FREE ESSAY ON THE PARTHENON

THE PARTHENON

The Parthenon
The Parthenon in Athens is perhaps one of the greatest architectural achievements by the
Athenians. After being repeatedly demolished, the Parthenon stood as a "symbol of Greek
independence, culture, and pride"(111 Thames & Hudson). In 447 BC. Pericles promoted
building the Parthenon on the remains of an earlier temple on the Acropolis. The proposal
of the Parthenon pleased the Athenians because "it served as much as a celebration of
Athens and her achievements as it did as a centre to worship the goddess Athena"(111
Thames & Hudson). The new temple to Athena was "sacked by the Persians"(187 Abrams), so
Kimon of Athens hired Callicrates to again begin rebuilding the temple to Athena. But,
Pericles temporarily halted construction to commission another architect, Ictinos. So,
together Callicrates and Ictinos "made many subtle adjustments in the lines of the
structure and the placement of columns to refine the design and possibly to counteract
the effects of various optical illusions that would otherwise seem to distort its (The
Parthenon) appearance when it was viewed from a distance"(188 Abrams). This is why the
Parthenon is so achtecturaly amazing. Besides its shear size, the materials used were
very heavy and difficult to work with, yet the Parthenon interior cella and exterior and
astoundingly flawless. With the exception of the timber roof supports, the entire
Parthenon was built from marble "from the quarries of Mt. Pentelicon"(112 Thames &
Hudson). After such struggles, it is not hard to imagine why the Parthenon was so
important to the Athenians.