THE GREEK ARCHITECTURE

THE PARTHENON THE GREATEST TEMPLE

The parthenon, Acropolis,Athens (marble)
On the summit of the Acropolis at the Athens stands the Parthenon, the greatest temple built by the Greek and the prototype for all classical building thereafter. When the pericles rebuilt the Acropolis later in fifth century B.C.E . Athens was at its zenith, with the Parthenon as its crowning glory. The parthenon exemplifies Greek classical architecture. Balance results from geometric symmetry, and the clean, simple lines repreasent a perfect balance of forces holding the composition together. For the Greeks, deities were only slightly superior to mortals and in the Greek temple, deity and humanity met an earthly rendezvous. This human-centered philosophy shows in the scale of the temple.

In plan, the Parthenon has short sides slightly less than half the length of the long sides. Its interior, or naos, divided into two parts, housed a 40-foot(12 meter) high ivory and gold statue of Athena. The temple has peripteral form (surrounded by a single row of columns). A specific convention determined the number of columns across the front and along the sides of the temple. The intenal harmony of the design rests in the regular repetition of virtually unvaried forms. All the columns appear to be alike and spaced equidistantly. But at the corners the spacing adjusts to give a sense of grace and perfect balance , while preventing the monotony of unvaried repetition.

A great deal has been written about the "refinements" of Parthenon-those  features that seem to be intentional departures from strict  geomatric regularity. The slight  bulge of the horizontal  elements compensates for the eye's tendency to see a downward sagging when all elements are straight and parallel. Each column swells toward the middle by about 7 inches( 18 centimeters), to compensate for the tendecy of parallel vertical lines to appear to curve inward. We call this sweilling entasis.

The columns also tilt inward slightly at the top, in order to appear perpendicular. The stylobate rises toward the center so as not appear to sag under the immense weight of the stone columns and roof. Even the white marble, which in other circumstances might appear stark, may have been chosen to reflect the intense Athenian sunlight. Parts of the temple ware brightly painted.

Refference :
Book : Sporre, Dennis J, 2005. The Creative Impulse An Introduction to the Arts. Seventh Edition. 2005.Florance : Pearson Prentice Hall.

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