The Parthenon is one of the most famous monuments of ancient architecture. This 2,500-year-old magnificent temple on the Acropolis of Athens has survived earthquakes, fires, explosions and repeated looting attempts. While the Parthenon was by no means an engineering breakthrough, 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.

The cultural layers found on the slopes of the Acropolis indicate that there were settlements on the hill from 2800 BC, that is, long before the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures.

3. The Acropolis Was a Sacred Site

Acropolis is a sacred place.

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

4. House of Parthenos

House of the Parthenos.

The name "Parthenon" is derived from one of the many epithets of Athena (Athena Parthenos), which 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.

The 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. Iktinos, Callicrates and Phidias

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

The Parthenon, which was built by the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates 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 over the Doric columns of the Parthenon depicts the 192 Greek warriors who fell 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 survived, which show that the largest expense was the transportation of stones from Pentelikon, which was located sixteen kilometers from the Athenian Acropolis.

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

Restoration of the Parthenon.

The Parthenon restoration project (funded by the Greek government and the European Union) has been going on 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 most of the structure remained intact, the Parthenon suffered significant damage over the centuries. It all started in 296 BC, when the Athenian tyrant Lachares removed the gold covering from the statue of Athena in order to pay off the debt of his army.

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

Was 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 Venetian army shelled the temple. 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 of them have survived today. In addition, the Parthenon used to have a roof (it currently does not).

14. The design of the Parthenon is earthquake resistant

Earthquake resistant design.

The design of the Parthenon is earthquake resistant, despite the fact that 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 a city treasury, like many other Greek temples of that era.

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

Parthenon as a national project.

Despite being the most popular Athenian building of all time, the Parthenon was not financed by the Athenians. After the end of the Persian wars, Athens became in 447 BC the dominant power in the territory of modern 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 Delian League Monetary Deposits Were Stored In The Opisthodome

An opisthodom is a place where deposits are kept.

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

18. The Parthenon, the 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

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

20. The Parthenon had a colorful façade

Facade of the Parthenon.

While modern media depict Greek temples and structures with a white façade, the Parthenon most likely had a multicolored façade. The paint has worn off over the centuries.

21. Parthenon appeared thanks to Pericles

Pericles - the initiator of the construction of the Parthenon.

Pericles was probably the most prominent Athenian statesman in history. It was thanks to him that the Parthenon appeared near the city.

22. Temple sculptures were sold to the British Museum

The sculptures of the Parthenon are in the British Museum.

From 1801 to 1803 some of the remaining temple sculptures were taken out by the Turks (who controlled Greece at the 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.

Over half a million people visited the new Acropolis Museum in the first two months after it opened in 2009.

25. Golden rectangle of the Parthenon

The Golden Rectangle of the Parthenon.

The length to width ratio of a rectangle of 1.618 was considered the 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. Outside, the Parthenon is a perfect "golden rectangle".

The Parthenon Temple is one of the symbols of Greece, a monument of ancient architecture, located in the central part of the Acropolis of Athens.

The Parthenon is an ancient temple, the main symbol of the capital of Greece, Athens and the whole country. Together with other buildings of the Acropolis of Athens, the Parthenon is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple is dedicated to the patroness of the city, Athena the virgin, who is also considered the patroness of all of Attica - the area around the city.

Translated from the ancient Greek Parthenon means "pure", "virgin". Athena was awarded this epithet for her virginity, which was one of the fundamental qualities of the goddess. Scientists believe that the Christian cult of the Virgin Mary subsequently grew out of the cult of the warrior maiden Athena.

The temple is located in the center of the Athenian Acropolis - the upper city of Athens. The Acropolis of Athens is a hill in the center of the city, which is a rock 150 m above sea level with a gentle top. On the upper platform of the acropolis, measuring 300 m by 170 m, various temples, palaces and sculptures have been located since archaic times.

Architecture of the Parthenon

Thanks to the developed culture of the Athenian polis, history has conveyed to this day the names of the people who built the temple. The one who built the Parthenon is told by the marble tablets on which the city authorities wrote down their decrees. The author of the project is the architect Iktin, the architect Kallikrates supervised the construction of the temple, the great sculptor Phidias produced the exterior decoration of the building and was the author of the sculptures that adorned the pediments and the interior of the temple. The general leadership was carried out by the great statesman and founding father of the Athenian democracy, Pericles.

The Parthenon is a classical ancient Greek temple, rectangular at its base, surrounded on all sides by a Doric colonnade. The central facades have 8 columns each, the side facades have 17 columns each, the total number of columns in the Parthenon is 50.

The Parthenon is interesting primarily for its unique architectural design used in the construction of the temple. In order to avoid optical distortions, the authors of the project resorted to innovative architectural techniques: the columns were thickened in the central part, and the corner ones were also inclined towards the center of the temple and had a slightly larger volume. During the construction of the temple, the principle of the golden section was used. Thanks to the methods used by the architects, the impression of absolutely straight lines of the temple and its perfect appearance is created.

The temple is almost entirely built of expensive Pentelian marble, and gold was widely used in the original decoration. The temple stands on three steps one and a half meters high; steps used to enter the building were carved from the central western facade of the building. The total length of the building is 70 m, width - 31 m, height - 14 m.

Far from all the treasures of the Parthenon have survived to this day: such a masterpiece of the temple as the 13-meter statue of Athena Parthenos by the great sculptor Phidias, which once stood in the center of the Parthenon, has been lost forever for mankind. Of the many sculptural groups representing scenes from the life of ancient gods and decorating the pediments of the building, only 11 have survived to this day, another 19 sculptures were barbarously cut down in the 19th century and taken to Great Britain, where they are now stored in the British Museum.

History of the Athenian Parthenon

Marble tablets, on which the city authorities wrote down their decrees and orders, have preserved for us the exact date when the Parthenon was built. The time of the beginning of construction is 447 BC. e. The construction of the temple took 10 years, after which in 438 BC. e. it was open. The construction of a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena cost the city treasury 700 talents - more than 18 tons of silver.

In the III century BC. e. Athens survived the Heruli invasion, during which the Parthenon was sacked and burned. The roof, floors and doors of the temple were damaged. During the restoration, the ancient builders did not seek to restore the Parthenon in its original form, so architectural distortions were introduced into it.

For over a thousand years, the Parthenon was a pagan temple., however, after the collapse of the Roman Empire and the formation of Byzantium, it was converted into a Christian church, presumably in the 6th century AD. e. During the turbulent medieval history of the Balkans and Athens in particular, the Parthenon either became a Catholic church or returned to the disposal of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople.

In the 15th century, Athens and all of Greece were conquered by the Ottoman Turks, after which the Parthenon was turned into a mosque, and a military garrison, a pasha's palace and even a harem were located on the territory of the Athenian Acropolis. A heavy blow for the Parthenon was the Great Turkish War between the Christian states of Europe and the Ottoman Empire. During the storming of Athens by the Venetians in 1687, the Parthenon was destroyed. The territory of the acropolis was fired from cannons, after which the temple, which housed the powder warehouse, exploded.

The Venetians who captured the city noted the colossal damage caused to the Parthenon by their own artillery. Three dozen columns were destroyed, the roof collapsed, some of the sculptures were destroyed, and the central section of the building collapsed. Since that time, the Parthenon was turned into ruins and was never used as a temple again.

During the 18th century, the Parthenon was slowly destroyed: local residents used the ruins of the building as a building material, and numerous European hunters for antique values ​​exported elements of sculptures and decoration of the building to their countries. The picture of the destruction of the Parthenon was completed by the British ambassador to Turkey, Thomas Bruce, who at the beginning of the 19th century brought to the UK more than 200 boxes with sculptures, fragments of columns and other artifacts of the Parthenon.

As a result, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question "Who destroyed the Parthenon?". The destruction of the great temple is the work of many people: from the Ottoman rulers of Greece and the inhabitants of Athens to connoisseurs of ancient art from Europe.

After Greece gained independence in the first half of the 19th century, the territory of the acropolis was cleared of later buildings, such as a minaret, a medieval palace, and even sculptures from the Roman period. The restoration of the temple began in the 19th century, but it was prevented by the earthquake of 1894, which further destroyed the building. The reconstruction of the Parthenon by Greek architects continued from the beginning of the 20th century until the middle of the century, after which the temple acquired its modern look. However, restoration and archaeological work did not stop after that and continue to this day.

What now

In our time, the Parthenon is the main attraction of Athens, one of the national shrines of Greece and the heritage of all mankind. The ideal appearance of the temple, although not fully preserved to this day, not only gives an idea of ​​the cultural and technical achievements of ancient Greece, but is also a symbol of the possibilities of human genius. The Parthenon annually attracts millions of tourists to Athens, and since 1987, together with the entire territory of the Acropolis of Athens, it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Where is the Parthenon

The Parthenon is located on the territory of the Acropolis of Athens in the very center of the Greek capital. In order to get to the hill of the Upper City, you need to get to the center of Athens. When traveling with the Athens Skytrain, you must get off at the Acropolis station of the Athens Metro Red Line. Also, a large pedestrian street Dionisiou Areopagite leads to the hill with the temple located on it.

Excursions to the Acropolis

You can visit the territory of the acropolis on your own, for this you need to purchase a ticket at the box office at the entrance to the territory of the archaeological site.

Opening hours of the Acropolis of Athens: 8:00 - 20:00, seven days a week.

Ticket price: 12 EUR, the ticket is valid for 4 days from the date of purchase.

When visiting the acropolis, it is strictly forbidden to touch the ancient buildings, including the columns, with your hands.

Ordering an individual tour of the acropolis and visiting the main sights with a Russian-speaking guide will cost 320 EUR. The program of this excursion also includes a sightseeing tour of Athens. Duration of the tour: from 2 to 5 hours.

One of the most revered goddesses of the ancient Greeks, Pallas Athena, was born in a rather unusual way: Zeus, her father, swallowed her mother, Metis (Wisdom), when she was expecting a child. He did this for one simple reason: after the birth of his daughter, he was predicted the birth of a son who would overthrow the Thunderer from the throne.

But Athena did not want to sink into oblivion - therefore, after a while, an unbearable headache began to torment the Supreme God: her daughter asked to go outside. His head hurt so badly that the Thunderer, unable to endure, ordered Hephaestus to take an ax and hit him on the head with it. He obeyed and cut his head, releasing Athena. Her eyes were full of wisdom, and she was dressed in the clothes of a warrior, held a spear in her hand, and had an iron helmet on her head.

The goddess of wisdom turned out to be a non-idle inhabitant of Olympus: she went down to the people and taught them a lot, giving them knowledge and crafts. She also paid attention to women: she taught them to needlework and weave, took an active part in public affairs - she was the patroness of a just struggle (she taught to solve problems peacefully), she taught to write laws, thus becoming the patroness of many Greek cities. For such a majestic goddess, it was necessary to build a temple, which, according to the descriptions, would have no equal in the whole world.

The Parthenon is located in the capital of Greece, in Athens, in the southern part of the Acropolis, an ancient architectural complex located on a rocky hill at an altitude exceeding 150 meters above sea level. m. You can find the Parthenon Acropolis of Athens at: Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, Athens 117 42, and on the geographical map you can find out its exact location at the following coordinates: 37 ° 58′ 17 ″ s. sh., 23° 43′ 36″ in. d.

The Parthenon Temple, dedicated to Athena, began to be built on the territory of the Acropolis around 447 BC. e. instead of the unfinished sanctuary destroyed by the Persians. The construction of this unique architectural monument was entrusted to the architect Kallikrat, who erected the building according to the design of Iktin.

It took the Hellenes about fifteen years to build the temple, which at that time was a rather short term, given that building and finishing materials were brought from all over Greece. Fortunately, there was enough money: Athens, whose ruler was Pericles, was just experiencing the period of its highest prosperity and was not only the cultural capital, but also the political center of Attica.

Kallikrates and Iktin, having considerable funds and opportunities at their disposal, during the construction of the temple were able to implement more than one innovative design solution, as a result of which the architecture of the Parthenon turned out to be unlike any other building of this type.

The main feature of the sanctuary was that the facade of the building from one point was perfectly visible from three sides at once.

This was achieved by setting the columns in relation to each other not parallel, but at an angle. The fact that all the pillars had a different shape also played a role: so that from afar the central columns seemed more slender and not so thin, all the pillars were given a convex shape (the outermost columns turned out to be the thickest), slightly tilting the corner columns towards the center, the central ones away from it .

Penelian marble, mined near the Acropolis, was used as the main building material, according to the description, it is a rather interesting material, since it is initially white in color, but after a while, under the influence of sunlight, it begins to turn yellow. Therefore, the Parthenon in Athens, at the end of construction work, turned out to be unevenly painted, which gave it an original and interesting look: on the north side, the temple had a gray-ash tint, on the south it turned out to be golden yellow in color.

Another feature of the ancient temple was that when laying the marble blocks, the Greek masters did not use either cement or any other mortar: the builders carefully turned them around the edges and adjusted them to size to each other (at the same time, the inside was not hewn - this saved time and labor). Larger blocks were located at the base of the building, smaller stones were laid out on them, fastened horizontally with iron staples, which were inserted into special holes and filled with lead. Blocks were connected vertically with iron pins.

Description

Three steps lead to the temple, which was dedicated to Athena and is a rectangular building. The Parthenon Acropolis of Athens, about seventy meters long and a little more than thirty wide, was surrounded by ten-meter Doric columns about ten meters high along the perimeter. Along the side facades there were seventeen pillars, at the ends, where the entrances are located, eight each.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that most of the pediments were destroyed (only thirty statues in very poor condition survived), very few descriptions of exactly what the exterior of the Parthenon looked like have survived.

It is known that all the sculptural compositions were created with the direct participation of Phidias, who not only was the chief architect of the entire Acropolis and developed the plan for this architectural complex, but is also known as the author of one of the wonders of the world - the statue of Zeus at Olympia. There is an assumption that the eastern pediment of the Parthenon contained a bas-relief depicting the birth of Pallas Athena, and the western one depicted her dispute with the god of the seas, Poseidon, about who would be the patron of Athens and the whole of Attica.

But the friezes of the temple are well preserved: it is absolutely known that on the eastern side of the Parthenon the struggle of the Lapiths with the centaurs was depicted, on the western side - episodes from the time of the Trojan War, on the southern side - the battle of the Amazons with the Greeks. A total of 92 metopes with various high reliefs were installed, most of which have survived. Forty-two plates are kept in the Museum of the Acropolis of Athens, fifteen - in the British.

Parthenon from the inside

To get inside the temple, in addition to the outer steps, it was necessary to overcome two more inner ones. The platform in the middle of the temple had a length of 59 meters and a width of 21.7 meters and consisted of three rooms. The largest, central, was surrounded on three sides by 21 columns, which separated it from the two small rooms located on the sides of it. On the inner frieze of the sanctuary, a festive procession from Athens to the Acropolis was depicted, when the virgins carried a gift to Athena.

In the center of the main platform was a statue of Athena Parthenos, made by Phidias. The sculpture dedicated to the goddess was a real masterpiece. The statue of Athena was thirteen meters high and was a proudly standing goddess, with a spear in one hand and a two-meter sculpture of Nike in the other. Pallas was wearing a three-ridged helmet on his head, near his feet was a shield, on which, in addition to scenes from various battles, the initiator of the construction, Pericles, was depicted.

It took Phidias more than a ton of gold to make the sculpture (weapons and clothes were poured out of it); ebony, from which the frame of the statue is made; the face and hands of Athena were carved from ivory of the highest quality; gems shining in the eyes of the goddess; the most expensive marble was also used. Unfortunately, the statue has not been preserved: when Christianity became the ruling religion in the country, it was taken to Constantinople, where it was in the 5th century. burned down in a huge fire.

Near the western entrance to the shrine was an opisthodome - a closed room in the back, where the city archives and the treasury of the maritime union were kept. The room was 19 meters long and 14 meters wide.

The room was called the Parthenon (it was thanks to this room that the temple got its name), which means “house for girls”. In this room, the chosen virgins, priestesses, made peplos (women's sleeveless outerwear sewn from light material, which the Athenians wore over a tunic), which was presented to Athena during a solemn procession that takes place every four years.

Dark days of the Parthenon

The last ruler who favored and cared for this architectural monument was Alexander the Great (he even installed fourteen shields on the eastern pediment and presented the goddess with the armor of three hundred defeated enemies). After his death, dark days came for the temple.

One of the Macedonian rulers, Demetrius I Poliorket, settled here with his mistresses, and the next ruler of Athens, Lacharus, tore off all the gold from the sculpture of the goddess, and the shields of Alexander from the pediments in order to pay off the soldiers. In III Art. BC e in the temple there was a major fire, during which the roof collapsed, fittings, marble cracked, the colonnade was partially destroyed, the doors of the temple, one of the friezes and ceilings were burned.

When the Greeks adopted Christianity, they made a church out of the Parthenon (it happened in the 6th century AD), making appropriate changes to its architecture, and completing the premises necessary for holding Christian rites. The most valuable thing that was in the pagan temple was taken to Constantinople, and the rest was either destroyed or badly damaged (first of all, this applies to the sculptures and bas-reliefs of the building).

In the XV century. Athens came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, as a result of which the temple was transformed into a mosque. The Turks did not make any special alterations and calmly held services among Christian murals. It was the Turkish period that turned out to be one of the most tragic events in the history of the Parthenon: in 1686, the Venetians fired on the Acropolis and the Parthenon, where the Turks stored gunpowder.

After about seven hundred cores hit the building, the shrine exploded, as a result of which the central part of the Parthenon, all internal columns and rooms were completely destroyed, the roof on the north side collapsed.

After that, the ancient shrine began to be robbed and destroyed by everyone who could: the Athenians used its fragments for domestic needs, and the Europeans were able to take the surviving fragments and statues to their homeland (currently, most of the remains found are either in the Louvre or in the British Museum ).

Restoration

The revival of the Parthenon did not begin until Greece gained independence, in 1832, and two years later the government proclaimed the Parthenon a monument of ancient heritage. As a result of the work carried out fifty years later, there was practically nothing left of the “barbarian presence” on the territory of the Acropolis: absolutely all the buildings that had nothing to do with the ancient complex were demolished, and the Acropolis itself began to be restored according to the surviving descriptions of how the Parthenon looked in ancient Greece (currently the temple, like the entire Acropolis, is under the protection of UNESCO).

In addition to the fact that the Parthenon was restored to the extent possible, and the original statues were replaced with copies and sent to the museum for storage, the Greek government is actively working to return the exported fragments of the temple to the country. And here there is an interesting point: the British Museum agreed to do this, but on the condition that the Greek government recognizes the museum as their rightful owner. But the Greeks do not agree with such a formulation of the issue, since this would mean that they forgave the theft of the statues two hundred years ago and are actively fighting for the statues to be returned to them without any conditions.

Parthenon

(Greek Παρθενών; English Parthenon)

Opening hours: from 8.30 to 19.00 daily, except Monday.

Parthenon - a temple dedicated to Athena Parthenos - the patroness of Athens, is rightfully considered one of the greatest examples of ancient architecture, a masterpiece of world art and plastics. The temple was founded on the initiative of Pericles, the famous Athenian commander and reformer. Its construction proceeded quite quickly - the temple was built from 447 to 438 BC (under the leadership of the architects Iktin and Kallikrates), and its sculptural decoration and decoration (under the direction of Phidias) were completed in 432 BC.

The first temple of Athena known in modern times, the existence of which is recognized by most scientists of the world, was built on the Acropolis, probably under Peisistratus. It was called the same as later the naos of the modern Parthenon - Hekatompedon, however, during the campaign of Xerxes, it, like other buildings on the Acropolis, was destroyed. There is a version about the connection of the ancient meaning of the word "hekatompedon" with the custom of child sacrifices (Greek "hekaton" - "one hundred", tome - "dissection", "raidos" - "child"). Later, with the abolition of this cruel custom (infants were laid in the foundation of the building for the sake of its strength), the concept of “one hundred child victims” was transferred to the original measure of the length of the naos (sanctuary) of the temple.

During the reign of Pericles, Athens reached its highest glory. After the end of the Greco-Persian wars, already on the prepared site, it was decided to build a new, more majestic and luxurious temple. The victorious attitude was also reflected in the wasteful urban plans, which were financed mainly from the tribute that Athens levied from its allies. The best artists at that time were involved in the construction and huge sums were spent. The builders of the Parthenon were the ancient Greek architects Iktin and Kallikrates. Then there was a period of the highest rise of ancient culture, and the temple of the goddess Athena on the Acropolis hill, to this day, proudly reminds the whole world of this.

The Parthenon is located at the highest point of the Athenian Acropolis. Therefore, the beautiful temple of the goddess Athena is visible not only from all corners of the city, but also from the sea, from the islands of Salamis and Aegina. The main facade of the temple is located at an angle to the Propylaea (entrance gate), which are located in the western part of the temple mount. All permeated with light, the temple seems airy and light. There are no bright patterns on the white columns, as is found in Egyptian temples.

The Parthenon is a Doric peripter with elements of the Ionic order. It is located on a stylobate (69.5 m long and 30.9 m wide) - three marble steps, the total height of which is about 1.5 meters, the roof was covered with a tiled roof. From the side of the main (western) facade, more frequent steps were cut, intended for people.

The building itself (cella) has a length of 29.9 m (width 19.2 m), which was 100 Greek feet, and is bordered around the perimeter by an outer colonnade (peristele). There are 46 of these columns, 8 from the end, and 17 from the side facades. All columns are fluted, that is, they are decorated with longitudinal grooves. The height of the corner columns together with the capitals is 10.43 m (the same as in the temple of Zeus at Olympia).

The lower diameter of the corner columns - embat, when proportioning the temple, was taken as the first module (1.975 m). For vertical dimensions, the builders used the second module - the height of the abacus of the capital (0.3468 m). The amazing harmony of the building, which has been preserved to this day, despite the fact that only ruins remained of the great building, is based, first of all, on the polyphony of the ratios of magnitudes; the dimensions of the same type of parts vary, depending on their place in the overall composition.

The columns of the Parthenon do not look like a continuous undivided mass, but are perceived as a row in which individual trunks are not lost. Hence the correlation of the colonnade with the rhythm of the triglyphs and metope frieze, as well as with the rhythm of the figures of the Ionic frieze, which was located in the upper part of the walls of the naos, and on the inner colonnade of the porticos.

The Parthenon was not only a temple, but also something like an art gallery or a museum, it created an excellent backdrop for many works of plastic art. The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon was carried out under the guidance of the great master Phidias, and with his direct participation. This work is divided into four parts: the metopes of the outer (Doric) frieze, the solid Ionic (inner) frieze, the sculptures in the tympanums of the pediments, and the most famous statue of Athena Parthenos.

The pediment and cornices of the building were decorated with sculptures. The pediments were decorated with the gods of Greece: the Thunderer Zeus, the mighty ruler of the seas Poseidon, the wise warrior Athena, the winged Nike. For example, the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for the possession of Attica is presented on the western pediment. The judges decided to give the victory to that of the gods, whose gift would be more valuable to the city. Poseidon struck with a trident - and a salt spring gushed out of the rock of the Acropolis. Athena struck with a spear - and an olive tree grew on the Acropolis. This gift seemed more useful to the Athenians. Thus, Athena emerged victorious in the dispute, and the olive tree became the symbol of the city.

Along the perimeter of the outer walls of the cella, at a height of 12 meters, the famous Parthenon frieze stretched like a ribbon, the details of which, however, were almost indistinguishable from below. This frieze is considered one of the pinnacles of classical art. Of the more than 500 figures of young men, women, elders, on foot and on horseback, not one repeated the other, the movements of people and animals were conveyed with amazing dynamism. The figures are not flat, they have the volume and shape of the human body.

The metopes were part of the traditional, for the Doric order, triglyph-metope frieze, which encircled the outer colonnade of the temple. In total, there were 92 metopes on the Parthenon, containing various high reliefs. They were connected thematically, on the sides of the building. In the east, the battle of the centaurs with the Lapiths was depicted, in the south - the battles of the Greeks with the Amazons (Amazonomachy), in the west - probably scenes from the Trojan War, in the north - the battles of the gods and giants (Gigantomachy). To this day, only 64 metopes have survived: 42 in Athens and 15 in the British Museum.

In general, the architectural appearance of the Parthenon takes its origins in wooden architecture: built of stone, the temple retained, in its outlines, the lightness and elegance of a wooden building. However, the outward simplicity of these outlines is deceptive: the architect Iktin was a great master of perspective. He calculated very precisely how to create the proportions of the building in order to make them pleasing to the eye of a person looking up at the temple.

The Greeks built temples from limestone, the surface of which was covered with plaster and then painted with paints. But the Parthenon is built of marble. During construction on the Acropolis, near Athens, on Mount Pentelikon, deposits of snow-white Pentelian marble sparkling in the sun were discovered. During production, it has a white color, but under the influence of the sun's rays it turns yellow. The northern side of the building is exposed to less radiation - and therefore, there the stone has received a grayish-ash tint, while the southern blocks give off a golden yellowish color. With the help of ropes and wooden skids, marble blocks were delivered to the construction site.

The masonry was carried out without any mortar or cement, that is, it was dry. The blocks were regular squares, they were carefully turned along the edges, adjusted in size to each other, and fastened with iron staples - pyrons. The trunks of the columns were made up of separate drums, and connected with wooden pins. Only the outer edges of the stones were carefully trimmed, the inner surfaces were left unprocessed, “for stealing”. The final processing, including the flutes on the columns, was carried out after the stones were set in place.

The roof was made of stone, truss construction, reproducing earlier wooden floors, and covered with double-shaped marble tiles. Chiaroscuro on the deeply embedded flutes of the columns and in the intercolumns (between the columns) emphasized the spatial composition of the building, its connection with the surrounding landscape.

The central hall of the temple was illuminated only by the light falling through the doorway and numerous lamps. In this twilight, in the center of the temple, stood the statue of Athena Parthenos, which was made by Phidias himself. It was upright and about 11 m high, made in the chryso-elephant technique (from gold and ivory, on a wooden base), and the eyes were inlaid with precious stones. According to ancient custom, the statue of a deity placed inside the temple should face east, towards the rising sun, so the entrance to the Parthenon was on the east side.

The ancient Greeks considered the Parthenon to be the home of a deity and believed that the goddess Athena sometimes descends from Olympus to incarnate in her statue. Every year, on the feast of Athena, a peplos (veil), woven by the Athenians, was placed on the statue of the goddess. On it were woven pictures of the exploits of the goddess, especially her victory over the giants.

Phidias portrayed Athena in long heavy robes, with her left hand leaning on a shield, under which Erichthonius curled up into rings of snakes. On the shield that Athena held, scenes of the battle of the Greeks with the Amazons, and the battle of the gods with the giants were depicted. Among the characters in the first scene, Phidias portrayed himself as a bald old man brandishing a stone. Such boldness was considered sacrilege. To this were added accusations of abuses that Phidias allegedly committed with the gold and other valuables he received to create a statue of Athena. As a result, in 431 BC, the great sculptor was imprisoned. According to some reports, Phidias died in captivity, according to others, he was sent into exile.

Plates of pure gold (1.5 mm thick), depicting the attire of the statue of the goddess Athena, were periodically removed and weighed - they were part of the state treasury. According to the plan of Pericles, gold could be borrowed from the goddess if necessary, for example, for waging war, and then returned. Any citizen could donate their products or weapons to the temple of Athena. Alexander the Great, after defeating the Persians on the Granicus River, in 334 BC, sent 300 shields captured from the enemy to Athens. The temple was also used to store gifts to the goddess. Gold and silver caskets, figurines, weapons, vessels were found in all rooms of the Parthenon - there were inventories for each room.

The statue of Athena, a great work of ancient sculpture, having existed for more than 900 years, died in the storms of time, and it can only be judged by a few unsuccessful copies. Today, the place where the statue of Athena stood is marked by several rectangular stones.

The Parthenon was thought out in the smallest detail, completely invisible to an outside observer, and with the aim of visually lightening the load on the load-bearing elements, as well as correcting some errors of human vision. Architectural historians single out the concept of curvature of the Parthenon - a special curvature that introduced optical adjustments. Although the temple seems to be perfectly straight, in fact, there are almost no strictly straight lines in its contours: the columns are not set vertically, but slightly tilted into the building; the width of the metopes increases towards the center, and decreases towards the corners of the building; the corner columns are somewhat thicker in diameter than the others, as otherwise they would appear thinner, and in cross section they are not round; the entablature is tilted outward, and the pediments are inward. To compensate for future reductions, the Greeks increased in size the upper parts of the building and reduced those that are closer. It is also known that a horizontal line of considerable length appears concave in the middle. In the Parthenon, the lines of the stylobate and steps are made not straight, but slightly convex, which compensates for visual distortion.

Emphasized contours and ornamentation were also intended to enhance the readability of relief images at high altitude. Lightness and flexibility distinguish the architecture of the Parthenon from its predecessors: the temples at Paestum, Selinunte, or the temple of Zeus at Olympia. The dimensions of the individual parts were determined "by eye", varying them in such a way that when viewed from below they create a sense of dimension, the same relationship. This principle is called the "law of angles" (meaning the angle of view of the observer). Our eye mentally continues the axes of the columns up and connects them at one point, located somewhere high in the sky, above the temple. Under the shadow of the colonnade, in the openings of neighboring columns, as in a picture frame, landscapes arranged by architecture open up to a person. From the side, from all points of view, the Parthenon looks like a statue on a pedestal. When evaluating the Parthenon, from an average distance (about 35 m), the temple looks harmonious and whole; up close - it impresses with its monumentality and seems even larger than it actually is. The setting of the temple building relative to the Acropolis hill is also important: it is moved to the southeastern edge of the cliff, and therefore visitors see it as distant, in fact, the large Parthenon does not suppress its size and “grows” as a person approaches it.

The popular notion that Greek temples were always white is actually wrong. In ancient times, the Parthenon was very colorful, and according to current tastes, it is even, almost, luridly painted. The tenia and the underside of the echinus were red. The lower surface of the cornice is red and blue. The red background emphasized the whiteness, the narrow vertical ledges that separated one frieze slab from another clearly stood out in blue, the gilding shone brightly. The coloring was made with wax paints, which, under the action of hot sunlight, impregnated the marble. This technique provided an organic combination of the natural texture of marble and color, the stone was painted, but remained slightly translucent and “breathed”.

The greatest temple of Ancient Greece, the Parthenon, went through all the stages of its history with it. For a while, the Parthenon stood untouched, in all its splendor. With the sunset of Greece, the sunset of the temple began.

In 267 BC, Athens was invaded by the barbarian Heruli tribe, who sacked Athens and set fire to the Parthenon. As a result of the fire, the roof of the temple was destroyed, as well as almost all the internal fittings and ceilings. In the Hellenistic era (about 298 BC), the Athenian tyrant Lacharus removed the golden plates from the statue of Athena. After 429, the statue of Athena Parthenos disappeared from the temple. According to one version, the statue was taken to Constantinople and installed in front of the Senate building, and later it died from a fire.

In connection with the strengthening of the cult of the Mother of God, under Emperor Justinian I (527-565), the Parthenon was turned into the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary (“Parthenis Mary”). In general, ancient temples easily turned into Christian ones. The transition from a pagan temple to a church affected the architecture of the Parthenon. In ancient times, the entrance to the Parthenon was located in the eastern part under the pediment, the sculptures of which depicted the birth of Athena. However, it is in the eastern part of the Christian temple that the altar should be located. As a result, the temple was replanned and the internal columns and some walls of the cella were removed, which led to the dismantling of the central slab of the frieze. The sacred eastern part of the Christian temple could not be decorated with the scene of the birth of the goddess Athena. These bas-reliefs were removed from the pediment. The colonnades were laid with stone. Most of the sculptures of the ancient Parthenon were lost: those that could be adapted for Christian worship were left, but most of them were destroyed.

In 662, the miraculous icon of Our Lady Afiniotissa (Our Lady of the Most Holy Athens) was solemnly transferred to the church. In 1458, after a two-year siege, the last Duke of Athens surrendered the Acropolis to the Turkish conquerors. In 1460, by decree of Sultan Mohammed II, the Parthenon was turned into a mosque, the altar and iconostasis were destroyed, the paintings were whitewashed, and a high minaret was erected over the southwestern corner of the temple, the remains of which were demolished only after the Greek Revolution. In the Erechtheion, the new ruler of Athens placed his harem. At the beginning of Turkish rule, Athens and the Acropolis disappeared from the routes of Western European travelers: hostilities between the Venetians and the Ottomans, periodically renewed in the 16th and 17th centuries, became a serious obstacle. The Turks had no desire to protect the Parthenon from destruction, but neither did they have the goal of completely distorting or destroying the temple. Since it is not possible to accurately determine the time of mashing the metopes of the Parthenon, the Turks may have continued this process. However, in general, they committed less destruction of the building than the Christians a thousand years before the Ottoman rule, who turned the majestic ancient temple into a Christian cathedral.

Beginning in 1660, there was a period of peace between the Venetians and the Ottomans, and travelers began to visit Athens again. Not only travel notes, but also studies of the Greek ancient heritage became widespread. But this peace did not last long. A new Turkish-Venetian war began. Finally, in 1687, during the siege of Athens by the Venetians, led by Francesco Morosini, a gunpowder warehouse was set up in the temple. On September 26, the core, which flew through the roof, produced a huge explosion, and the Parthenon forever became ruins. After the explosion of the Parthenon, its further destruction no longer seemed reprehensible. Shooting the surviving fragments of sculptures and reliefs was considered not a robbery, but a salvation, because earlier the Turks simply broke the sculptures and burned them into lime for construction. When, a few days later, the Turks surrendered and the Venetians entered the territory of the Acropolis, they decided to take to Venice, as trophies, the figure of Poseidon and the horses of his quadriga - the remains of the composition "Athena's Dispute with Poseidon" on the western pediment. When they began to be removed, the sculptures, barely holding on after the explosion, fell and broke.

A few months after the victory, the Venetians gave up power over Athens: they did not have enough strength to further protect the city, and the plague epidemic made Athens a completely unattractive target for the invaders. The Turks again set up a garrison on the Acropolis, albeit on a smaller scale, among the ruins of the Parthenon, and erected a new small mosque. During the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Parthenon, having lost its protection, was destroyed more and more.

The misfortunes of the Parthenon ended only at the beginning of the 19th century, when the famous robber of ancient monuments, Lord Elgin, took to England 12 figures from the pediments, 56 plates with reliefs from the Parthenon frieze, and a number of other fragments of the monument, and sold them to the British Museum, where they are, until now, are the most valuable exhibits. Today, sculptures from the Parthenon are in many museums around the world. In particular, in the British Museum there are sculptures of Helios and Selena - corner fragments of the pediment "The Birth of Athena". In recent decades, there has been a trend towards the return of lost relics to the Parthenon. An important issue for the Greek government, at the present stage, is also the return of the Elgin marbles.

The idea of ​​recreating the Parthenon was brought to life in the United States. In the city of Nashville (Tennessee), architects W. Dinsmoor and R. Garth, in 1897, built a full-scale replica of the Parthenon, restored according to the latest scientific data of that era. The restoration of the temple began in the 19th century. In 1926-1929 the northern colonnade was restored. Following this, an attempt was made to restore the pediment sculptures, the originals of which were partly lost, partly ended up in foreign museums.

But despite the constant restoration work, even today, the Parthenon continues to slowly but surely collapse. In recent years, the poisonous smog and suffocating stench of modern Athens, just like the marks left here by hordes of tourists, have caused sensitive damage to the Parthenon marble.

In the eyes of contemporaries, the Parthenon was the embodiment of the glory and power of Athens. Today, the Parthenon is rightfully considered one of the greatest examples of ancient architecture, a masterpiece of world art and plastics. This is the most perfect creation of ancient architecture, and even in ruins - a striking, exciting monument ...

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The Parthenon is a symbol of Western civilization and one of the most famous buildings in the world. The temple was built in the 5th century BC. The Parthenon towers over Athens from a magnificent position atop the sacred hill of the Acropolis. The temple was built in honor of the patroness of the city - the goddess Athena. It was originally known as the Great Temple but was later given the name Parthenon.

History of the Parthenon

The current Parthenon was not the first temple built here in ancient times. There are traces of two earlier temples, slightly smaller in size - one of them was built of stone, and the second of marble. Shortly after the Persians destroyed all the buildings on the Acropolis in 480 BC, Pericles ordered the construction of a large new temple, appointing the architect and sculptor Phidias to oversee the project. The design of the Parthenon is attributed to Callicrates and Iktinos. Construction began in 447 BC. and the temple was completed just nine years later. Until 432, Phidias continued to work on the magnificent sculptures that adorned the temple.


After the ancient period, the Parthenon was converted into a church, and during the Ottoman occupation of Athens, it was used as an arsenal. It turned into ruins only in 1687, when the Venetians, besieging the Ottomans, attacked the Acropolis from the hill of Philopappou. During the attack, ammunition stored in the Parthenon exploded, destroying the roof, interior, and fourteen columns.

Parthenon temple

The Parthenon was created as a peripter - a temple surrounded by columns in the Doric order. The temple, measuring 30.86 by 69.51 meters, contained two cellas (inner chambers). The eastern cella housed a large statue of the goddess Athena. The western cella was used exclusively by priests and contained the treasury of the Delian League (an alliance of Greek city-states).


The Parthenon was decorated with numerous sculptures and reliefs. There were about fifty sculptures on the pediments alone. Most of the surviving sculptures are on display at the British Museum in London, while some can be seen at the nearby Acropolis Museum. There were two friezes: an inner frieze in cellas and an outer frieze, which consisted of triglyphs (vertical stripes) and metopes (rectangular figures) with auxiliary sculptures. The inner frieze was designed by Phidias and depicted Panathenaia, a festival in honor of the goddess Athena. Many metopes and parts of the interior frieze can also be found in the British Museum.


To achieve visual perfection, the creators of the Parthenon used optical tricks, defying the laws of perspective. The columns are slightly tilted inward and have a curved shape. As a result, the horizontal and vertical lines of the structure appear perfectly straight to the naked eye.
Most people think that ancient temples always had natural marble colors. But buildings and statues in the Antique period were often very colorful. The Parthenon was no exception: the sculptures on the friezes, the pediment and on the roof were painted in bright blues, reds and golds.

Statue of Athena in the Parthenon

The main purpose of the temple was to place a twelve-meter statue of Athena Parthenos, created by Phidias. The statue of Athena is one of the most legendary Greek statues. It was made of gold and ivory around a wooden frame. Like all other sculptures of the Parthenon, the statue was painted in bright colors - mostly blue and red. Athena was depicted as the goddess of war. A helmet is worn on her head, her left hand rested on a shield, and in her right hand she held a statue of the winged Nike. Unfortunately, the original statue has been lost, but a modern full-scale replica of the Athena Parthenos is located in Nashville (USA).