What is the Parthenon in Athens Greece?
The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Greece and a visit to Athens is not complete without visiting this temple. The construction of the Parthenon started in in 447 BC, replacing and older temple that was destroyed by the Persians, and completed in 432 BC.
Which is bigger the Parthenon or the Erechtheum?
This temple is larger than the Parthenon, a reflection of the wealth and importance of Cyrene in the ancient Greek world. 7. Erechtheum[SEE MAP] The Erechtheum is an ancient Greek temple of Ionic style on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens. The temple as seen today was built between 421 and 407 BC.
Why is the Parthenon the only temple on all the metopes?
It is an interesting fact to note that the Parthenon is the only temple that has representations on all metopes. The reason we do not find representations in all of the metopes of other temples is purely economic – to cut costs.
Where is the temple of Poseidon in Greece?
9. Temple of Poseidon at Sounion[SEE MAP] Located at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece, the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion is surrounded on three sides by the sea. It was constructed in approx. 440 BC, over the ruins of a temple dating from the Archaic Period.
What is the largest Greek temple?
Temple of Olympian Zeus, AthensTemple of Olympian Zeus, Athens Known as the largest temple in Greece, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, or the Olympeion, was built in the 6th century BC, though it was completed roughly 640 years after in the 2nd century AD, thanks to Emperor Hadrian.
How big is the Parthenon in Greece?
Measured by the top step of the base, the building is 101.34 feet (30.89 metres) wide and 228.14 feet (69.54 metres) long.
What was bigger the Parthenon or the Temple of Zeus?
While the temple of Zeus is 27 metres by 64 metres with 6 columns at the front flanked by 13, the Parthenon is on a much larger scale measuring 30 by 69 metres with an octastyle front with 17 flanking columns.
What is the most famous temple in Greece?
the Parthenon at AthensThe most famous classic temple in the world, the Parthenon at Athens, Greece | Library of Congress.
Why is the Parthenon so special?
Why is the Parthenon important, special and famous? The Parthenon is so special because first of all is the symbol of Athens democracy. It was built after the victory on the Persians who occupied Athens in 480 BC. It was built to celebrate the victory and Athens political, economic and cultural superiority.
Who destroyed the Parthenon?
In the Morean War, a Venetian bomb during the 1687 siege of the Acropolis landed on the Parthenon, which the Ottomans had used as a munitions dump. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon.
Who destroyed Temple of Zeus?
Theodosius II- The temple was burnt by order of Theodosius II in AD 426. Badly damaged by the fire, it was finally thrown down by the earthquakes of AD 551 and 552. Excavations at the temple began by the French in 1829, and were completed by the German School.
Which is older the Colosseum or the Parthenon?
Yes, the Greek Parthenon is much older than the Roman Colosseum. The Parthenon was completed around the year 432 BCE, while the Colosseum was not completed until the year 80 CE.
Is Zeus the father of all gods?
Zeus is the god of the sky in ancient Greek mythology. As the chief Greek deity, Zeus is considered the ruler, protector, and father of all gods and humans.
What is the second largest Greek temple?
The largest Greek temple is the Temple of Artemis, Ephesus. The second largest is the Temple of Zeus, Agrigento.
Which is the oldest Greek temple?
the Temple of HeraPaestum[SEE MAP] The oldest temple in Paestum is the Temple of Hera, built around 550 BC by Greek colonists.
What is the oldest ancient Greek temple?
Temple of Hera, OlympiaTemple of Hera, Olympia Dedicated to the Hera, the highest goddess in the Greek pantheon, it was the oldest temple at the site and one of the most famous and venerable in all Greece. The temple was built around 590 BC, but was destroyed by an earthquake in the early 4th century AD.
What are 5 facts about the the Parthenon?
10 Facts About the Parthenon, the Icon of Ancient GreeceIt's dedicated to a Greek goddess.It's not the first temple on this space.For a time, it was used as a mosque.Some of its greatest treasures are located in London.Its name has an interesting origin.It's not actually a temple.It was originally quite colorful.More items...•
What is difference between Parthenon and Acropolis?
What is the difference between the Parthenon and the Acropolis? The Parthenon is a temple on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece that was dedicated to the goddess Athena. The Acropolis is a hill in the city center of Athens that has many ancient ruins, including the Parthenon.
Is the Parthenon a wonder of the world?
Construction on the new Parthenon began in 447 BC and was mostly completed in 438 BC. Today, the Parthenon is an international symbol of Greek civilization and the temples of the Acropolis have become some of the world's most famous architectural landmarks.
Can you walk through the Parthenon?
You are not allowed to walk onto the Parthenon but you can walk around the entire circumference of it.
What is the purpose of the Parthenon?
The purpose of the Parthenon has changed over its 2,500-year history, beginning as a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena Parthenos (“Athena the...
Why is the Parthenon important?
The Parthenon is the centrepiece of a 5th-century-BCE building campaign on the Acropolis in Athens. Constructed during the High Classical period, i...
How is the Parthenon still standing?
The careful placement of precisely cut masonry ensured that the Parthenon remained essentially intact for over two millennia. Although some of the...
How was the Parthenon built?
Directed by the Athenian statesman Pericles, constructing the Parthenon was the work of the architects Ictinus and Callicrates under the supervisio...
How is the Parthenon imperfect?
Although the Parthenon is regarded as the culmination of the Doric order, it has several Ionic elements, including the interior frieze (a sculptura...
How big is the Parthenon?
Measured at the stylobate, the dimensions of the base of the Parthenon are 69.5 by 30.9 metres (228 by 101 ft). The cella was 29.8 meters long by 19.2 meters wide (97.8 × 63.0 ft). On the exterior, the Doric columns measure 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) in diameter and are 10.4 metres (34 ft) high. The corner columns are slightly larger in diameter. The Parthenon had 46 outer columns and 23 inner columns in total, each column having 20 flutes. (A flute is the concave shaft carved into the column form.) The roof was covered with large overlapping marble tiles known as imbrices and tegulae.
Where is the Parthenon?
The Parthenon ( / ˈpɑːrθəˌnɒn, - nən /; Ancient Greek: Παρθενών, Parthenṓn, [par.tʰe.nɔ̌ːn]; Greek: Παρθενώνας, Parthenónas, [parθeˈnonas]) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patroness. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at ...
What happened to the Parthenon after the Ottoman conquest?
After the Ottoman conquest, it was turned into a mosque in the early 1460s. On 26 September 1687, an Ottoman ammunition dump inside the building was ignited by Venetian bombardment during a siege of the Acropolis. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures.
Why is the Parthenon called the Temple of Minerva?
Because the Parthenon was dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena it has sometimes been referred to as the Temple of Minerva, the Roman name for Athena, particularly during the 19th century.
Why was the Parthenon closed?
It is suggested to have occurred in c. 481–484, in the instructions against the remaining temples by order of Emperor Zeno, because the temple had been the focus of Pagan Hellenic opposition against Zeno in Athens in support of Illus, who had promised to restore Hellenic rites to the temples that were still standing.
Why did the Parthenon attract stonemasons?
A big project like the Parthenon attracted stonemasons from far and wide who traveled to Athens to assist in the project. Slaves and foreigners worked together with the Athenian citizens in the building of the Parthenon, doing the same jobs for the same pay. Temple building was a very specialized craft, and there were not many men in Greece qualified to build temples like the Parthenon, so these men would travel around and work where they were needed.
How was the Parthenon built?
The Parthenon was built primarily by men who knew how to work marble. These quarrymen had exceptional skills and were able to cut the blocks of marble to very specific measurements. The quarrymen also knew how to avoid the faults, which were numerous in the Pentelic marble. If the marble blocks were not up to standard, the architects would reject them. The marble was worked with iron tools -- picks, points, punches, chisels, and drills. The quarrymen would hold their tools against the marble block and firmly tap the surface of the rock.
What is the Parthenon?
© Ron Gatepain ( A Britannica Publishing Partner) The Parthenon embodies an extraordinary number of architectural refinements, which combine to give a plastic, sculptural appearance to the building.
When was the Parthenon built?
Parthenon, temple that dominates the hill of the Acropolis at Athens. It was built in the mid-5th century bce and dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena Parthenos (“Athena the Virgin”). The temple is generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order, the simplest of the three Classical Greek architectural orders.
How long did the Parthenon remain intact?
The careful placement of precisely cut masonry ensured that the Parthenon remained essentially intact for over two millennia. Although some of the sculptures were removed when the building was converted to a Byzantine church, the structure survived—even during its later transformation into a Roman Catholic cathedral and then a mosque. Indeed, it did not become a ruin until 1687, when, during the bombardment of the Acropolis by Venetians fighting the Turks, a powder magazine stored in the temple exploded and destroyed the centre of the building. The Venetians then inadvertently smashed several sculptures while attempting to remove them as loot, and Thomas Bruce, Lord Elgin, later brought a substantial portion of the surviving sculptures to England. After Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, efforts were made to restore the building, but the campaign headed by engineer Nikolaos Balanos proved to have caused more damage, and in 1975 a multi-decade restoration began. Each salvageable piece of marble was returned to its original position, while gaps were filled with new marble from the same quarry the ancient Athenians had used. The time-consuming project lasted over 40 years.
How much marble did the Parthenon mine?
According to the former coordinator of the late 20th/early 21st-century restoration, Manolis Korres, builders of the Parthenon mined 100,000 tons of marble from a quarry about 10 miles from Athens. Using wagons, they conveyed blocks of marble from the quarry and up the Acropolis’s incline.
What was the role of the Parthenon in the 19th century?
After serving as an army barracks at the end of Greece’s war for independence (1821–32), the Parthenon assumed its role as tourist destination during the late 19th century, just as restoration efforts began. Learn about Athena, the Greek goddess to whom the Parthenon was dedicated.
What is the significance of the metopes in the Parthenon?
The sculpture decorating the Parthenon rivaled its architecture in careful harmony. The metopes over the outer colonnade were carved in high relief and represented, on the east, a battle between gods and giants; on the south, Greeks and centaurs; and on the west, probably Greeks and Amazons.
What wars led to the destruction of Athens?
Greco-Persian Wars. Find out about the Greco-Persian Wars, a series of wars that led to the destruction of Athens in 480 BCE and subsequent rebuilding campaign on the Acropolis.
What are some interesting facts about the Parthenon?
Before we move on to the surprising facts, let’s go through some of the most important historic facts about the Parthenon. The double Doric temple pavilion presents many original and unique elements in its architectural design. The temple was designed by Iktinos and Kallikrates, two ancient Greek architects. The responsibility of the sculptural decoration and the ivory statue of Athena, which was inside, as well as the entire construction program of the temple, was the responsibility of the famous sculptor Pheidias. The first attempts for the preservation and restoration of the Parthenon took place as early as 1896-1900 and in 1922-1933 its second restoration program took place. When you visit the Acropolis Hill, don’t be surprised when you witness some of the temple’s brilliant marbles behind scaffolds; maintenance and restoration works of the monument are almost always in progress.
Why is the Parthenon called the Parthenon?
The Parthenon was dedicated to Goddess Athena, and took its name from one of her many qualities, being a Virgen Goddess (in Greek “parthenos"), thus Parthenon! The temple was serving her and the ancient religion of the Greek Pantheon.
What happened to the Parthenon during the Greek Revolution?
During the Greek Revolution of 1821, the Acropolis was liberated by the Greeks, but would later be besieged by the army of Kioutachis Pasha, with more damages at the temple. Nonetheless, the Parthenon still stands evocative and majestic, even if it lost some of its original finesse. View of the Parthenon temple.
What is the significance of the Parthenon frieze?
The composition of the Parthenon Frieze generally represents the procession of the Great Panathenaea, the biggest celebration in honor of the patron goddess of Athens, Athena. It was celebrated every 4 years on her birthday (the 28th of the month Hekatombaion). The final event of the celebration was the procession that carried the new veil of the goddess, embroidered with a representation of the Battle of the Giants, to the Acropolis hill. The procession started from the southwest corner of the temple, in two groups that moved along the north and the south side, to meet in the east, where the tradition of the veil for the cult statue of the goddess was depicted before the Olympian gods. It is believed that the frieze depicts the first-ever procession of Panathenaea or the first after the destruction of the Acropolis by the Persians.
What happened to the Parthenon?
Some of those blows were very destructive and are responsible for the extended damages that we can see today. The first destruction of the Parthenon took place in 26 7 AD by the Heruli (a people possibly of Scandinavian origin), who occupied Athens and set fire to the Parthenon. The original roof was destroyed as well as the entire internal colonnade. In 1687 AD, a shooting hit the powder storage room that Ali Aga had installed in the site , destroying most of the temple at its east side. During the Greek Revolution of 1821, the Acropolis was liberated by the Greeks, but would later be besieged by the army of Kioutachis Pasha, with more damages at the temple. Nonetheless, the Parthenon still stands evocative and majestic, even if it lost some of its original finesse.
What is the Parthenon's sculptural decoration?
The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon is a unique masterpiece in the history of world art and is organized in three distinct sections: the metopes, rectangular slabs with relief scenes in the exterior of the colonnade, the frieze at the top of the walls of the nave from the entablatures of the inner columns, and the pediments, which were adorned with compositions of all-sculpted statues.
What is the name of the temple that Pericles built in the Golden Age?
The Parthenon. Everyone knows about the Acropolis and the Parthenon, but there are some interesting facts about the ancient temple that may surprise most! During the "Golden Age" (5th BC), the great Pericles instructs the construction of the new temple of the Parthenon. Fine white marble is being unearthed from the mountain Penteli ...
Which temple is larger than the Parthenon?
This temple is larger than the Parthenon, a reflection of the wealth and importance of Cyrene in the ancient Greek world. 7. Erechtheum. The Erechtheum is an ancient Greek temple of Ionic style on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens. The temple as seen today was built between 421 and 407 BC.
What is the purpose of the Parthenon?
The purpose of the Parthenon was to house a massive statue of Athena Parthenos made from ivory, silver and gold. Sometime in the 5th century the statue was looted by one of the Roman Emperors, and taken to Constantinople, where it was later destroyed. During its long life the Parthenon has also served as a fortress, a church, a mosque and as a powder magazine.
What is the oldest temple in Paestum?
The oldest temple in Paestum is the Temple of Hera, built around 550 BC by Greek colonists. The nearby temple was built about a century later and was also dedicated to Hera, the goddess of marriage and childbirth. Further away stand the Temple of Athena built in about 500 BC. 3.
What are the three types of columns in the Greek temple?
The most recognizable feature of the Greek temple are the massive columns. The Greeks used three types of columns: the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian order. An overview of the most famous Greek temples found around the Mediterranean. 10. Temple of Olympian Zeus. flickr/caribb.
What was the purpose of the Greek temple?
The purpose of a Greek temple was usually to house a cult statue or emblem. Religion did not require people to gather inside the temple to worship, and their temples were primarily monuments to the gods. The most recognizable feature of the Greek temple are the massive columns.
What was the most important building type in ancient Greece?
The most important and widespread building type in ancient Greece was the temple. The first stone temples appeared some time during the early 6th century BC and began to appear in large numbers in the next century. The purpose of a Greek temple was usually to house a cult statue or emblem. Religion did not require people to gather inside ...
Where is the Temple of Zeus?
Temple of Zeus at Cyrene . Cyrene was the most important of the five Greek colonies in present-day Libya. High up from the rest of the city, lies the Temple of Zeus, dating back to the 5th century BC.
Overview
The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art, an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, democracy and Western civilization.
The Parthenon was built in thanksgiving for the Hellenic victory over Persian inv…
Etymology
The origin of the word "Parthenon" comes from the Greek word parthénos (παρθένος), meaning "maiden, girl" as well as "virgin, unmarried woman." The Liddell–Scott–Jones Greek–English Lexicon states that it may have referred to the "unmarried women's apartments" in a house, but that in the Parthenon it seems to have been used for a particular room of the temple. There is some debate as to which room that was, however. The lexicon states that this room was the we…
Function
Although the Parthenon is architecturally a temple and is usually called so, some scholars have argued that it is not really a temple in the conventional sense of the word. A small shrine has been excavated within the building, on the site of an older sanctuary probably dedicated to Athena as a way to get closer to the goddess, but the Parthenon apparently never hosted the official cult of Athena Polias, patron of Athens. The cult image of Athena Polias, which was bathed in the sea an…
Architecture
The Parthenon is a peripteral octastyle Doric temple with Ionic architectural features. It stands on a platform or stylobate of three steps. In common with other Greek temples, it is of post and lintel construction and is surrounded by columns ('peripteral') carrying an entablature. There are eight columns at either end ('octastyle') and seventeen on the sides. There is a double row of columns …
Sculpture
The cella of the Parthenon housed the chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos sculpted by Phidias and dedicated in 439 or 438 BC. The appearance of this is known from other images. The decorative stonework was originally highly colored. The temple was dedicated to Athena at that time, though construction continued until almost the beginning of the Peloponnesian War in …
Later history
A major fire broke out in the Parthenon shortly after the middle of the third century AD. which destroyed the Parthenon's roof and much of the sanctuary's interior. Heruli pirates are also credited with sacking Athens in 276, and destroying most of the public buildings there, including the Parthenon. Repairs were made in the fourth century AD, possibly during the reign of Julian the Apo…
Restoration
An organized effort to preserve and restore buildings on the Acropolis began in 1975, when the Greek government established the Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments (ESMA). That group of interdisciplinary specialist scholars oversees the academic understanding of the site to guide restoration efforts. The project later attracted funding and techni…
Sources
• Burkert, Walter (1985). Greek Religion. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-36281-9.
• Connelly, Joan Breton (1 January 1996). "Parthenon and Parthenoi: A Mythological Interpretation of the Parthenon Frieze" (PDF). American Journal of Archaeology. 100 (1): 53–80. doi:10.2307/506297. JSTOR 506297. S2CID 41120274. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2018.