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Greek and Roman architecture similarities
Modern day architecture with greek influence
Modern day architecture with greek influence
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The Parthenon is an amazing Greek temple that was built 2,500 years ago. Even the architects of today have numerous questions about how it was constructed and how it has held up through its eventful past. The Parthenon's detailed appearance is not its only meaningful quality. The Parthenon was constructed as a temple to the goddess, Athena, and as an icon of the Greek people themselves. The Parthenon represents the Greek ideals of humanism, idealism, and rationalism.
Humanism was important to the Greek culture because they believed focusing on human values were key to life. The cella frieze in the Parthenon reflects this way of thinking. It’s located in the interior of the Parthenon, adorning the area above the columns. The cella frieze is one continuous ionic frieze that wraps around the entire room. Scholars believe it depicts Athenians celebrating the Greater Panathenaia, which was a celebration to the Goddess, Athena, performed every four years. Blaise Nagy, a writer of the American Journal of Archeology states, “…the most commonly held view among scholars is that the frieze depicts a contemporary version of the festival. According to F. Brommer, author of the magisterial Der Parthenonfries, the frieze ought to be regarded as a kind of document for celebrations of the Panathenaia from the period of the construction of the Parthenon” (56). In this depiction, Poseidon and Apollo are bestowing their blessings on the celebration. With both immortal, worthy Gods, and mortal, unworthy Athenians on the cella frieze together, it confirms the Greek’s belief in humanism. To have the Gods and mortals in the same depiction together was something that had never been done before. Professor Jeffrey M. Hurwit from the University of Oregon s...
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... carved in the round, giving it a highly realistic look. The figures seem to jump out of the marble with almost completely three-dimensional bodies. The act of Greeks favoring reason over emotion is found in many sculptures and scenes on the Parthenon.
In summary, the Greeks followed the ideals of humanism, idealism, and rationalism, which can be found in the architectural wonder, the Parthenon. In this building, Gods are depicted in human form, sculptures are carved with ideal proportions, and rationalism can be found in the scenes carved there. Professor Hurwit says, “It was the physical embodiment of their values, their beliefs of their ideology. It remains for us a powerful statement of what human beings are capable of” (Beckham). Not only is the Parthenon an architectural wonder and mystery, but it also holds the beliefs and feelings of the people of Athens.
There is an ongoing debate on whether the Parthenon Marbles, now located in London, England, should be returned to their original homeland of Athens, Greece. The marbles were removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin from 1801-1812 and transported to England. They were sold to the British government in 1816 and put in the British Museum where they have been for the last 200 years. I believe that the marbles should now be returned to Greece, not only because of the method and circumstances surrounding their removal, but because they are original pieces of the oldest and most symbolic structure in Greek history that epitomizes the pinnacle of Ancient Classical Greece and the beginning of western democracy through artistic ingenuity.
At the end of the Persian wars, Athens materialized along with Sparta as the two leading powers in the Greek world. As Athens grew in confidence, their promotion of ‘Athenianism’, was a bid to place Athens as leader of its empire. This growing confidence is demonstrated in the building programme during the 440’s and 430’s B.C.E, such as the Parthenon. As Robson states, ‘[t]he Parthenon and its sculptures can certainly be viewed as celebrating Athens’ spiritual life, military prowess, and cultural pre-eminence’ (Robson, ECW, p. 99). This can be seen as architectural evidence of mounting self-belief, for example, the south freeze of the Parthenon; to modern day interpretation undoubtedly depicts the battle at Marathon. Seen as a promotion of Athenian military ascendancy and coupled with the attitude of superiority over other Greek states, this combined campaign instigated tension with Sparta, inspiring the first Peloponnesian war.
The Parthenon was an amazing and important temple. Dedicated to Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, it was a very important temple to the Greeks. Greeks worshiped all of their gods by building temples for them and giving sacrifices. Most of the sacrifices were sacred tiles designed especially for the gods, not many were human.
Greek artists showed value for the individual. All people were portrayed in Greek art, from the sagging old woman to the ideal athlete. Although early Greek art focused on the human ideal, their later art shows that the Greeks appreciated all forms, and found the human body in general to be a beautiful thing. Even the gods in Greek art showed how highly the Greeks valued humanity. The gods were depicted as humans, and were made to human scale; no huge overpowering deity was ever portrayed in their art. The Greeks appreciated themselves in their art as much as they appreciated the gods. Even on the most famous temple of all time, the Parthenon, humans were portrayed. The frieze that adorned the upper face of the Parthenon depicted the human procession in honour of the god Athena.
...the Athenian Parthenon’s in some ways its powerful imagery has caused it to be acknowledged it as one of the most wonderful examples of Hellenistic art and architecture.
"The Parthenon Frieze." The Parthenon Frieze. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 20142 June 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
During Classical Greece the Parthenon was built as temple to the Goddess Athena, as symbol of the state’s wealth and superiority, along with serving as the treasury. The architecture uses a bit of both Doric and Ionic orders. On the outside rim of the temple Doric columns, triglyphs and metopes are used but on the inside of the temple Ionic friezes were used. Both the metopes and friezes were completely filled with painted sculptures depicting the gods, Athenians, and conquered enemies. The themes center on gods or Athenians being victorious over chorus. One of the main stories shown in the Parthenon is the story of the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena being chosen as the patron Goddess of Athens over the Sea God, Poseidon. Poseidon was a war god who offered the people a beautiful but useless saltwater spring while Athena offered an olive tree. The people of Athens choose the olive tree symbolizing their culture valuing peace and prosperity over the chorus of war. The Parthenon also shows the Ancient Greeks value in mathematics and idealized perfection. The columns were carved to bulge slightly as well as tilting inwards, which creates the illusion that the columns were both straighter and taller than they were. Other illusions they used to give the appearance of perfection included arching in the middle just enough to ensure what would not pull and stop the eye from seeing the ends of the steps rise. Ancient Greeks valued their gods, perfection, mathematics, wealth and
In Rome the buildings were constructed under Roman Empire. The Roman Colosseum was constructed between 69 to 79 CE by the Vespasian emperor, The Circus Maximum was built in the 2nd century B.C by the high emperor, in 31 B.C the fire destroyed it that led Emperor Augustus to rebuild the Circus in 82 AD, Ludus Magnus was a gladiatorial training school in Rome and it was originally built between 81-96AD by Emperor Domitian. The emperor’s theme was large public stone buildings that would bring the people of Rome together and also the emperor was rich and they had manpower. The emperors also patron towards the workers and also to prove that they are the great leaders. The emperors had money, a lot of workers to build the buildings to the Emperor’s satisfaction. The buildings were used by the public as entertainment where they would go and watch all sorts of races & fights.
The Parthenon was built to honor the goddess of wisdom, Athena. When structures are built using straight lines they tend to look slightly distorted due to the science of optics. The architects Iktos and Kallikretes were skilled architects of their time and they used illusory tactics to create an ideal aesthetic for The Parthenon. The architects compensated for these visual illusions by counteracting them in their design. The end result is a structure that is not composed of straight lines, but when viewed by the human eye, looks perfectly straight. Plato would have mentioned one of his famous dictums, ?That which changes least is most real.? He would have viewed Iktos and Kallikretes designs as less real than other designs that do not u...
... made such a great impression that it has carried through to our present day buildings such as the White House. The Athena Parthenos has been recreated by the Romans and then most recently by recreated by Alan LeQuire which is in Nashville. (See Fig 2.) We can get a glimpse with LeQuire’s recreation of how that statue may have been in ancient Greece standing in the Parthenon with such majestic greatness.
== == = == Sculpture of the Parthenon Viewtech
The Parthenon was built during the Golden age in Athens, Greece. The Parthenon is made of mainly columns; there is a 9:4 ratio. It was almost destroyed in war; the ruins that remained were dedicated to Athena. The purpose of the Parthenon was to house the statue of Athena, made of ivory and gold, and also Athena’s treasure. The ratios and the equations used to make the Parthenon were used as a sign of the harmony in the natural world around us. The mathematical harmony in the world shows how we can work with the world rather than destroy to make it what we want. The Parthenon also has no straight lines. The columns of the Parthenon are angled going up getting smaller the higher they get. This was done so that you could get the best lighting
The Parthenon was built to house the goddess Athena, but was first used as a treasury. There is some symbolism to its location as the acropolis on which the temple is sited, was also the place other temples had been, but the Athenians rebuilt after the Persian wars and the Parthenon was according to this week’s reading from Reed College, one of those structures built ‘to commemorate their victory and in gratitude to heaven’ (n.d, Reed College)
Throughout history, there have been several significant architectural movements. The last, and perhaps most enduring movement is that of Classic Greece. Although for centuries, the architecture of ancient Greece has been admired, mimicked, and replicated, its beginnings are somewhat surprising to one unfamiliar with the history of the region. It is important to understand the history and mechanics of Classic Greek architecture in order to fully appreciate its form, function, and beauty. “Ancient Greek architects strove for the precision and excellence of workmanship that are the hallmarks of Greek art in general. The formulas they invented as early as the sixth century B.C. have influenced the architecture of the past two millennia” (metmuseum.org).
The Roman Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is perhaps the most famous ancient landmark in the world. The Colosseum was the host to thousands of gladiatorial shows, mock naval battles, executions, and animal hunts. Today, the Colosseum still stands in the center of Rome, Italy, however, not quite as it used to be. Still, today, the Roman Colosseum is a large tourist attraction, thousands of tourists from all over the world still come to view this marveled arena. The Roman Colosseum has a rich history, and remains a prized possession of the Roman citizens.