The Parthenon

 The Parthenon



(Rendering of the Parthenon at the time of its construction)

The largest Doric temple at the time of its construction in 432 BC with the purpose of housing the spirit of the Greek deity Athena the Parthenon dominated the Athens skyline as it still does today. In the fashion of the many Doric temples that came before it, the Parthenon’s shape is a simple rectangle, the outer layer being rows of Doric columns. Totaling forty four columns with eight in the front and back and sixteen viewable from the side elevations. The inner core or the cella of the temple was split into thirds. One third of the space was dedicated to Athena’s treasure. This room has four ionic columns centered in it, supporting the roof. The mix of the of Doric and Ionic elements was not unheard of but was very rare in Greek building and architecture at the time. The other two thirds of the cella created a much larger space to contain the statue of Athena herself. The statue was completely surrounded by twenty three scaled down Doric columns, the fact that the columns stood behind the statue was uncommon for these temples but it is believed that due to the larger size of the Parthenon it was viewed as an opportunity to provide a better backdrop instead of leaving a blank wall.

Most Greek temples were built to only be viewed from the outside, with no specific entrances leaving people only glimpses of the interior as they pass, the Parthenon on the other hand has a clear dominant entrance and axis for people to move along. This added level of interaction came with a focus on the transition of moving people from the outside to inside. While that doesn’t sound uncommon in a modern way of thinking it was something to be very carefully approached at the time. The population of Athens viewed the temple as divine, therefore as they cross the threshold from the outdoors into the temple they are also crossing from earth to a divine realm.

(Plan View)

The Parthenon over its long history has been subject to a variety of uses and circumstances. The building itself has been subject to a couple major fires that did extensive damage to the interior details of the building. The original statue of Athena was thought to be looted by a Byzantine emperor, and probably taken back to Constantinople where it was lost or destroyed. At points in the temples history it has been both a Catholic church and an Islamic mosque. In 1687 during the Great Turkish War the temple was being used as an armory of some sort with a primary function of storing gun powder. A mortar round hit the Parthenon during this time causing a large explosion which severely damaged the building, destroying a good portion of the columns on the north and south sides as well as almost completely crumbling the interior cella walls.   

(Rendition of original Athena Statue)

Since 1975 there has been a restoration effort in effect for the Parthenon. Though at times the effort has back fired and caused additional damage it is still receiving substantial funding and work continues on it today.

Works Cited

Sakoulas, Thomas. "The Parthenon." Parthenon. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.

@ahencyclopedia. "Parthenon." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 28 Oct. 2012. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.