The Parthenon, Research Paper Example

The Parthenon is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena built during the Classical period. The Parthenon was constructed entirely on marble and symbolized the ideals of art, science and democracy. The Parthenon was a physical embodiment of the values, beliefs, myths and ideologies of the Greek people. The Greek’s architecture got more sophisticated introducing optical refinements which were a variation from the geometrically true forms to create visual illusions that enhanced the gracefulness of large structures (Neils 184). These were employed extensively on the Parthenon as not a single line was correspondent to the true form.

Each column of the Parthenon had entasis, a visible and measurable bulge at the center (John 63). This made the columns seem to swell owing to the weight they carried. The stylobate which is the platform on which the columns stood was curved .Other temples of the time had the stylobate slightly curved upward with the purpose of shedding rain water. In this case the columns lean outwards. As for the Parthenon the columns actually lean slightly inwards and being of the same height, the curvature of the stylobate is transmitted to the roof above. This makes the ceiling and the floor seem to bow in the presence of the surrounding angles of the building. This was drawn from the illusion that two parallel lines appear to bow or curve outwards when intersected with converging lines (Beard 237).

Works cited

Beard, Mary. The Parthenon. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2003.

Neils, Jenifer. The Parthenon: From Antiquity to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Norwich, John. Great Architecture of the World. New York: Prentice Hall, 2001.