The main temple of the acropolis dedicated to the goddess Athena. Architectural and artistic design of the Parthenon of ancient Greece. From destruction to reconstruction

The Parthenon (ancient Greek: Παρθενών; modern Greek: Παρθενώνας) is an ancient temple in , dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the Athenians considered their patroness. Construction began in 447 BC. BC, when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It ended in 438 BC. e., although the decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. e. It is the most important surviving building of classical Greece, the zenith of which is generally considered to be the Doric order. The decorative sculptures of the Parthenon are considered among the most successful in Greek art. And the Parthenon itself is a symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy and Western civilization, and one of the greatest cultural monuments in the world. The Greek Ministry of Culture is currently implementing a program of selective restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially destroyed structure.

The Parthenon, replaced by what historians call the Pre-Parthenon, was destroyed during the Persian invasion of 480 BC. e. The temple was built archaeoastronomically, according to the Hyades star cluster. Despite the fact that the sacred building was dedicated to the patron goddess of the city, it was actually used as a treasury. At one time, it served as the treasury of the Delian League, which later became the Athenian Empire. In the last decades of the sixth century AD, the Parthenon, which was converted into a Christian church, was dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

After the Ottoman conquest in the early 60s of the 15th century, it was turned into a mosque. On September 26, 1687, due to the Venetian bombardment, Ottoman ammunition stored in the building caught fire. The explosion seriously damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures. In 1806, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, removed some of the surviving sculptures, ostensibly with Ottoman permission. They are now known as the Elgin or Parthenon Marbles. In 1816 they were sold to the British Museum in London, where they are exhibited today. Since 1983 (on the initiative of the Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri), the Greek government decided to return the sculptures to Greece.

Etymology

Originally, the name "Parthenon" came from the Greek word παρθενών (parthenon), and was referred to in the sense of "unmarried women's rooms" in a house, and in the case of the Parthenon, perhaps only a separate room of the temple was used at first. There is debate as to what room this was and how it got its name. According to the work of Lidle, Scott, Jones "Greek-English Lexicon" it was the western cella of the Parthenon. Jamari Greene believes that the Parthenon was the room in which peplum was presented to Athena at the Panathenaic Games. It was woven by the Arrephoros, four girls who were chosen every year to serve Athena. Christopher Pelling argues that the Athena Parthenos may represent a separate cult of Athena, closely related, but not identical, to the cult of Athena Polias. According to this theory, the name Parthenon means "temple of the virgin goddess" and refers to the cult of Athena Parthenos, which was associated with this temple. The epithet "parthenos" (παρθένος), whose origin is unknown, means "maiden, girl", but also "virgin, unmarried woman", and was mainly used in relation to Artemis, goddess of wild animals, hunting and vegetation, and Athena, goddess of strategy and tactics, craft and practical reason. There is also speculation that the name of the temple refers to the maidens (parthenos), whose supreme sacrifice guarantees the safety of the city.

© website, in the photo: The Parthenon today, July 2014

The first instance in which the name Parthenon clearly refers to the entire building was found in the writings of the orator Demosthenes, dating from the 4th century BC. In the 5th century the building was seen as a structure simply called ho naos ("temple"). It is believed that the architects Mnesicles and Kallicrates called it Hekatompodos ("one hundred feet") in their lost treatise on Athenian architecture, and in the 4th century and later, it was known as Hekatompedos or Hekatompedon, like the Parthenon; in the 1st century AD e. the writer Plutarch called the building Hekatompedon Parthenon.

Because the Parthenon was dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, it was sometimes called the Temple of Minerva, the Roman name for Athena, especially in the 19th century.

Purpose

Although architecturally the Parthenon is a temple and is usually called that, in the generally accepted sense of the word this is not entirely true. A small temple was found inside the building, on the site of an old one, probably dedicated to Athena as a way to get closer to the goddess, but the Parthenon itself never accepted the cult of Athena Polis, the patroness of Athens; The cult image, which was washed in the sea and presented with peplos, was the olive xoan, located on the old altar in the northern part of the Acropolis.

The magnificent statue of Athena, by Phidias, was not associated with any cult and it is not known whether it kindled any religious fervor. She probably did not have a priestess, altar or cult name. According to Thucydides, Pericles once called the statue a gold reserve, emphasizing that it "consisted of forty talents of pure gold, and they could be taken out." The Athenian statesman thus assumed that the metal obtained from modern coinage could be used again without any disrespect. The Parthenon was then seen more as a large setting for a votive statue of Phidias, rather than a place of worship. It is said that many Greek authors in their works described the countless treasures stored inside the temple, such as Persian swords and small statues made of precious metals.

Archaeologist Joan Breton Connelly has recently championed the connection of the Parthenon's sculptural plan in presenting a series of genealogical accounts that trace Athenian features back through the centuries: from the birth of Athena, through cosmic and epic battles, to the great final event of the Athenian Bronze Age, the War of Erechtheus and Eumolpus. She argues that the pedagogical function of the Parthenon's sculptural decoration establishes and reinforces the Athenian foundations of myth, memory, values ​​and identity. Connelly's thesis is controversial and some well-known classicists such as Mary Beard, Peter Green and Garry Wheels have either questioned it or simply rejected it.

Early history

Old Parthenon

The initial desire to build a sanctuary of Athena Parthenos on the site of the current Parthenon was realized soon after the Battle of Marathon (ca. 490-488 BC) on a foundation of solid limestone, which was located at the southern part of the top of the Acropolis. This building replaced the Hekatompedon (i.e. "one hundred feet") and stood next to the archaic temple dedicated to Athena Polias. The Old Parthenon, or Pre-Parthenon as it is often called, was still under construction when it was built in 480 BC. e. the Persians sacked the city and destroyed the Acropolis.

The existence of the proto-Parthenon and its destruction is known from Herodotus. The drums of its columns were clearly visible and were built after the load-bearing wall north of the Erechtheion. Further material evidence of this structure was revealed during the excavations of Panagis Kavadias in 1885-1890. Their results allowed Wilhelm Dörpfeld, then director of the German Archaeological Institute, to argue that there was an underground structure in the original Parthenon, called Parthenon I, which was not located exactly below the current building, as previously thought. Dörpfeld's observation was that three of the steps of the first Parthenon were made of limestone, two of which were porous, like the base, and the top step of Carkha limestone, which was covered by the lowest step of Pericles' Parthenon. This platform was smaller and located just north of the final Parthenon, indicating that it was built for an entirely different building, now completely covered. The picture was somewhat complicated by the publication of the final report of the excavations in 1885-1890, which indicated that this underground structure was of the same age as the walls built by Cimon, and implied a later date for the first temple.

Plan of the Parthenon, photo: public domain

If the original Parthenon was indeed destroyed in 480, this raises the question of why the site remained in ruins for thirty-three years. One argument suggests an oath taken by the Greek allies before the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. e., according to which the sanctuaries destroyed by the Persians will not be restored. Only in 450, with the conclusion of the Peace of Callias, did the Athenians free themselves from this oath. The mundane fact about the cost of rebuilding Athens after the Persian sack is not as plausible as its reason. However, Bert Hodge Hill's excavations led him to propose the existence of a second Parthenon, created during the reign of Cimon after 468 BC. e. Hill argued that the Carja limestone step, which Dörpfeld thought was the tallest in Parthenon I, was in fact the lowest of the three steps of Parthenon II, whose stylobate, according to Hill, measured 23.51 by 66.888 meters (77.13 × 219.45 feet).

One of the difficulties in dating the proto-Parthenon is that at the time of the excavations in 1885, the archaeological method of seriation was not fully developed; careless digging and backfilling of the site resulted in the loss of a lot of valuable information. Attempts to discuss and comprehend the clay shards found in the Acropolis were realized in a two-volume work by Graf and Langlotz, published in 1925-1933. This inspired the American archaeologist William Bell Dinsmoor to try to establish extreme dates for the temple platform and its five walls, hidden under the re-terracing of the Acropolis. Dinsmoor concluded that the last possible date for Parthenon I was no earlier than 495 BC. e., which contradicts the earlier date established by Dörpfield. Moreover, Dinsmoor denied the existence of two proto-Parthenons and established that the only temple before the Temple of Pericles was the one Dörpfeld called Parthenon II. In 1935, Dinsmoor and Dorpfield exchanged opinions in the American Journal of Archaeology.

Modern construction

In the middle of the 5th century BC. BC, when the Athenian Acropolis became the seat of the Delian League, and Athens was the greatest cultural center of its time, Pericles initiated an ambitious building project that lasted throughout the second half of the century. During this period, the most important buildings that can be seen on the Acropolis today were built: the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon was built under the general direction of Phidias, who was also responsible for the sculptural decoration. The architects Ictinus and Callicrates began their work in 447 BC. BC, and by 432 the building was completed, but decoration work continued until at least 431. Some financial records survive for the Parthenon, which show that the largest expense was transporting the stones from Mount Pentelikon, about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Athens, to the Acropolis. These funds were partly taken from the treasury of the Delian League, transferred from the Panhellenic sanctuary at Delos to the Acropolis in 454 BC. e.

Architecture

The Parthenon is an octastyle Doric temple surrounded by columns with Ionic architectural features. It stands on a platform or stylobate of three steps. Like other Greek temples, it has a lintel and is surrounded by columns carrying an entablature. At each end there are eight columns ("octastyle"), and on the sides there are seventeen. Also, at each end of the column, there are two rows of columns. The colonnade surrounds an internal stone structure - a cella, divided into two rooms. At both ends of the building, the roof ends in a triangular pediment, originally filled with sculptures. The columns are of the Doric order with a simple capital, fluted shaft and no base. Above the architrave is a frieze of illustrated carved panels (metopes) separated by a triglyph, typical of the Doric order. Around the cella and along the lintels of the internal columns there is a continuous sculptural frieze in the form of bas-relief. This element of architecture is more Ionic than Doric.

Measured on the stylobate, the dimensions of the Parthenon's base are 69.5 by 30.9 meters (228 by 101 ft). The cella was 29.8 meters long and 19.2 meters wide (97.8 x 63.0 ft) with an internal colonnade in two rows, structurally necessary to support the roof. Externally, the Doric columns measured 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in diameter and 10.4 meters (34 ft) in height. The diameter of the corner columns was slightly larger. In total, the Parthenon had 23 internal and 46 external columns, each containing 20 flutes. (A flute is a concave groove carved in the shape of a column). The stylobate had a curvature that increased towards the center by 60 mm (2.4 in) at the east and west ends and 110 mm (4.3 in) at the sides. The roof was covered with large overlapping marble tiles known as tegula and tegula tiles.

© website, in the photo: The Parthenon today, July 2014

The Parthenon is considered the best example of Greek architecture. John Julius Cooper wrote that the temple “enjoys the reputation of being the most perfect Doric temple ever built. Even in antiquity, his architectural improvements were legendary, especially the subtle relationship between the curvature of the stylobates, the inclination of the cella walls and the entasis of the columns." Entasis refers to the slight decrease in the diameter of columns as they rise, although the observed effect in the Parthenon is much more subtle than in earlier temples. Stylobate is a platform on which columns stand. Like many other classical Greek temples, it has a slight parabolic increase in curvature to drain rainwater and strengthen the building against earthquakes. Perhaps this is why the columns were supposed to lean outward, but in fact they leaned slightly inward so that if they continued they would meet almost exactly a mile above the center of the Parthenon; since they are all of the same height, the curvature of the outer edge of the stylobate is transferred to the architrave and the roof: “The whole subsequent principle of construction is based on a slight curvature,” Gorham Stevens noted this when he pointed out that the western façade was built slightly higher than the southern one. It is not universally established what the intended effect of entasis is; it is possible that it served as a kind of “reverse optical illusion.” Because the Greeks may have known that two parallel lines slope, or bend outward, when crossing converging lines. In this case, it seems that the ceiling and floor of the temple are leaning towards the corners of the building. In their quest for perfection, the designers may have added these curves, compensating for the illusion by creating their own curves, thus negating the effect and allowing the temple to be what it was intended to be. It has also been suggested that it was used to “revitalize” a building without curves that would perhaps have the appearance of an inert mass, but the comparison should be with the more obvious curved predecessors of the Parthenon, and not with a conventionally rectilinear temple.

Some studies of the Acropolis, including the Parthenon, have concluded that many of its proportions are close to the golden ratio. The Parthenon's façade, as well as its elements, can be described by a golden rectangle. This view was refuted in later studies.

Sculpture

The cella of the Parthenon housed the chrysoelephantine statue of Athena Parthenos by Phidias, created in 439 or 438 BC. e.

Initially, decorative stonework was very colorful. At that time, the temple was dedicated to Athena, although construction continued almost until the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 432. By 438, the sculptural decoration of the Doric metopes on the frieze above the outer colonnade and the decoration of the Ionic frieze around the top of the cella wall were completed.

The richness of the frieze and metopes is consistent with the temple's purpose as a treasury. The opisthodome (back room of the cella) housed the monetary contributions of the Delian League, of which Athens was a leading member. Today, the surviving sculptures are kept in the Acropolis Museum in Athens and the British Museum in London, and several items are in Paris, Rome, Vienna and Palermo.

Metopes

The frieze of the entablature contains ninety-two metopes, fourteen each on the east and west sides, and thirty-two each on the north and south. They are carved in bas-relief, a practice used only for treasuries (the building was used to store votive gifts to the gods). According to construction documentation, the metope sculptures date back to 446-440 BC. e. The metopes of the Parthenon, above the main entrance, on the eastern side, depict the Gigantomachy (mythical battle between the Olympian gods and the giants). The metopes on the western side show the Amazonomachy (mythical battle of the Athenians against the Amazons), and on the south the Thessalian centauromachy (battle of the Lapiths, aided by Theseus, against the half-human, half-horse centaurs). Metopes 13 to 21 are missing, but drawings attributed to Jacques Curry indicate groups of people; they have been variously interpreted as scenes from the wedding of Lapith, scenes from the early history of Athens and various myths. On the north side of the Parthenon, the metopes are poorly preserved, but the plot resembles the destruction of Troy.

The metopes are exemplified by the strict style in the anatomy of the figures' heads, in the limitation of physical movements to contours but not to the muscles, and in the pronounced veins in the centauromachy figures. Some of them still remain on the building, with the exception of those on the north side, as they are badly damaged. Several metopes are in the Acropolis Museum, others are in the British Museum, and one in the Louvre.

In March 2011, archaeologists announced that they had discovered five Parthenon metopes on the south wall of the Acropolis, which was extended when the Acropolis was used as a fortress. According to the daily newspaper Eleftherotype, archaeologists claimed that the metopes were placed there in the 18th century, when the wall was being restored. Experts discovered the metopes when processing 2,250 photographs using modern photographic methods. They were made from white Pentelic marble, which is different from the other stone on the wall. It was previously assumed that the missing metopes were destroyed during the explosion of the Parthenon in 1687.

© website, in the photo: The Parthenon today, July 2014

Frieze

The most distinctive feature in the architecture and decoration of the temple is the Ionic frieze around the outer walls of the cella (the interior of the Parthenon). The bas-relief frieze was carved at the construction site; it dates back to 442-438 BC. e. One interpretation is that it depicts an idealized version of the procession of the Panathenaic Games from the Dipylon gate at Kerameikos to the Acropolis. This procession, which took place every year, was attended by Athenians and foreigners to honor the goddess Athena by offering sacrifices and new peplos (cloth woven by specially selected noble Athenian maidens).

Joan Breton Connelly offers a mythological interpretation of the frieze, which is in harmony with the rest of the temple's sculptural plan, and shows Athenian genealogy through a series of myths from the distant past. She identifies the central panel above the Parthenon door as the sacrifice made before the battle by the daughter of King Erechtheus, which secured victory over Eumolplus and his Thracian army. A large procession moved towards the eastern part of the Parthenon, displaying a post-battle thanksgiving offering of cattle and sheep, honey and water, following the triumphant army of Erechtheus as it returned victorious. In mythical times, these were the very first Panathenaea, the model on which the historical processions of the Panathenaic Games were based.

Pediments

When the traveler Pausanias visited the Acropolis at the end of the 2nd century AD, he only briefly mentioned the sculptures of the temple pediments (gabel ends), leaving the main place to describe the gold and ivory statue of the goddess that was located inside the temple.

East gable

The east pediment tells the story of the birth of Athena from the head of her father Zeus. According to Greek mythology, Zeus gave life to Athena after a terrible headache prompted him to call Hephaestus (god of fire and blacksmithing) to provide assistance. To ease the pain, he ordered Hephaestus to hit him with a hammer, and when he did this, Zeus's head split open and the goddess Athena came out of it, all dressed in armor. The sculptural composition depicts the moment of the birth of Athena.

Unfortunately, the central part of the pediment was destroyed even before Jacques Curry, who in 1674 created useful documentary drawings, therefore, all restoration work is the subject of assumptions and hypotheses. The main Olympian gods would be standing around Zeus and Athena, watching the miraculous event, probably with Hephaestus and Hera at their side. Kerry's drawings played an important role in restoring the sculptural composition on the north and south sides.

West gable

The western pediment overlooked the Propylaea and depicted the struggle between Athena and Poseidon during their competition for the honor of becoming the patron of the city. They appear in the center of the composition, and diverge from each other in strict diagonal shapes, the goddess holds an olive tree, and the sea god raises his trident to strike the ground. On the sides, they are flanked by two groups of horses pulling chariots, while the space in the sharp corners of the pediment is filled with legendary characters from Athenian mythology.

Work on the pediments continued from 438 to 432 BC. e., and the sculptures on them are considered one of the best examples of classical Greek art. The figures are created in natural movements, and the bodies are full of vital energy that breaks through their flesh, which in turn breaks through their thin clothing. Thin chitons show the lower part of the body as the center of the composition. By placing the sculptures in stone, the sculptors erased the differences between gods and men, and the conceptual relationship between idealism and naturalism. The gables no longer exist.

Drawing of the statue “Athena Parthenos” installed inside the Parthenon

Athena Parthenos

Only one sculpture from the Parthenon is known to belong to the hand of Phidias, a statue of Athena, which was located in the naos. This massive gold and ivory sculpture is now lost. It is known only from copies, vase paintings, jewelry, literary descriptions and coins.

Late period of history

Late Antiquity

In the mid-third century AD, a major fire broke out at the Parthenon, destroying the roof and much of the temple's interior. In the fourth century AD, restoration work was carried out, probably during the reign of Flavius ​​Claudius Julian. To cover the sanctuary, a new wooden roof was laid, covered with clay tiles. It had a greater slope than the original roof, and the wings of the building were left open.

For almost a thousand years, the Parthenon continued to exist as a temple dedicated to Athena, until in 435 AD. e. Theodosius II did not decide to close all pagan temples in Byzantium. In the fifth century, one of the emperors stole the great cult image of Athena and took it to Constantinople, where it was later destroyed, possibly during the siege of Constantinople in 1204 AD. e.

Christian church

In the last decades of the sixth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church, called the Church of Maria Parthenos (Virgin Mary), or the Church of Theotokos (Mother of God). The orientation of the building was changed, turning the facade to the east; The main entrance was moved to the western end of the building, and the Christian altar and iconostasis were located on the eastern side of the building next to the apse, built on the site where the temple's pronaos had previously been located.

A large central entrance with adjacent side doors was made in the wall dividing the cella, which became the church nave, from the back room, the narthex of the church. The gaps between the columns of the opisthodome and peristyle were walled up, however, the number of entrances to the room was sufficient. Icons were painted on the walls, and Christian inscriptions were carved into the columns. These renovations inevitably led to the removal of some sculptures. The images of the gods were either interpreted in accordance with Christian themes, or were confiscated and destroyed.

The Parthenon became the fourth most important site of Christian pilgrimage in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, after Constantinople, Ephesus and Thessalonica. In 1018, Emperor Basil II made a pilgrimage to Athens, immediately after his final victory over the Bulgarians, for the sole purpose of visiting the church at the Parthenon. In medieval Greek records it was called the Temple of the Virgin of Athens (Theotokos Atheniotissa) and was often referred to indirectly as famous, without precisely explaining which temple was meant, thus confirming that it was indeed famous.

During the Latin occupation, for approximately 250 years, it became the Roman Catholic Church of the Virgin Mary. During this period, a tower was built on the southwest corner of the cella, which was used as a watchtower or as a bell tower with a spiral staircase, and also as vaulted tombs under the floor of the Parthenon.

Islamic mosque

In 1456, Ottoman forces invaded Athens and besieged the Florentine army, which defended the Acropolis until June 1458, when the city fell to the Turkish. The Turks quickly restored the Parthenon for continued use as a church by Greek Christians. For some time, before its closure in the fifteenth century, the Parthenon became a mosque.

The exact circumstances under which the Turks took possession of it for use as a mosque are unclear; one source states that Mehmed II ordered its reconstruction as punishment for the Athenian plot against the Ottoman Empire.

The apse, which became a mihrab (a tower built earlier during the Roman Catholic occupation of the Parthenon), was extended upward to make a minaret, a minbar was installed, and the Christian altar and iconostasis were removed, and the walls were whitewashed to cover icons of Christian saints and other Christian images.

Despite the changes that accompanied the Parthenon, conversion into a church and then into a mosque, its structure remains largely unchanged. In 1667, Turkish traveler Evliya Celebi expressed admiration for the Parthenon sculptures and figuratively described the building as “a kind of impregnable fortress not created by man.” He composed poetic prayers: “the work of lesser human hands than Heaven itself must stand for a long time.”

The French artist Jacques Kerry visited the Acropolis in 1674 and made sketches of the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon. In early 1687, an engineer named Plantier painted the Parthenon for the Frenchman Gravi Dortier. These images, especially those made by Kerry, became important evidence of the condition of the Parthenon and its sculptures before the destruction in late 1687 and the subsequent looting of its works.

Destruction of the Parthenon as a result of the explosion of a gunpowder magazine during the Venetian-Turkish War. 1687 Drawing by an unknown artist.

Destruction

In 1687, the Parthenon was badly damaged in the greatest disaster that has ever befallen it in its long history. The Venetians sent an expedition led by Francesco Morosini to attack and capture the Acropolis. The Ottoman Turks fortified the Acropolis and used the Parthenon as a magazine for ammunition - despite the dangers of such use after the 1656 explosion that severely damaged the Propylaea - and to shelter members of the local Turkish community. On September 26, a Venetian mortar fired from the Philopappa Hill blew up the cellar and partially destroyed the building. The explosion smashed the central part of the building into smithereens and caused the cella to collapse. Greek architect and archaeologist Cornelia Hatziaslani writes that “... three of the four walls of the sanctuary almost collapsed and three-fifths of the frieze sculptures fell. It is obvious that no part of the roof remained in place. Six columns fell on the south side and eight on the north, and nothing remained of the eastern portico, except for one column. Along with the columns, a huge marble architrave, triglyphs and menotopes collapsed.” The explosion killed approximately three hundred people, who were buried in marble debris near the Turkish defenders. It also started several large fires that burned until the next day and destroyed many houses.

During the conflict, notes were made as to whether the destruction was intentional or accidental; One of these records belongs to the German officer Zobifolski, which states that a Turkish deserter gave Morosini information about what the Turks were using the Parthenon for, expecting that the Venetians would not target a building of such historical importance. In response, Morosini sent artillery to the Parthenon. Subsequently, he attempted to loot sculptures from the ruins and cause further damage to the building. When the soldiers tried to remove the sculptures of Poseidon and the horses of Athena from the western pediment of the building, they fell to the ground and were broken.

The following year, the Venetians abandoned Athens to avoid confrontation with the large Turkish army assembled at Chalkis; At that time, the Venetians took into account the explosion, after which almost nothing was left of the Parthenon and the rest of the Acropolis, and rejected the possibility of its further use by the Turks as a fortress, but such an idea was not pursued.

After the Turks recaptured the Acropolis, they built a small mosque within the walls of the destroyed Parthenon, using the ruins from the explosion. Over the next century and a half, the remaining parts of the structure were looted for building materials and other valuables.

The 18th century was the period of the “sick man of Europe”; as a result, many Europeans were able to visit Athens, and the picturesque ruins of the Parthenon became the subject of many paintings and drawings, spurring the growth of the philhellenes and helping to awaken British and French sympathy for Greek independence. Among these early travelers and archaeologists were James Stewart and Nicholas Revett, who were commissioned by the Society of Dilettantes to explore the ruins of classical Athens.

They created drawings of the Parthenon, while taking measurements, which in 1787 published in two volumes Antiquities of Athens Measured and Delineated (Antiquities of Athens: Measured and Delineated). In 1801, the British ambassador to Constantinople, the Earl of Elgin, received a dubious firman (decree) from the Sultan, whose existence or legitimacy has not been proven to this day, to make casts and drawings of the antiquities of the Acropolis, and to demolish the last buildings, if necessary examine the antiquities, and remove the sculptures .

Independent Greece

When independent Greece gained control of Athens in 1832, the visible part of the minaret was destroyed; Only its base and the spiral staircase up to the architrave level remained intact. Soon all the medieval and Ottoman buildings built on top of the Acropolis were destroyed. However, Joly de Lotbinière's photograph of a small mosque in the cella of the Parthenon survives, published in Lerbeau's album Excursions Daguerriennes in 1842: the first photograph of the Acropolis. This area became a historical site controlled by the Greek government. Today it attracts millions of tourists every year. They follow the road at the western end of the Acropolis, through the restored Propylaea and up the Panathenaic Way to the Parthenon, which is surrounded by a low fence to prevent damage.

Marble sculpture controversy

The center of the dispute was the marble sculptures taken by the Earl of Elgin from the Parthenon, which are in the British Museum. There are also several sculptures from the Parthenon on display in the Louvre in Paris, in Copenhagen, and elsewhere, but more than fifty percent are in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Some can still be seen on the building itself. Since 1983, the Greek government has been campaigning to return the sculptures to Greece from the British Museum.

The British Museum has steadfastly refused to return the sculptures, and successive British governments have been unwilling to force the museum to do so (which would have required legislative action). However, negotiations between senior representatives of the Greek and British ministries of culture and their legal advisers took place in London on 4 May 2007. These were the first serious negotiations for several years, with hopes that both sides could take a step closer to a resolution.

© website, in the photo: Parthenon columns in scaffolding

Recovery

In 1975, the Greek government began a coordinated effort to restore the Parthenon and other structures on the Acropolis. After some delay, the Committee for the Conservation of Monuments of the Acropolis was created in 1983. The project later attracted funding and technical assistance from the European Union. The archaeological committee carefully documented every artifact remaining there, and with the help of computer models, architects determined their original location. Particularly important and fragile sculptures were transferred to the Acropolis Museum. A crane was installed to move the marble blocks. In some cases, previous reconstructions turned out to be incorrect. Dismantling was carried out, and the restoration process began anew. Originally, the various blocks were held together by elongated iron H-joints, which were completely coated with lead to protect the iron from corrosion. The stabilizing connectors added in the 19th century were less leaded and susceptible to corrosion. Since the product of corrosion (rust) tends to expand, it caused further damage to the already cracked marble. All new metalwork consisted of titanium, a strong, lightweight and corrosion-resistant material.

The Parthenon will not be restored to its pre-1687 condition, but damage from the explosion will be repaired to the extent possible. In the interest of restoring the building's structural integrity (important in this seismic zone) and aesthetic integrity, the broken portions of the column drums and lintels will be filled using precision-cut marble anchored in place. New Pentelic marble from the original quarry is used. Eventually, almost all large pieces of marble will be placed where they originally were, supported, if necessary, by modern materials. Over time, the white repaired parts will become less noticeable compared to the original surfaces that were exposed to weathering.

The ruins rise, which were previously both a pagan temple in honor of the goddess Athena, and a Christian one in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and, finally, a Muslim mosque. Even those who have never been to Greece recognize them at first glance, their photographs are so widely circulated. These are the ruins of one of the most famous temples in the world. Its name is Parthenon.

Temple laying and construction

The ancient Greeks knew how to be grateful. They decided to erect a temple to the patron goddess of their city, as a sign of gratitude for her help in the battle with the Persians at Marathon.

For its construction, they chose the elevated and fortified part of the upper city - the Acropolis, and in 488 a ceremonial foundation was made. The architect of the Parthenon did not choose this place by chance. Previously, there were earlier temples built in honor of other pagan gods.

The size of the previous temples was small, and their construction did not require increasing the area of ​​the upper part of the hill. In this case, it was planned to erect something grandiose, and for this purpose it was necessary to build on the southern side and, having laid lime blocks at its base, raise the edge of the construction site by 7 meters.

The work had been going on for eight years, and the second drum of columns was being built, when the city was captured by the Persians. The fruits of eight years of labor were destroyed in the fire, and construction was not resumed for more than 30 years.

Construction of a new temple

Work continued in 447 BC. Power in Athens then belonged to Pericles, a proud and ambitious ruler. The construction of the temple was part of his plan, as a result of which Athens was to take a leading place, both in the military field and in the economic and cultural fields. The implementation of the plan was also facilitated by the fact that by that time the treasury of the Delian Maritime Union had been moved to the city, which facilitated the solution of financial problems associated with construction. But there really were problems.

History has preserved interesting information. Pericles allocated 450 silver talents from the military budget for the work. The size of the amount can be judged by the fact that the construction of one warship in those years cost one talent. Consequently, the cost of building a temple is comparable to the cost of creating a huge navy of 450 ships. When the scale of the costs became known to the townspeople, they accused Pericles of wastefulness. To this, the ruler replied that he was ready to attribute the costs to his personal account, but in this case he reserves the right to immortalize it on all elements of the structure. The people did not want to cede glory to the ruler and agreed to finance the project from the city treasury.

This question probably arises for everyone who sees an Athenian architectural masterpiece for the first time. The honor of its creation belongs to the outstanding architects, whose names have come down to us - Iktinus and Kallicrates. According to some sources, Karpion and his assistants also took part in the work. The famous sculptor Phidias supervised the general progress of the work, but his main responsibility was the creation of the sculptural decoration of the temple, which, given its enormous size, was a very large-scale task. Thus, when talking about who built the Parthenon, we should mean not just one architect, but a whole group of co-authors.

Changes in the appearance of the temple

It is now difficult to say with complete certainty what the Parthenon looked like in its original appearance. The fact is that throughout his long life he changed his appearance several times. Back in the 2nd century BC, there was a severe fire in the temple, after which significant restoration work was required. Its splendor also suffered from the evil will of its rulers. For example, in 298 BC, Lahar, who ruled at that time and went down in history as an unbridled tyrant, ordered the gold jewelry to be removed from the sculpture of Athena.

The creator of the Parthenon erected a temple in honor of the pagan goddess. But in the history of Greece, a period began that is commonly called Byzantine, and fate would have it that in 426 AD the pagan temple turned into a Christian church. It was originally consecrated in honor of St. Sophia. The architect of the Parthenon did not imagine, of course, that his brainchild was destined to embody all the elements inherent in the architecture of Christian churches, but that is exactly what happened.

Reconstruction of the temple according to Christian canons

According to the tradition established in ancient centuries, the entrance to the pagan temple was on the east side. The architect, when designing the building, took this requirement into account. But according to the canons of Christian architecture, the entrance is always made from the western side, and the altar is placed on the eastern side. This is the law. During the process of rebuilding the temple in accordance with new requirements, an altar apse was built on the site of the previous entrance, and the entrance, accordingly, was moved to the western side. In addition, other changes were made to the layout of the building. A bell tower was erected in the southwestern part of the temple. The completion of the reconstruction was the consecration of the temple in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 662. For almost eight centuries, Christian prayers were offered under its arches, until the city was captured by Turkish troops in 1460.

Temple destruction

Along with the entire country, the Parthenon Temple also experienced difficult times. Greece came under occupation, and the Christian shrine was turned into a Muslim mosque. After 27 years, the Venetian army under the command of F. Morosini tried to storm Athens. In defense, the Turks used the Parthenon as a gunpowder warehouse. This had disastrous consequences for the building. A red-hot cannonball fired from a Venetian cannon pierced the roof and caused a terrible explosion. As a result, the entire central part of the building collapsed. No repair work was carried out after this. To top all the troubles, local residents stole fragments of marble from which they burned lime.

The temple suffered final damage at the beginning of the 19th century. The British Ambassador to the Ottoman Court received permission to export the sculptures preserved there. From then on, for ten years, the creations of ancient Greek sculptors left Athens to become part of the exhibitions of the largest museums in the world.

Restoration of the temple colonnade

In 1928, work began, the goal of which was to install the fallen blocks and columns of the Parthenon in their original place. To carry out the work, a scientific commission was created, which included specialists from different countries. Their collaboration lasted two years. As a result, the northern colonnade was partially restored as designed by the architect of the Parthenon.

What did the temple look like in ancient times? It was built according to the canons of a classical ancient Greek temple - a rectangle surrounded by columns. Despite its massiveness, it looked elegant thanks to the strict thoughtfulness of its layout. The temple was decorated with sculptures of the great Phidias, and in the center stood a thirteen-meter-tall sculpture of the goddess Athena, decorated with gold and ivory.

It is generally accepted that the architect of the Parthenon built a building that is a masterpiece among the buildings of the Doric style. Once upon a time, the Athenian ruler Pericles, convincing uncooperative citizens to fork out money for the construction of the temple, predicted that it would be a source of pride for the Greeks for many, many centuries. Time has proven him right.

25. Temple of the goddess Athena on the Acropolis

The Parthenon - the temple of the goddess Athena - is the largest structure on the Acropolis and the most beautiful creation of Greek architecture. It stands not in the center of the square, but somewhat to the side, so that you can immediately take in the front and side facades and understand the beauty of the temple as a whole. The ancient Greeks believed that the temple with the main cult statue in the center represented the house of the deity.

The Parthenon is the temple of Athena the Virgin (Parthenos), and therefore in its center there was a chrysoelephantine (made of ivory and gold plates on a wooden base) statue of the goddess.

The Parthenon was erected in 447–432 BC. e. architects Ictinus and Callicrates from Pentelic marble. It was located on a four-stage terrace, the size of its base was 69.5 x 30.91 meters. The Parthenon is surrounded on four sides by slender colonnades; gaps of blue sky are visible between their white marble trunks. Entirely permeated with light, it seems airy and light. There are no bright designs on the white columns, as is found in Egyptian temples. Only longitudinal grooves (flutes) cover them from top to bottom, making the temple seem taller and even slimmer. The columns owe their slenderness and lightness to the fact that they taper slightly towards the top. In the middle part of the trunk, completely invisible to the eye, they thicken and therefore seem elastic, more firmly withstanding the weight of the stone blocks. Iktypus and Callicrates, having thought through every smallest detail, created a building that amazes with its amazing proportionality, extreme simplicity and purity of all lines.

Placed on the upper platform of the Acropolis, at an altitude of about 150 meters above sea level, the Parthenon was visible not only from anywhere in the city, but also from numerous ships sailing to Athens. The temple was a Doric peripeter surrounded by a colonnade of 46 columns.

The most famous masters participated in the sculptural design of the Parthenon.

The artistic director of the construction and decoration of the Parthenon was Phidias, one of the greatest sculptors of all time. He is responsible for the overall composition and development of the entire sculptural decoration, part of which he performed himself.

The organizational side of the construction was handled by Pericles, the largest statesman of Athens.

The entire sculptural design of the Parthenon was intended to glorify the goddess Athena and her city - Athens. The theme of the eastern pediment is the birth of Zeus's beloved daughter. On the western pediment the master depicted a scene of a dispute between Athena and Poseidon for dominance over Attica. According to the myth, Athena won the dispute and gave the inhabitants of this country an olive tree.

The gods of Greece, the thunderer Zeus, the mighty ruler of the seas Poseidon, the wise warrior Athena, and the winged Nike gathered on the pediments of the Parthenon. The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon was completed by a frieze, which depicted a solemn procession during the festival of the Great Panathenaia. This frieze is considered one of the pinnacles of classical art. Despite all its compositional unity, it amazed with its diversity. Of the more than 500 figures of young men, elders, girls, on foot and on horseback, not one repeated the other; the movements of people and animals were conveyed with amazing dynamism.

The figures of the sculptural Greek relief are not flat, they have the volume and shape of the human body. They differ from statues only in that they are not processed on all sides, but seem to merge with the background formed by the flat surface of the stone.

Light colors enlivened the Parthenon marble. The red background emphasized the whiteness of the figures, the narrow vertical projections that separated one slab of the frieze from the other stood out clearly in blue, and the gilding shone brightly. Behind the columns, on a marble ribbon encircling all four facades of the building, a festive procession was depicted.

There are almost no gods here, and people, forever imprinted in stone, moved along the two long sides of the building and united on the eastern facade, where a solemn ceremony took place to present the priest with a robe woven by Athenian girls for the goddess. Each figure is characterized by its unique beauty, and all together they accurately reflect the true life and customs of the ancient city.

Indeed, once every five years, on one of the hot days of mid-summer, a nationwide celebration took place in Athens in honor of the birth of the goddess Athena. It was called the Great Panathenaia. Not only citizens of the Athenian state, but also many guests took part in it. The celebration consisted of a solemn procession (pump), the bringing of a hecatomb (100 head of cattle) and a common meal, sports, equestrian and musical competitions. The winner received a special, so-called Panathenaic amphora filled with oil, and a wreath made from the leaves of the sacred olive tree growing on the Acropolis.

The most solemn moment of the holiday was the national procession to the Acropolis.

Riders on horses were moving, statesmen, warriors in armor and young athletes were walking. Priests and nobles walked in long white robes, heralds loudly praised the goddess, musicians filled the still cool morning air with joyful sounds. Along the zigzag Panathenaic road, trampled by thousands of people, sacrificial animals climbed the high hill of the Acropolis. The boys and girls carried with them a model of the sacred Panathenaic ship with a peplos (veil) attached to its mast. A light breeze fluttered the bright fabric of the yellow-violet robe, which was carried as a gift to the goddess Athena by the noble girls of the city.

For a whole year they wove and embroidered it. Other girls raised sacred vessels for sacrifices high above their heads.

Gradually the procession approached the Parthenon. The entrance to the temple was made not from the Propylaea, but from the other, as if so that everyone would first walk around, examine and appreciate the beauty of all parts of the beautiful building. Unlike Christian churches, ancient Greek ones were not intended for worship inside them; the people remained outside the temple during religious activities.

In the depths of the temple, surrounded on three sides by two-tiered colonnades, the famous statue of the Virgin Athena, created by the famous Phidias, stood proudly. Her clothes, helmet and shield were made of pure sparkling gold, and her face and hands shone with the whiteness of ivory.

Many book volumes have been written about the Parthenon, among them there are monographs about each of its sculptures and about each step of gradual decline from the time when, after the decree of Theodosius I, it became a Christian temple. In the 15th century, the Turks turned it into a mosque, and in the 17th century, into a gunpowder warehouse. It was turned into final ruins by the Turkish-Venetian war of 1687, when a Venetian artillery shell hit it and in one moment did what all-consuming time could not do in 2000 years.

The famous ancient Greek temple, the Parthenon, is located on the famous Acropolis of Athens. This main temple in Ancient Athens is a magnificent monument of ancient architecture. It was built in honor of the patroness of Athens and all of Attica - the goddess Athena.

The construction date of the Parthenon is considered to be 447 BC. It was installed thanks to the found fragments of marble tablets, on which the city authorities presented resolutions and financial reports. Construction lasted 10 years. The temple was consecrated in 438 BC. on the festival of Panathenaia (which translated from Greek means “for all Athenians”), although work on decorating and decorating the temple was carried out until 431 BC.

The initiator of the construction was Pericles, an Athenian statesman, famous commander and reformer. The design and construction of the Parthenon was carried out by the famous ancient Greek architects Ictinus and Kallikrates. The decoration of the temple was made by the greatest sculptor of those times - Phidias. High quality Pentelic marble was used for the construction.

The building was built in the form of a peripterus (a rectangular structure surrounded by columns). The total number of columns is 50 (8 columns on the facades and 17 columns on the sides). The ancient Greeks took into account that straight lines are distorted at a distance, so they resorted to some optical techniques. For example, the columns do not have the same diameter along the entire length; they taper somewhat towards the top, and the corner columns are also inclined towards the center. Thanks to this, the structure seems ideal.

Previously, in the center of the temple there was a statue of Athena Parthenos. The monument was about 12 m high and made of gold and ivory on a wooden base. In one hand the goddess held a statue of Nike, and with the other she leaned on a shield, near which the serpent Erichthonius was curled up. On Athena's head there was a helmet with three large crests (the middle one with the image of a sphinx, the side ones with griffins). The scene of Pandora's birth was carved on the pedestal of the statue. Unfortunately, the statue has not survived to this day and is known from descriptions, images on coins and a few copies.

Over many centuries, the temple was attacked more than once, a significant part of the temple was destroyed, and historical relics were looted. Today, some parts of the masterpieces of ancient sculptural art can be seen in famous museums around the world. The main part of the magnificent works of Phidias was destroyed by people and time.

Restoration work is currently underway; reconstruction plans include maximum recreation of the temple in its original form in ancient times.

The Parthenon, part of the Acropolis of Athens, is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Parthenon is one of the most famous monuments of ancient architecture. This 2,500-year-old magnificent temple on the Acropolis in Athens has survived earthquakes, fires, explosions and repeated looting attempts. And although the Parthenon was in no way an engineering breakthrough in construction, its style became the paradigm of classical architecture.

1. Acropolis in Athens

Sacred rock.

The Acropolis in Athens, where the Parthenon is located, is also called the "sacred rock" and was used for defensive purposes.

2. Cultural layers

Ancient history of the Parthenon.

Cultural layers discovered on the slopes of the Acropolis indicate that there were settlements on the hill since 2800 BC, that is, long before the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures.

3. The Acropolis was a sacred place

The Acropolis is a sacred place.

Long before the construction of the Parthenon, the Acropolis was a sacred place and there were other temples on it. The Parthenon replaced the old Temple of Athena, which was destroyed during the Persian invasion in 480 BC.

4. House Parthenos

House of Parthenos.

The name "Parthenon" is derived from one of the many epithets of Athena (Athena Parthenos), and it means ""house of Parthenos"". This name was given to the temple in the 5th century BC because a cult statue of Athena was installed inside it.

5. Construction of the Parthenon

Construction of the Parthenon.

Construction of the Parthenon began in 447 BC. and was completed in 438 BC, but the final decoration of the temple continued until 432 BC.

6. Ictinus, Callicrates and Phidias

Ictinus, Callicrates and Phidias are the architects of the Parthenon.

The Parthenon, which was built by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates under the supervision of the sculptor Phidias, is considered by most modern architects and historians to be the highest expression of ancient Greek architectural genius. The temple is also considered the culmination of the development of the Doric order, the simplest of the three classical Greek architectural styles.

7. 192 Greek warriors

192 Greek warrior heroes.

Several modern historians (including art historian John Boardman) believe that the frieze above the Doric columns of the Parthenon depicts the 192 Greek soldiers who died at the Battle of Marathon against the Persians in 490 BC.

8. Stones from Pentelikon

Stones from Pentelikon.

Some of the financial records of the construction of the Parthenon have been preserved, which show that the largest expense was the transportation of stones from Pentelikon, which was located sixteen kilometers from the Acropolis of Athens.

9. The Greek government and the EU have been restoring the Parthenon for 42 years

Restoration of the Parthenon.

The Parthenon restoration project (which is funded by the Greek government and the European Union) has been ongoing for 42 years. It took the ancient Athenians only 10 years to build the Parthenon.

10. 12-meter statue of the goddess Athena

Statue of the goddess Athena.

The rectangular building, 31 meters wide and 70 meters high, was built of white marble. Surrounded by forty-six columns stood a 12-meter statue of the goddess Athena, made of wood, gold and ivory.

11. Tyrant Lahar

Tyrant Lahar.

Although much of the structure remains intact, the Parthenon has suffered significant damage over the centuries. It all started in 296 BC, when the Athenian tyrant Lacharus removed the gold covering from the statue of Athena in order to pay the debt of his army.

12. In the fifth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church

The Parthenon became a church.

In the fifth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church, and in 1460 a Turkish mosque was located in the Parthenon. In 1687, the Ottoman Turks placed a gunpowder warehouse in the temple, which exploded when the temple was shelled by the Venetian army. At the same time, part of the temple turned into ruins.

13. 46 external columns and 23 internal

Columns of the Parthenon.

The Parthenon had 46 outer columns and 23 inner columns, but not all remain today. In addition, the Parthenon used to have a roof (it currently does not).

14. The Parthenon's design is earthquake resistant

Earthquake resistant design.

The Parthenon's design is earthquake-resistant, even though the temple's columns are quite thin.

15. The Parthenon was used as a city treasury

The Parthenon as a city treasury.

The Parthenon was also used as the city's treasury, like many other Greek temples of the era.

16. The construction of the Parthenon was not financed by the Athenians.

Parthenon as a national project.

Even though the Parthenon is the most popular Athenian building of all time, its construction was not financed by the Athenians. After the end of the Persian Wars, Athens became, in 447 BC, the dominant power in what is now Greece. Funds for the construction of the temple were taken from the tribute paid to Athens by other city-states of the Delian League.

17. Delhi League deposits were kept in an opisthodome

Opisthodom is a place where cash deposits are stored.

The money deposits of the Delian League, which was ruled by Athens, were kept in the opisthodome - the rear closed part of the temple.

18. The Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Temple of Nike were built over the ruins of the Acropolis.

Ancient new buildings.

During the "classical period" not only the Parthenon, but also the Erechtheion and the Temple of Nike were built over the ruins of the Acropolis.

19. The first theater in history

Theater of Dionysus - the first theater in history

Besides these structures, another important monument at the foot of the Acropolis is the "Theater of Dionysus", which is considered to be the first theater in history.

20. The Parthenon had a multi-colored facade

Facade of the Parthenon.

While modern media depicts Greek temples and structures with a white facade, the Parthenon most likely had a multi-colored facade. The paint has worn off over the centuries.

21. The Parthenon appeared thanks to Pericles

Pericles is the initiator of the construction of the Parthenon.

Pericles was probably the most outstanding Athenian statesman in history. It was thanks to him that the city got the Parthenon.

22. Temple sculptures were sold to the British Museum

The Parthenon sculptures are in the British Museum.

From 1801 to 1803, part of the remaining sculptures of the temple were taken away by the Turks (who controlled Greece at that time). These sculptures were subsequently sold to the British Museum.

23. A full-scale replica of the Parthenon is located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Copy of the Parthenon.

The Parthenon is the most copied building in the world. There are many buildings around the world that were created in the same style. There is also a full-size replica of the Parthenon located in Nashville, Tennessee.

24. The opening of the Acropolis Museum took place in 2009

Acropolis Museum.

More than half a million people visited the new Acropolis Museum within the first two months of its opening in 2009.

25. Golden Rectangle of the Parthenon

Golden Rectangle of the Parthenon.

A rectangle's length to width ratio of 1.618 was considered most pleasing to the eye. This ratio was called the "golden ratio" by the Greeks. In the world of mathematics, this number is called "phi" and it was named after the Greek sculptor Phidias, who used the golden ratio in his sculptures. From the outside, the Parthenon is a perfect “golden rectangle”.