890369
Description
Mind Map by peggyhughes, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by peggyhughes
almost 11 years ago
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The Parthenon
- COMPOSITION AND
ARCHITECTURAL
FEATURES
- From the exterior, was
similar to Doric temple
- Though had 8 columns
rather than 6 (octostyle)
- Pedimental sculptures
show Athena's birth (from
Zeus' head) and her battle
with Poseidon
- Metopes on outer frieze showed a
mythological battle between centaurs
and lapiths
- Contrast between violent past and
democratic enlightenment
- Contrast between violent past and
democratic enlightenment
- Though had 8 columns
rather than 6 (octostyle)
- Proportions
- Sides of the
Parthenon were
composed in terms
of the 'golden ratio'
- Greeks obsessed over
mathematical theorems,
inspired by equations such as
Pythagoras's theorem
- Held maths and science as a direct
link to the Gods - was seen as a
sacred expression of their cosmic
order
- Held maths and science as a direct
link to the Gods - was seen as a
sacred expression of their cosmic
order
- Acropolis divided
into 12 thirty degree
segments, which
represented
universal order.
The Parthenon
fitted into two of
these segments
exactly: 60 degrees
- 60 degrees was the
optimum range of human
vision, enabling the entire
Parthenon to be seen at
once
- 60 was the
sacred number
of Athena
- 60 was the
sacred number
of Athena
- 60 degrees was the
optimum range of human
vision, enabling the entire
Parthenon to be seen at
once
- Sides of the
Parthenon were
composed in terms
of the 'golden ratio'
- Optical Refinement
- Logically and deliberately
applied imperfections to achieve
perfection
- Architects Ictinus and Callicrates altered some
of the Parthenon's proportions so that the
human vision would not make the building
appear contorted. Human vision naturally
bends straight lines, so lines must actually be
bent in order to appear straight
- Architects Ictinus and Callicrates altered some
of the Parthenon's proportions so that the
human vision would not make the building
appear contorted. Human vision naturally
bends straight lines, so lines must actually be
bent in order to appear straight
- Columns:
- Columns taper up to prevent them
looking thicker at the top - each drum
gradually decreases in size
- Columns lean towards the interior of the
building,and the outermost columns lean
towards the centre. This prevents the columns
looking as if they would topple out the front or
sides of the building
- If columns continued, they would meet
4km above the roof of the Parthenon
- If columns continued, they would meet
4km above the roof of the Parthenon
- Exterior columns thicker, so
they do not appear slimmer
when sillhouetted against sky
- Columns taper up to prevent them
looking thicker at the top - each drum
gradually decreases in size
- To stop roof appearing to
sag under its own weight, the
horizontal cornice is 11cm
higher in the centre than it is
at either end
- Adding
curvature to
the lines was
also more
visually
pleasing
- Logically and deliberately
applied imperfections to achieve
perfection
- From the exterior, was
similar to Doric temple
- FUNCTION
- From exterior, seems to be a
temple
- Likely to have served
as a bank or treasury
- Heavy bronze doors clarify that
it was not a public building
- Double cella and lack of altar
suggest was no temple
- Double cella and lack of altar
suggest was no temple
- Records show it housed
the 11m statue of Athena
Polis, created from gold
and ivory
- Heavy bronze doors clarify that
it was not a public building
- From exterior, seems to be a
temple
- MATERIALS
- Whole Parthenon
constructed of white
marble
- Wealth: rare and expensive
- One 40 tonne block of marble took 10 men
10 days to quarry
- By extension, power
- One 40 tonne block of marble took 10 men
10 days to quarry
- Symbolic
of purity of
democratic
society
- Wealth: rare and expensive
- Blocks of marble fitted together
without mortar or cement, and
yet there is not the width of a
human air between them
- Held in place by metal clamps or 'I' shaped
bars
- Held in place by metal clamps or 'I' shaped
bars
- Whole Parthenon
constructed of white
marble
- CONTEXT
- Construction began in 447 BC and lasted 8 years
- Commissioned by Pericles as
display of the wealth and newfound
democracy of Athens
- Threatened to pay for it himself
(and so own it) if the state wouldnt
- Threatened to pay for it himself
(and so own it) if the state wouldnt
- Architects:
Ictinus and
Callicrates
- Made no architectural
plans
- Made no architectural
plans
- Sculptor:
Phidias
- Parthenon Frieze
- Parthenon Frieze
- Construction began in 447 BC and lasted 8 years
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