Sacred Sites: The Parthenon

KEY WORKS: The Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, classical Greece, 447-438 BCE,
architects: Iktinos and Kallikrates, sculptor: Phidias

TERMS: Pericles, Persian War, Delian League, acropolis, agora, Athena

Parthenos, peripteral temple, Greek orders (Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian), naos, stereobate, stylobate, entasis, metope,
pediment, frieze, Lord Elgin and the “Elgin Marbles,” cultural
property

BEFORE CLASS: Read the detailed notes below about the historical and cultural
context and particular features of this building and its broader site.

LECTURE OBJECTIVES/ BIG IDEA:

We are considering the Parthenon from ancient Athens at a key point, having just
concluded our unit on Power and Authority, and beginning a new one on art and
sacred experience. This site in many respects intersects both categories. For
the Parthenon and for the upcoming sacred sites that we explore, think about the
following:

• Visual experience and bodily movement – how are these encouraged or

directed at each site?
• How is sacred space marked off, differentiated from the mundane world?
• How do the spiritual and secular purposes of a site intersect?
• How does the built environment aspire toward a connection between the
natural and supernatural, the human and divine?
• How do particular religious structures interact with the broader
environment in which they are located or placed?
• What is the connection between the physical environments and objects
that humans create and the immaterial, mysterious, and ineffable inherent
in faith?
• How is the interplay of interior and exterior space negotiated?
• Who has access to sacred spaces? How is accessibility, or
inaccessibility, articulated? This relates to our earlier interest in visibility
and invisibility.

For the Parthenon in particular, we will be considering the emphasis placed on

aesthetic and visual experience, the privileging of human perception and human
experience. Why is such intense emphasis placed on proportion, mathematical
harmony and ratios? On visual refinement? What is refinement and why is it
central to a broader understanding of the purpose and operation of art? Finally,
the case of the Parthenon sculptural decorations – the Elgin Marbles – enables
us to consider cultural property. Why were these monumental art works moved
from Athens to London? Why was a museum created to house them? What are
the ethical implications of this historical event in the life of these artworks? Why
are these ethical questions relevant today?

+++++++++++++++

The Parthenon, perched atop the Acropolis in the city of Athens, is one of the most
famous landmarks of ancient Greece. The Acropolis is the elevated hill that served as
the central, sacred precinct, separated from yet overlooking the city streets below. It and
the temple structures built atop it are omnipresent, always visible, an orienting point.
The Parthenon is considered to be the most significant structure located on the
Acropolis, but it is one of several temples and shrines.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Athens rose to political prominence in the 5 th century BCE, emerging as one of the most
powerful Greek city-states (polis). The Greek city-states were engaged in a protracted
war with Persia between 499 and 449 BCE (during the reigns of Darius the Great and
his successor, Xerxes I). The Persians sacked Athens and destroyed the sacred
temples located on the Acropolis. The Athenians were invaded, violated, and defeated.
Eventually, an alliance of Greek city-states (the Delian League) was able to repel and
defeat the Persians and a period of relative peace and prosperity ensued.

In Athens, Pericles is elected leader. His reign (around 461 – 429 BCE) is associated
with the “Classical” period – the flowering of Athenian culture. Pericles initiates an
immense building campaign with the goal to usher in a new golden age. Most important
was the re-building of the temples on the Acropolis to replace those that were destroyed
and thus signify Athenian resilience and renewed strength. A significant dedication of
resources and talent was deployed to ensure that the new structures would serve as a
testament to Athenian power and superiority and the breadth of ‘civilization.’ This
campaign was funded in large part by taxes paid to Athens by the other Greek city-
states in exchange for naval protection. Through the Parthenon and other temples
rebuilt on this site, the glory of Athens became tangible. It is important to note, too, that
at this time, Athens defines its identity through cultural as well as political ideals. The
Parthenon is often regarded as evidence of Athenian appreciation for the role of
aesthetic experience, and their interest in philosophy, intellectual endeavor and the
centrality of perception to human experience.

The Basics

- We know the names of the architects of the Parthenon: Iktinos and Kallikrates.
And the extensive sculptural work that adorns the building was executed under the
direction of Phidias. (This is unusual for the ancient world. Prizing the social role
artistic talent played, the Greeks felt it was important to record the names of artists
and architects for posterity.)
- The Parthenon is a temple dedicated to the patron god of the city: Athena
Parthenos.
The Parthenon
In the photo above, you are standing in the agora – the main central marketplace and
public square of ancient Athens. It’s important to start below, at ground and street level,
to get a sense of how this building and its complex would have been experienced by the
citizens of Athens, stressing the importance placed on procession and visual experience.
The Parthenon appears far above you, crowning the hill. From the city below,
worshippers would have to ascend a winding path up to the gateway of the Acropolis,
the sacred precinct.

The Acropolis:

There are three major structures on the Acropolis:

The Parthenon, main temple.

The Erectheum, a smaller

temple

The Propylaea – the ceremonial

gateway and threshold
The Parthenon was erected on the site where the gods Poseidon and Athena were said
to have battled for control over the city. This took the form of a competition. Each would
provide a gift to the Athenian people who would choose the winner. Poseidon struck
down his trident on the hill and a salt water spring came forth. Athena gave an olive
tree. Choosing the olive tree over the spring, the Athenians designated Athena as their
patron.

Scholars have considered what seems to be the relative disorder and random planning
of the Acropolis. There is no clear axis and the buildings do not appear to align with one
another. This is due, in part, to the fact that very particular sites atop the hill (the
location of the original olive tree, for example) dictated the positioning of the various
shrines and temples. But more than this, scholars have identified a Greek interest in an
ambulatory vision and how the experience of the sacred site was shaped by a series of
shifting views and perspectives, how the site is experienced partially, contingent on the
mobility of the observer who is continuously readjusting their position.

The Parthenon
The Parthenon is a “peripteral temple.” This means it is encircled on all sides by a
colonnade that encloses a central structure. The proportions of the colonnade in Greek
temples were fundamentally important. A 4:9 ration was always followed. As evident in
the plan of the Parthenon above, there are 8 columns on the short east and west sides
of the building, and 17 columns on the long sides. (The long end of a peripteral temple
colonnade is double the number of columns on the short end, plus one.)

Commensurability is a key feature of Greek art and architecture, as we’ll see when we
study Greek sculpture later in the semester. Why is there such an exacting attention to
mathematical proportion?

The Interior

The interior of the Parthenon consists of two chambers. The first was a treasury (and
this relates to the political function of the structure). This is where the Athenians
collected and safeguarded the wealth that was distributed to them by other members of
the Delian League, the group of Greek city-states. The larger chamber was the main
sanctuary, the naos, where a massive cult state of Athena was housed:
 The cult statue of Athena was made by Phidias
and is chryselephantine, meaning it was
carved from gold and ivory. Consider the work’s
scale and the precious value of these materials.
The work was a considerable technical feat and
thus also served as a significant indicator of the
wealth and status of Athens. Extreme wealth
and prestige was communicated here. Phidias
also carved a chryselephantine statue of the god
Zeus for his temple at Olympia and the latter
work was considered to be one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world. Very few people
would have ever entered the Parthenon’s naos.
This inner sanctum was reserved for priests and
high officials. Most Athenians would have
worshipped and congregated before the
structure, engaging in ritual activity with the
building as a backdrop. For this reason, much
attention was given to the exterior appearance
and decoration or the building, which is
discussed below.

Consider the plan of the Parthenon at left that roots the

building in relation to the larger sacred site. Note that the
building appears to be ‘backward’ – the main sanctuary
(naos) is entered through what we would consider the
‘back’ of the building. The façade that faces the Propylaea
(the site’s entrypoint) contains the treasury. In order for
the high priests and officials to enter the shrine and
provide offerings to the cult statue, they would have had
to completely circumnavigate the building. The
positioning of the cult statue in this way was necessary –
Athena here faces east.

Think about our discussion of David Summer’s definition

of Place and his interest in orientation.
Visual Refinements

There are a series of highly sophisticated visual refinements evident when one carefully
measures the Parthenon, many of which are not immediately evident to the naked eye.

The photograph at left demonstrates a very

slight curving of the stereobate of the building
(the building’s base). The diagram
exaggerates these modifications to give you a
sense of how this works. All horizontal
members of the building arch slightly upward
and bend. This was very difficult to achieve,
technically. Each individual block of marble
block would have to be specially carved for its
specific place. This gives the appearance of
the building hugging the earth. The building
conveys a responsiveness to gravity, a
responsiveness to its site.

If you look directly at the façade, the columns have also been subtly manipulated.
As the diagram shows, there is a slight inward tilting of columns which achieves the
affect of stability and compactness. In addition, the columns that are closest to the
corners are more narrowly spaced (closer together) than those in the middle, and the
columns at the ends (corners of the building), are slightly wider in circumference than the
others. Scholars have argued that these refinements “correct” for the appearance of
sunlight wrapping around the building here and seemingly dematerializing the column’s
width. Subconsciously, these refinements also provide a sense that there is more
support at the corners where the structure needs it. Also, the columns bulge slightly
about 2/3 of the way up; they are not completely straight but their width varies. This
bulging is called entasis. It provides a muscular elasticity to the structure, and, as some
have argued, a human, organic quality. The building itself seems to bear its own weight,
like muscles bulging to support the heavy roof.

The Greeks devised a language of architectural orders that is still in use today: the
Doric, Ionic and Corinthian:

It was believed that different orders communicate a different aesthetic sense. The
easiest way to identify these is to look at the capitals of the columns. The Doric has a
simple top that rounds just slightly to support the weight of the entablature. The Ionic
capital consists of more delicate (and, according to the Greeks, feminine) volutes or
scrolls. The Corinthian capital consists of acanthus leaves. It was developed later than
the other two and is considered to be the most elegant. The Doric order was chosen for
the Parthenon, the strength and fortitude of Athena herself legible in this more austere
form.

Greek architects
continuously strove for the
ideal, for perfection,
reconsidering proportions
and ratios, devising new
formulas, and altering
existing forms. The chart
at left demonstrates the
evolution of the Doric
order which became more
slim and elegant in
appearance connoting
more grace as the
centuries progressed.

For architectural historians, Greek architecture in general (and the Parthenon in

particular) responds to human scale and human proportion. It is a responsive
architecture they describe as achieving a sense of monumentality without being
overwhelming.

The British Museum itself as an institution was founded in London in the 18th century in
part to house an enormous collection of sculptural work that was taken from the ruined
site of the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin. In more recent years, the Greek
government has constructed a museum in Athens and is earnestly seeking the
repatriation of these art works. This will afford us an opportunity to consider cultural
property in our discussion. The extensive sculptural decoration that was created for
the Parthenon has come to be known as the “Elgin Marbles.”

Sculpture at the Parthenon

The sculptural program was undertaken by Phidias and his extensive workshop. Much
care and consideration was given to the scenes that adorn the exterior of the building.
The legibility of the building for the Athenian citizen was important here. It is important to
consider what these sculptural groupings depict – their content – when determining the
fundamental meaning of this building for the citizens of Athens.

The diagrams below show the location of the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon:
Metopes: square relief panels on the entablature of the building – circle the building on
all four sides. There are 92 metopes in total and they depict the Battle of the Gods and
Giants on one side, the Battle between Greeks and Amazons, the Sack of Troy (this is
debated by scholars), and the Battle of Lapiths and the Centaurs.

Pediments: the triangular areas that crown the facades on the east and west sides of
the building. There are two. The east side depicts the Birth of Athena (who sprang forth
from the head of Zeus), and the west side shows the competition between Poseidon and
Athena for Athens.

Frieze: a continuous relief that wraps around the exterior of the building behind and
visible through the colonnade. This depicts a procession of Athenian citizens who
approach the gods who sit at the east end and receive the objects and animals that are
brought for sacrifice. (There is scholarly debate about the precise procession that is
depicted here. See below.)
 This is one of the more famous
metopes from the Parthenon. It
depicts a Lapith (an early Greek tribe
that lived in the region of Thessaly)
battling a centaur. The theme here is
commonly understood to be the
triumph of the forces of order and
civilization over chaos and barbarism.

Part of the broad goal of Greek

civilization was tied to their faith in
human creative ability to discern
order and harmony in a chaotic
world, and to overcome the irrational
and disordered. There is political
meaning here, too. Remember that
the Parthenon was built in part as a
victory monument, celebrating the
Greek defeat of the Persians which
they conveyed as a triumph of
civilization over barbarism. This
central idea was expressed in the
other metopes as well: the Greeks
over the Amazons, the humans over
the Giants.

The sculptural decoration of temple pediments posed particular challenges for Greek
sculptors over the generations – how to depict a cohesive narrative in the tight confines
of a narrow triangle. The pediments of the Parthenon are over 90’ long, and at the
center about 11’ high. Phidias solves this through a dramatic composition, a
combination of standing, sitting and then reclining figures:
Phidias’ work here is often regarded as one of the highpoints of classical Greek
sculpture. The Birth of Athena scene in the east pediment depicts varying degrees of
awareness among the gathered gods. Figures only gradually become cogizant of the
significant event that takes place, which adds a sense of revelation, discovery and
narrative temporality. Forms flow naturally into each other, and the figures at the far left
and right ends of the composition possess a sense of casual ease. As the eye moves
toward the center, the figures become increasingly animated.

Phidias’ sculptural work here has been celebrated because it is said to capture a
subjective spirit, conveying process and change – the flux of human experience.
Eliminating any sense of hard edges, his works convey a state of grace, with the
sculptural figures breaking free from the solidity of the marble block out of which they
were carved. He is able to capture subtle, almost indiscernible transitions.

One of most famous groupings depicts three goddesses. The subtlety of transition is
evident here with one figure aware of the event transpiring behind her, her head already
turned. The middle figure is only just becoming cognizant, her right shoulder beginning
to open outward. The third figure is still in full repose her attention directed elsewhere.
At this time, Phidias’ workshop was known for its “wet drapery” style – the fabric clinging
to the body giving it presence and form, the anatomy and movement made visible. The
deep curves and tensions of the drapery folds add a heightened sense of energy to the
work as a whole.
The last portion of the external sculptural decoration of the Parthenon is the extensive
frieze that wraps around the building:

Observers would have had to look up at the work at a steep angle as it was positioned
just under the roof-line. Taking this into consideration, the sculptors carved the upper
portions of the frieze more deeply. The frieze is 3’5” high and 524’ long. Consider the
unfolding of the narrative here, the sense of movement and temporal progression and
compare this to our investigation of the continuous frieze along the Column of Trajan or
the Bayeux Tapestry. How would the viewing experience of the Parthenon frieze have
differed from that of these other works?

There is a degree of scholarly debate about what, exactly, the frieze depicts. The
traditional interpretation is that the Panathenaic procession is represented, an event that
took place every four years. Originating in the city below, citizens processed up to the
Parthenon to deliver a peplos, or garment, to Athena as a gift. Hence the scenes depict
a regular, contemporary event. (The chart shown above illustrates this theory.) A newer
theory argues that the frieze depicts an episode from the mythological history of Athens,
when the daughter of a king offers to die to save the city and is joined in her death pact
by two of her sisters. Regardless, all agree that the frieze primarily depicts a procession,
a formal ritual that most likely depicts mortal Athenians. This is important -- mortal
humans are represented on the temple. They join the deities.

In the frieze, the first scenes depict riders preparing the horses before the procession.
As the work proceeds from the west end of the building toward the east, the pace
accelerates, and becomes more active. The horses begin to charge. As the destination
point draws closer, individuals walk and the pace slows.
A more reverential mood overtakes the observers, and a more solemn pace, as they
near the end. While each figure is individualized, many convey a mood of aloof
disengagement in their expression (a characteristic of Greek art in the classical period).

Finally, it is important to note that like the Column of Trajan, the exterior decorations of
the Parthenon (and all Greek structures) would have been brightly painted in bold colors.
This would have enabled the details of the scenes to be read more easily and would
have animated the buildings in ways that are difficult for us to imagine now that we are
accustomed to seeing these fragments of Greek art and architecture in their pure white
marble form.
Finally, Greek art and architecture, particularly that of the classical period, has been
celebrated historically as an origin point for western civilization in part due to the
confidence legible in it, the sense that:

humans can shape the world

the ideal can be made manifest through human action and creative endeavor
the irrational and chaotic can be overcome by conscious effort, and
human institutions and human perceptions are valuable, providing an ability to
interpret experience and establish values.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Biers, William R., The Archaeology of Greece: An Introduction, rev. ed. (Ithaca: Cornell
University Press, 1987), pp. 193-200, 218-229.

Pollitt, J.J., Art and Experience in Classical Greece (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1989), pp. 64-110.

Wilkins, David G., Bernard Schultz, and Katheryn M. Linduff, Art Past Art Present, 6th ed.
(Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2009), pp. 84-91.