As the largest and front-most structure on the Athenian Acropolis when viewed from the city, it is easy to tell that the Parthenon was an important part of Athenian life during its heyday. But it is not just the Parthenon itself that has remained at the forefront of art historical discourse, but also the sculptures that the building housed and that adorned it. Both the architectural and sculptural styles present in the Parthenon have been revered as the height of Classical art, and the sculptures are still the center of contentious debate about the repatriation of culturally significant art. Commissioned by Pericles in the mid-5th century B.C.E. following Athens' victory over the Persians, the Parthenon was meant to be the centerpiece of …show more content…
2011). These sculptural elements, commonly known as the Elgin Marbles, are the frieze, the metopes, and the pediment sculptures. The frieze was a 525 foot long, low relief sculpture located high up from the ground inside the colonnades of the building ("The Parthenon"). It is speculated that the frieze is a depiction of the Panathenaic Procession that took place in the city yearly in honor of Athena. This is an unusual scene to be placed in a Greek temple. Usually any artistic scenery would be one from mythology, but instead this is of a present-day occurance. In the scene, it seems as though mortal Athenians appear in the same realm as their gods and goddesses, an indication that the Athenians had come to see themselves as at least better than other humans, if not nearing a god-like status. It may also be speculated that this scene was created as political propaganda to instill faith in the military power of Athens in its …show more content…
The west pediment sculptures were shattered in a crane incident while being transported to Venice, but drawings and written accounts indicate that the sculptures depicted a battle between Athena and Poseidon for the city of Athens. Athena, of course, won the battle and the city, hence its name. Much of the east pediment is still intact today, with just a few of the figures and fragments of the others missing, and depicts the mythological scene of the birth of Athena from Zeus' head. The pediment is meant to be read from left to right, beginning with the rise of Helios' chariot, signifying dawn and the moment of Athena's birth. Next is Dionysus, the god of wine. His relaxed posture and left-facing position indicate that he has not yet noticed Athena's birth taking place to the right. Between Dionysus and the birth of Athena are two headless, female sculptures. There is not much evidence of who these women are, but they seem to have taken back body language that suggests that they birth, taking place immediately to their right, has startled or surprised them. Just off center of the pediment stands Zeus, with Athena springing from his head, fully grown. Their size and centrality indicate that they are the most important figures in the pediment. To their left are three more headless female figures who seem to be almost propped
sculpture of Dionysos, it tells us about a little bit of culture. The unclothed Dionysos indicate a common
...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.
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
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...
This is a copy of the sculpture of Athena Parthenos, dressed in battle attire, that was originally created by Phidias during the period of 447-39 B.C. The statue of Athena Parthenos was to be constructed, not of bronze, but of gold and ivory. The face, arms, and feet of the statue were to be made of ivory and the clothing, of thickly plated gold. The statue was an enormous size that towered thirty-three feet tall. The costly nature of the materials out of which it was designed was intended to overwhelm the viewer, creating a sense of religious awe.
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This statue of Aphrodite shows the dedication the Greeks had to their gods. The bronze goddess, holding her right arm in the air, gives off a powerful attitude. As the pose itself of the statue is not bland and more active, it gives the impression that this was created during the classical period of Greece when sculpture began having more relaxed, natural poses. The lack of more painstaking muscle and bone structure probably places it in the earlier part of the classical period though. What is most intriguing about the sculpture is the white eyes she is given that, in the face of a more natural, realistic human form, the eyes seem to retain an essence that reminds the viewer that this statue is of a goddess and no ordinary human being.
Another artist during the classical period, Scopas, sculpted something much different than that of Hermes carrying the infant Dionysos. The head that Scopas sculpted from The Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea has a feeling of stress and violent emotion, rather than relaxed emotion. The eyes are round and wide open, there is an upward gaze, an open mouth, and small nostrils. This just shows us how different sculptors’ techniques were during the same period of time.
The Acropolis in Athens is the site of one of the greatest architectural achievements in the history of mankind. With a rich history and a beautiful design the Acropolis projects man’s ability to create a lasting monument to its strength and intellect.
Like the Parthenon in Athens - another icon of classical antiquity - the Zeus Altar was constructed on a terrace of the acropolis overlooking the ancient city of Pergamon, situated on the west coast of Anatolia (now Turkey) in Asia Minor. However, unlike the Parthenon, it was not a temple but merely an altar, possibly connected to the Doric Temple of Athena which had been built 150 years earlier and which stood above the altar on a separate terrace. Furthermore, unlike the Parthenon's High Classical Greek sculpture (450-400 BCE), whose statues and reliefs were always calm and serene and never expressed any particular emotion, Greek Hellenistic art (323-27 BCE) was less about harmony and serenity, and more about achieving excitement, wild movement
BCE Zeus is depicted in the image after birthing Dionysus from his thigh. Zeus carries a thyrsus (staff), and Dionysus carries a vine and a wine cup. Two goddesses are depicted in this image; Aphrodite (far left) holding flowers and Eileithyia (far right) The additional depictions of the goddesses in this image are different from the other visual sources, where only Hermes is present (Jan. 18).
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 Greeks finished building an exquisite temple to their beloved goddess, Athena in the year 432 BCE. (Sayre 60). The name of this enriched, unique temple was the Parthenon. The Parthenon took the Greeks approximately fifteen years to complete and as Pericles stated, it was built to give gratitude to their goddess Athena for the salvation of their city, Athens and all of Greece in the Persian Wars (Sayre 60). It was also a symbol of their power and superiority among other cultures. It was something the Greeks took great pride in and recognized it to a great extent. The Parthenon was built on the highest point of the city of Athens to look over the precious Greek city. On the exterior walls of the Parthenon there was beautiful artwork that adorned the walls, also known as the Parthenon Frieze (“The Parthenon Frieze”, par 1). According to the National Geographic video, “Parthenon Marbles Battle”, two thousand years after the Parthenon was built, in the late 1600's the Parthenon was blown up during a war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire, which left the Parthenon almost in complete ruins. Then, in the early 1800's, there came Lord Elgin, who was a huge fanatic of Greek history. Because Greece was currently under conquest by the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin made the Ottoman Empire a deal and bought the remains of the Parthenon Frieze artwork along with other sculptures as well. Elgin sent these unique sculptures of art work back to his country, England. Since then these sculptures became known as the "Elgin Marbles", and currently sit in the British Museum at London (“What are the 'Elgin Marbles”, par 1). However, do these fine pieces of artwork truly belong to Elgin? There has been a lot of controversy throughout the years of whet...
Dedicated to Athena Parthenos (Athena the virgin) goddess of war and wisdom. Every god and goddess had worship temples to assure everything went well and nothing bad happened. Greeks gave sacrifices too, such as food, messages, and sacred tiles were all sacrifices they gave. The Parthenon was built in 480 BC but got destroyed while under construction in a battle between the Romans and Greeks. The Parthenon was rebuilt in 447 BC, with the original statue that first stood in 480 BC. ("The Parthenon Frieze." The Parthenon Frieze. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.)
This sculpture of an elderly woman has been the subject of different interpretations over the years, although this doesn 't change the fact that this sculpture is a portrayal of a member of society and depicts everyday life in Greece. The old woman has been originally viewed as a seller on her way to the marketplace, commonly referred to as agora, although in recent years she has been considered as an aging follower of Dionysos on her way to a festival. (Stokstad and Cothren, 2014) This art piece is a prime example of how artists in this era tried to depict