The Parthenon’s Impact Past and Present
“Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of external influence extends to infinite distance.” In today’s society, we are affected by history from the past, which could be anything from World War II to the times of ancient Israel and the Savior’s ministry. The Parthenon is the former temple to the Goddess Athena and an ancient architectural structure from classical Greece. This relic has had that unseen impact on our society. Willey Reveley, an 18th century English architect, said that the Parthenon exhibited a “masculine boldness and dignity… the grandeur of whose effect… can scarcely be understood …show more content…
The original frieze surrounded the inner walls and was about 524 feet in length. It consisted of various depictions from Gods and sacrificial rituals to men and women completing everyday activities. It is argued that it is a depiction of the Panathenic festival, a central event that was celebrated every year in honor of what is to believed as Athena’s birthday. The frieze, by itself, is still observed even today by many artists and historians as one of the most influential pieces of architecture in history. The quality was unmatched. For example, before the time period of the construction of the Parthenon frieze, there was a frieze of the Sihpnian Treasury in Delphi that was carved in 525 BC. This frieze is depicting three gods that were sculpted, and the detail is exquisite. (see figure 2) However, the style is very repetitive for each god in the sculpture. Now observing a piece of the Parthenon frieze, on the east side we see three gods seated and thought to be Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis. In this section of the frieze, the design for each of these gods is very detailed and different. (see figure 3) Their posture and complexion are shown as more relaxed and very calm. This section of the frieze has a very late classical style to it with the gods clothing showing drapery and the hair being extremely outlined. They have a very realistic look to them. “This new, more humane approach to …show more content…
The metopes, were the sculptures that were located directly underneath the pediment of the Parthenon. There were ninety-two, and they all represented incidents of the battle between Lapiths, a group of people that lived in northern Greece near the mountains, and the centaurs, mythological creatures that were half horse and half man. The battle is meant to represent the battle between civilization and barbarism and was a popular subject in Greek art. This supports how the Parthenon, not only was just a mere building, but a message to Athens and those around them about the type of people that they were. This must have had an important impact on the people and how they acted if their most prized temple was telling them of the importance of civilization and
“Every living being is an engine geared to the wheelwork of the universe. Though seemingly affected only by its immediate surrounding, the sphere of external influence extends to infinite distance.” In today’s society, we are affected by history from the past, which could be anything from World War II to the times of ancient Israel and the Savior’s ministry. The Parthenon is the former temple to the Goddess Athena and an ancient architectural structure from classical Greece. This relic has had that unseen impact on our society. Willey Reveley, an 18th century English architect, said that the Parthenon exhibited a “masculine boldness and dignity… the grandeur of whose effect… can scarcely be understood …show more content…
The original frieze surrounded the inner walls and was about 524 feet in length. It consisted of various depictions from Gods and sacrificial rituals to men and women completing everyday activities. It is argued that it is a depiction of the Panathenic festival, a central event that was celebrated every year in honor of what is to believed as Athena’s birthday. The frieze, by itself, is still observed even today by many artists and historians as one of the most influential pieces of architecture in history. The quality was unmatched. For example, before the time period of the construction of the Parthenon frieze, there was a frieze of the Sihpnian Treasury in Delphi that was carved in 525 BC. This frieze is depicting three gods that were sculpted, and the detail is exquisite. (see figure 2) However, the style is very repetitive for each god in the sculpture. Now observing a piece of the Parthenon frieze, on the east side we see three gods seated and thought to be Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis. In this section of the frieze, the design for each of these gods is very detailed and different. (see figure 3) Their posture and complexion are shown as more relaxed and very calm. This section of the frieze has a very late classical style to it with the gods clothing showing drapery and the hair being extremely outlined. They have a very realistic look to them. “This new, more humane approach to …show more content…
The metopes, were the sculptures that were located directly underneath the pediment of the Parthenon. There were ninety-two, and they all represented incidents of the battle between Lapiths, a group of people that lived in northern Greece near the mountains, and the centaurs, mythological creatures that were half horse and half man. The battle is meant to represent the battle between civilization and barbarism and was a popular subject in Greek art. This supports how the Parthenon, not only was just a mere building, but a message to Athens and those around them about the type of people that they were. This must have had an important impact on the people and how they acted if their most prized temple was telling them of the importance of civilization and