Ideas of the Parthenon
The Greek people of the 5th century BC created a culture that was deeply rooted in philosophy and the arts. Their endless search for their place in the grand scheme of the universe and in nature around them influenced everything in their lives especially their love of the arts. Their drama, sculpture, and even architecture are all shining examples of the ideas that were so dominant in the minds of the Greek people. What could be considered the crown jewel of Greek architecture, the Parthenon, is one such of these examples. It brings into form the three principal ideas of humanism, rationalism, and idealism of the 5th century Greek people through not only its structure, but its ornamentation and sculpture as well. The basis of humanism can be summed up in the words of Protagoras, "Man is the measure of all things." Humanism is the idea that human beings are the yardstick by with to measure all things in the universe, including Greek gods and goddesses. The Parthenon stands for this very idea through the fact that it is a human organization of space. It brings an understandable order into a chaotic space that would otherwise be incomprehensible to a human being. It allows a human to see the space and r
Another idea of the 5th century Greek people that can be recognized in the Parthenon is that of rationalism. Rationalism is the idea of eternal principles or basic truths that are inherent in the universe and in the human mind. An example is that of Pythagoras' right triangle theory that a²+b²=c², which cannot be total proven but yet has never been disproved either. This same theory can be seen in the Parthenon through its rectangular shape which, if cut in half diagonally, would be two right triangles. As it is plain to see, rationalism had a great hand in the very shape of the Parthenon as well as many other aspects. One of these other aspects has to do with the size of one part of the Parthenon in proportion to the size of another part. The proportion or ratio of 9:4 has been recognized and reoccurs throughout the building in many different instances. For example, when the length of the Parthenon at the stylobate of 228 feet is compared to the width at the stylobate of 104 feet the resulting ratio is 9:4. This ratio can also be seen when you compare the distance from the center of one column to the center of the neighboring column to the diameter of the column at its base and in the distance of that diameter to the width of the triglyph on the entablature. Moving on from the Parthenon's structure to the statues, pediments and friezes that decorate this temple to Athena, one can notice even more effects of the idea of rationalism. In the 5th century BC, a sculptor by the name of Polyclitus very successfully attempted to apply a canon, or body of rules, to the proportions of the human body through sculpture. Although Polyclitus didn't set his body of rules in stone, so to speak, he started an idea of rationalism that applied to the ratios of the human body. The statue of the goddess Athena that resides in the Parthenon is one such sculpture that was created with a similar body of rules in mind. The same can be said for the elaborate pediment on the East end of the Parthenon, as well as the much smaller friezes and metopes that decorate the great building inside and out. The Parthenon is a temple to t
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Approximate Word count = 1429
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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