soul lived that prototype of beauty, which he embodied in matter. It is not without reason that they say about Phidias that he worked in a fit of inspiration, which lifts the spirit above everything earthly, in which the divine spirit is directly visible - this heavenly guest, as Plato puts it.”
Phidias possessed a lot of knowledge, for example, from the field of optics. A story has been preserved about his rivalry with Alcamenes: both were ordered statues of Athena, which were supposed to be erected on high columns. Phidias made his statue in accordance with the height of the column - on the ground it seemed ugly and disproportionate. The people almost stoned him. When both statues were erected on high pedestals, the correctness of Phidias became obvious, and Alkamen was ridiculed.
Many believe that the “Golden Ratio” was designated in algebra by the Greek letter φ precisely in honor of Phidias, the master who embodied this ratio in his works.
Phidias's fame was colossal, but most of his works have not survived, and we can judge them only from copies and descriptions of ancient authors.
THE PARTHENON is dedicated to Athena Parthenos (Virgin). Western façade. The current restoration, technically incomparable with previous ones
The current study of the Parthenon using a kind of “drawing drawing board”, which designers used in the pre-computer era, allows us to be irrefutably strictly and accurately convinced of the different sizes of ALL columns and ALL intercolumnia (intercolumn spaces), which only seem the same and are placed perpendicularly. There is not a single figure in this poem of numbers, which would be identical in comparison with others and would be in an identical position. All columns have a common slope towards the center of the colonnade and this slope varies depending on the place occupied in the general row. The slope is very small - from 6.5 cm to 8.3 cm, but it is concentric in nature, and this construction of columnar rows involves the colonnades in a common “force converging at one point.” Where is this point? Somewhere where the Gods reign. We draw conclusions from the general curvature, discovered by research, preceding the latest restoration of the temple...
IN THE PARTHENON - A SYMBOL OF THE IMMACURABILITY OF COMMON FOUNDATIONS -
THERE IS NOTHING THAT IS NOT VARIABLE AND PERMANENT.
OF COURSE, ETERNITY IS SEALED IN THE PARTHENON, BUT SPECIAL:
NOT AN ABSTRACT ABSOLUTE, BUT LIVING LIFE.
THIS ENDOWS THE PARTHENON WITH THAT PERFECTION
WHAT MAKES HIM INTO A SPIRITUAL BEING—
THE EARTHLY AND THE DIVINE ARE INSEPARATELY.
ACCORDINGLY, THE PARTHENON BECOMES THE POWER THAT
WHAT LINKES TWO WORLDS: GODS AND PEOPLE,
OR EXISTENTIAL AND CO-EXISTENTIAL, HEAVENLY AND EARTHLY,
PERFECT AND RELATIVE, ETERNAL AND CURRENT...
THE EXISTENCE OF THE PARTHENON ITSELF IS TRAGICAL,
AND THIS TRAGEDY IS THAT HE FLOats.
BELONGING TO NEITHER THE REAL NOR THE UNREAL WORLDS.
IS THERE A PARTHENON, IS IT HERE? HE IS NO LONGER, HE IS THERE...
WITH THE LOSS OF THE PARTHENON AT THE EPICENTER OF WORLD CULTURE
A VOID IS FORMED, WHICH ASPIRATION WILL DO
TO ACHIEVE TRUTH AND GOOD IS EMPTY - VAIN.
WE ALL COME FROM HELLAS -
WE ARE GENETICALLY CONNECTED WITH HER FOREVER.
THE PARTHENON is dedicated to Athena Parthenos (Virgin). Fragment of the eastern facade. The pronaos is visible behind the outer peripter
with a portico of six Doric columns. Above them is a copy of the frieze that covered the entire perimeter of the cella
All structural elements of the Parthenon, including the roof of the roof and the steps of the stylobate, were hewn from local Pentelic marble, almost white immediately after extraction, but over time acquiring a warm yellowish tint. No mortar or cement was used and the masonry was done dry. The blocks were carefully adjusted to each other, the horizontal connection between them was maintained with the help of I-iron fasteners, and the vertical connection with the help of iron pins.
All this is very interesting, but does not help much in understanding the artistic content of the Parthenon. This method of construction made it possible to achieve mathematical and geometric precision of the temple, which captivates the mind as an elegant solution to a theorem.
This is how it should be, because it cannot be otherwise. All the straight lines that make up the Parthenon are only relative straight lines, like all straight lines in life. The same can be said about circles and proportions. The mathematics of the material Parthenon is nothing more than the desire for mathematical perfection: there is no other accuracy in it than the accuracy of the real world, known by man and reproduced by art - it is always relative and moving.
Recent studies of the Parthenon bring us closer to understanding the mystery that raises the method of its construction above I-beams and iron pins...
"Phidias showing the Parthenon frieze to friends" painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1868
Ancient sources call Phidias the leader of the work on creating the large and varied sculptural decoration of the Parthenon. That was the time when the Acropolis lay in ruins, built up before the Greco-Persian wars with religious buildings, decorated with many dedicatory statues. Speaking at the National Assembly, Pericles proposed to the Athenians: “The city is sufficiently supplied with what is necessary for war, therefore there is a surplus in cash should be used for buildings that, after completion, will bring immortal glory to the citizens, and during the completion of the work will improve their financial situation.”
The goddess Athena is the strangest (in terms of motivation) character in Greek mythology.
After all, she is the goddess of “smart” war, but at the same time she tries to resolve all issues peacefully.
She despises the pettiness of the other Olympians and rarely interferes in their conflicts.
But in the event of a threat to the Pantheon itself, Athena will be the first to enter the battle.
The goddess Athena repeatedly served as the punishing sword of Olympus, punishing the most self-confident mortals, but it was she who founded the most great city Greece, and then remained to look after these mortals after the gods of Olympus left forever.
And it is not surprising that her greatest sanctuary, the legendary Parthenon, also faced a very difficult and at times simply amazing fate.
Where is
The Parthenon is located in the very center of the capital, on the Acropolis of Athens.
The center of Athens is easy to navigate. There are many pedestrian areas, and the attractions are concentrated closely. It is impossible to get lost - two guiding hills rise above the main plane of the city: the Acropolis and Lycabettos.
Acropolis (Akropolis) - translated from Greek: “ upper city“- built on a rocky hill 156 meters high, which served as a natural fortification during sieges.
Parthenon in times ancient Greece
The Parthenon is located on top of the Acropolis, the nearest Athens metro station from which you can get here is called Akropolis.
The large pedestrian street Dionysiou Areopagitou leads from the center of Athens to the main attraction of Greece.
Follow it straight, without turning anywhere. Gradually climbing up the mountain, it will lead you straight to your goal.
The Parthenon in Athens is visible from almost everywhere and looks especially beautiful at night when the lights are turned on.
Moreover, at first glance at the Acropolis, you can understand that the gods played a very important role in the life of the Greeks - it is literally crammed with various temples and sanctuaries of almost all more or less noticeable Olympians, from the powerful and formidable Zeus to the eternally drunk, but no less formidable Dionysus.
It is worth noting that the Parthenon is not the first sanctuary of the Acropolis dedicated to Athena. 200 years before its construction, not far from its current location, there was another temple - Hekatompedon. Scientists even admit that for some time, temples existed in parallel.
History of the temple, who built the Parthenon
Parthenon during restoration
Construction of the Parthenon began in 447 BC. The project is attributed to the architect Icten, and the construction was led by Callicrates, who was practically the court master of the ruler Pericles.
In addition to the Parthenon, Callicrates built several more temples on the Acropolis, and also actively participated in the secular life of the city, bringing to mind and completing the project of the Long Walls, which then very unpleasantly surprised the Spartan army during the Pelloponnesian Wars.
True, the offended Spartans still razed the walls to the ground thirty years later, but, alas (or maybe vice versa, fortunately), Kallicrates did not see this. In addition, the city residents restored the walls and they served as a symbol of Athenian independence for another three hundred years.
The Parthenon is the master’s main masterpiece. The temple still did not turn out the way Callicrates intended it. Construction took more than nine years, and all these years the Athenian government regularly reported to its people for every coin spent on construction (archaeologists managed to find marble tablets with reports).
Panatheneon holiday
At the Panathenaic festival of 438 BC. e., the temple was solemnly opened to visitors, but decorative work continued for another six years under the direction of the sculptor Phidias, successor of Callicrates and creator of one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the statue of Zeus at Olympia. For the Parthenon, Phidias created an equally beautiful statue of Athena Parthenos, which became the main decoration of the temple.
Alas, the glorious history of the sanctuary did not last even two hundred years - the last ruler who truly honored Athena was Alexander the Great. After his visit to the temple in 323 BC. e., Athens gradually slipped into tyranny, and was later repeatedly captured, first by barbarian tribes, and then by the Romans. Around the same time, there was a big fire in the temple and the statue of Athena Parthenos was lost (however, by the time of the fire it was practically worthless - all the gold elements were torn off in advance so that the then ruler of Athens could pay the soldiers).
Byzantine era Parthenon
After the fire, the temple was restored and it served as the final refuge of the goddess for almost 800 years, until under Patriarch Paul III it was turned into the Cathedral of St. Sophia.
All the treasures were taken to Constantinople, however, by that time there were few of them left. The temple was significantly rebuilt, but overall retained its characteristic appearance.
But in 1458, Athens again changed its state affiliation, becoming part of the Ottoman Empire.
The Turks placed a military garrison in the Acropolis, and turned the Parthenon into a mosque, rebuilding it once again and seriously damaging the paintings inside the temple. Interestingly, apart from painting over all subjects that are contrary to Muslim culture, no other changes were made to the interior decoration of the temple.
In 1687, during the war between the Ottomans and the Holy League, the Parthenon, which served the Turks as a warehouse and shelter, was fired upon from a commanding height - Philopappou Hill. A direct hit on the powder magazine literally destroyed the temple, burying more than 300 Turks under it.
Parthenon in 1840
For the next two hundred years, the ruins of the Parthenon served historical monument until their restoration began in the 1840s.
Main recovery process ancient temple It is still going on, with varying success, but the fact that many archaeological discoveries have been made is difficult to deny.
True, in recent years, the restoration project was frozen - after joining the EU, Greece simply did not have any money left to restore the monuments.
What the Ancient Greek Parthenon looked like
The ancient Greek Parthenon was a truly magnificent sight.
Parthenon in section
The basis of the temple is the stylobate that has survived to this day - a three-stage rise leading to the temple. The temple itself is a rectangular building, with a colonnade along each of four sides. The dimensions of the base rectangle are 69.5 × 30.9 meters.
There were 8 columns on the facades of the temple, and another 17 on the sides, which in total gives us 48 supports (the corner columns are simultaneously elements of both the facade and the side part).
Interestingly, the columns were not perpendicular, but located at an angle, leaning inward. Moreover, the angle of inclination of the corner columns is much less than that of others. The columns themselves were classic examples of the Dorian order, although they were unusually large in size.
One of the surviving friezes of the Parthenon
Inside the temple, two additional steps were made, which led to the central platform, surrounded on the facades by another 12 columns.
The site was divided into three naves, a large central one and two small ones on the sides. The central nave was surrounded on three sides by 21 columns. In its center was the same, later missing, statue of Athena Parthenos.
The internal frieze of the temple was made in the Ionic style and depicted a festive procession on the last day of Panathenaia.
A total of 96 plates of this frieze have survived, most of them in the British Museum. For many decades, the Greek government has been trying in vain to return the marble fragments of the Parthenon to their historical place.
As for the exterior, quite little is known about it. The pediments of the Parthenon were destroyed back in the Middle Ages, so they are being restored mainly by guesswork.
The east pediment may have depicted the birth of Athena, but almost no details of the sculptures remain. The western one most likely shows the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for the possession of Attica. A total of 30 statues from the pediments have survived, but their condition is quite deplorable, especially those that were in the British Museum at the end of the 20th century - they were subjected to a rather barbaric cleaning.
The external friezes of the Parthenon are a little better preserved - at least we know exactly what was depicted on them.
On the eastern side of the temple was depicted the history of the war between the centaurs and the Lapiths, on the western side - the Trojan War, in the north - the Gigantomachy, and in the south - scenes from the battle of the Greeks and the Amazons.
Most of the surviving high reliefs are in the Athens Museum, and their exact copies are gradually taking their places in the restored Parthenon.
Athena statue
The most successful copy of the famous statue of Phidias
The statue of Athena is described as one of Phidias' greatest works. The statue of the goddess was made of wood covered with gold (about a ton) and decorated with ivory.
Instead of emphasizing the inaccessibility and aloofness of the deity (as he did with Olympian Zeus), Phidias portrayed Athena as simple and close to her people.
The statue was relatively low (13 meters) and depicted a proudly standing Athena, holding a spear in one hand, and a two-meter figure of the goddess of victory Nike in the other.
The goddess's head was decorated with a three-crested helmet, and at her feet there was a shield depicting scenes from battles.
Alas, the statue cost the Parthenon architect his life - in an effort to immortalize not only the divine Athena, but also himself, the master included a bald old man with a sculptor’s hammer in one of the scenes decorating the goddess’s shield.
Phidias on the shield of the sculpture of Athena the Virgin
The Athenians did not appreciate the humor and condemned it for blasphemy. Phidias died in prison.
The famous statue was probably destroyed by fire, probably in the 5th century BC. e., but there are several copies of varying degrees of accuracy.
The most reliable one, called “Athena Varvarikon”, can be seen in the National Archaeological Museum.
Modern Parthenon
Modern Parthenon
It makes no sense to describe in detail what the Parthenon looks like today - Greek archaeologists and builders brought it as close as possible to the ancient temple.
Of course, all the gloss and beauty of the Parthenon sculptures have been lost, but the building still amazes the imagination.
Every year the temple becomes more beautiful and the stories of the guides more impressive, so visiting the Parthenon is an experience that is interesting to repeat every few years.
How much does a visit cost?
Surviving sculptures on the roof pediment of the Parthenon
Access to the main monument of ancient Hellenic architecture is open from 8.30 to 18.00.
It is recommended to visit it in the early hours or in the evening, when the heat is not particularly strong and the influx of tourists is not very large. At the entrance there is a small stall selling sparkling water and freshly squeezed juices (4.5 euros). Please note that you will not be allowed inside with a glass, and the glass is quite large.
Bring a bottle of water; there are fountains and a toilet upstairs in front of the entrance and to the left.
Entry with large bags is also prohibited, but there are storage lockers on site where you can leave them.
There are several entrances and ticket offices, including from the side of the museum and on the south-eastern side, near the Theater of Dionysus.
The line at the ticket office on the museum side is usually shorter.
The ticket price for entry to the Parthenon territory (12 euros) includes visits to 6 attractions, including the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Ancient and Roman Agora, the Theater of Dionysus and the oldest district of Athens - Ceramics.
The ticket is valid for 4 days.
The ancient Parthenon temple in Athens is not only a grandiose monument. It is also a national symbol of Greece, of which the country is very proud.
Incredibly beautiful in its simplicity, the building successfully stood the test of time and fell only under shells from heavy cannons made thousands of years after the construction of the last sanctuary of Athena.
Isn’t this worthy of admiration for the work of ancient masters!
Despite the fact that the temple of the Greek goddess has been restored for a long time and is surrounded by scaffolding, being next to it is an amazing and exciting feeling.
If you happen to visit Athens, be sure to visit the Parthenon - the great spirit of ancient Hellas, frozen in Pentelic marble.
The Parthenon is one of the most famous monuments 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
The Acropolis in Athens, where the Parthenon is located, is also called the "sacred rock" and was used for defensive purposes.
2. Cultural layers
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
Long before the construction of the Parthenon, the Acropolis was sacred place and other temples stood on it. Parthenon replaced old temple Athens, which was destroyed during the Persian invasion in 480 BC.
4. House 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 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
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
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
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
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
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
Although most of structure remained unchanged, the Parthenon 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
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
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
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 was also used as a city treasury, like many others greek temples that era.
16. The construction of the Parthenon was not financed by the Athenians.
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
The monetary 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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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”.
25. Temple of the goddess Athena on the Acropolis
The Parthenon - the temple of the goddess Athena - is the largest structure on the Acropolis and the most beautiful creation of Greek architecture. It stands not in the center of the square, but somewhat to the side, so that you can immediately take in the front and side facades and understand the beauty of the temple as a whole. The ancient Greeks believed that the temple with the main cult statue in the center represented the house of the deity.
The Parthenon is the temple of Athena the Virgin (Parthenos), and therefore in its center there was a chrysoelephantine (made of ivory and gold plates on a wooden base) statue of the goddess.
The Parthenon was erected in 447–432 BC. e. architects Ictinus and Callicrates from Pentelic marble. It was located on a four-stage terrace, the size of its base was 69.5 x 30.91 meters. The Parthenon is surrounded on four sides by slender colonnades; gaps of blue sky are visible between their white marble trunks. Entirely permeated with light, it seems airy and light. There are no bright designs on the white columns, as is found in Egyptian temples. Only longitudinal grooves (flutes) cover them from top to bottom, making the temple seem taller and even slimmer. The columns owe their slenderness and lightness to the fact that they taper slightly towards the top. In the middle part of the trunk, completely invisible to the eye, they thicken and therefore seem elastic, more firmly withstanding the weight of the stone blocks. Iktypus and Callicrates, having thought through every smallest detail, created a building that amazes with its amazing proportionality, extreme simplicity and purity of all lines.
Placed on the upper platform of the Acropolis, at an altitude of about 150 meters above sea level, the Parthenon was visible not only from anywhere in the city, but also from numerous ships sailing to Athens. The temple was a Doric peripeter surrounded by a colonnade of 46 columns.
The most famous masters participated in the sculptural design of the Parthenon.
The artistic director of the construction and decoration of the Parthenon was Phidias, one of the greatest sculptors of all time. He is responsible for the overall composition and development of the entire sculptural decoration, part of which he performed himself.
The organizational side of the construction was handled by Pericles, the largest statesman of Athens.
The entire sculptural design of the Parthenon was intended to glorify the goddess Athena and her city - Athens. The theme of the eastern pediment is the birth of Zeus's beloved daughter. On the western pediment the master depicted a scene of a dispute between Athena and Poseidon for dominance over Attica. According to the myth, Athena won the dispute and gave the inhabitants of this country an olive tree.
The gods of Greece, the thunderer Zeus, the mighty ruler of the seas Poseidon, the wise warrior Athena, and the winged Nike gathered on the pediments of the Parthenon. The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon was completed by a frieze, which depicted a solemn procession during the festival of the Great Panathenaia. This frieze is considered one of the pinnacles of classical art. Despite all its compositional unity, it amazed with its diversity. Of the more than 500 figures of young men, elders, girls, on foot and on horseback, not one repeated the other; the movements of people and animals were conveyed with amazing dynamism.
The figures of the sculptural Greek relief are not flat, they have the volume and shape of the human body. They differ from statues only in that they are not processed on all sides, but seem to merge with the background formed by the flat surface of the stone.
Light colors enlivened the Parthenon marble. The red background emphasized the whiteness of the figures, the narrow vertical projections that separated one slab of the frieze from the other stood out clearly in blue, and the gilding shone brightly. Behind the columns, on a marble ribbon encircling all four facades of the building, a festive procession was depicted.
There are almost no gods here, and people, forever imprinted in stone, moved along the two long sides of the building and united on the eastern facade, where a solemn ceremony took place to present the priest with a robe woven by Athenian girls for the goddess. Each figure is characterized by its unique beauty, and all together they accurately reflect the true life and customs of the ancient city.
Indeed, once every five years, on one of the hot days of mid-summer, a nationwide celebration took place in Athens in honor of the birth of the goddess Athena. It was called the Great Panathenaia. Not only citizens took part in it Athenian State, but also many guests. The celebration consisted of a solemn procession (pump), the bringing of a hecatomb (100 head of cattle) and a common meal, sports, equestrian and musical competitions. The winner received a special, so-called Panathenaic amphora filled with oil, and a wreath made from the leaves of the sacred olive tree growing on the Acropolis.
The most solemn moment of the holiday was the national procession to the Acropolis.
Riders on horses were moving, statesmen, warriors in armor and young athletes were walking. Priests and nobles walked in long white robes, heralds loudly praised the goddess, musicians filled the still cool morning air with joyful sounds. Along the zigzag Panathenaic road, trampled by thousands of people, sacrificial animals climbed the high hill of the Acropolis. The boys and girls carried with them a model of the sacred Panathenaic ship with a peplos (veil) attached to its mast. A light breeze fluttered the bright fabric of the yellow-violet robe, which was carried as a gift to the goddess Athena by the noble girls of the city.
For a whole year they wove and embroidered it. Other girls raised sacred vessels for sacrifices high above their heads.
Gradually the procession approached the Parthenon. The entrance to the temple was made not from the Propylaea, but from the other, as if so that everyone would first walk around, examine and appreciate the beauty of all parts of the beautiful building. Unlike Christian churches, ancient Greek ones were not intended for worship inside them; the people remained outside the temple during religious activities.
In the depths of the temple, surrounded on three sides by two-tiered colonnades, stood proudly famous statue the maiden Athena, created by the famous Phidias. Her clothes, helmet and shield were made of pure sparkling gold, and her face and hands shone with the whiteness of ivory.
Many book volumes have been written about the Parthenon, among them there are monographs about each of its sculptures and about each step of gradual decline from the time when, after the decree of Theodosius I, it became a Christian temple. In the 15th century, the Turks turned it into a mosque, and in the 17th century, into a gunpowder warehouse. It was turned into final ruins by the Turkish-Venetian War of 1687, when a Venetian artillery shell hit it and in one moment did what all-consuming time could not do in 2000 years.
This text is an introductory fragment.
