[citation needed] In some cases, prior re-constructions were found to be incorrect. Erected between 447 and 438 BCE on the Acropolis, the Parthenon represents the epitome of Ancient Greece and is the most famous landmark in the country. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Parthenon. The temple’s harmonic proportions, precise construction, and lifelike sculptures have been celebrated and emulated for thousands of years. The Parthenon was converted into a Christian church in the final decade of the sixth century AD[23] to become the Church of the Parthenos Maria (Virgin Mary) or the Church of the Theotokos (Mother of God). These were dismantled, and a careful process of restoration began. [86], Every statue on the west pediment has a fully completed back, which would have been impossible to see when the sculpture was on the temple; this indicates that the sculptors put great effort into accurately portraying the human body. The Venetians then inadvertently smashed several sculptures while attempting to remove them as loot, and Thomas Bruce, Lord Elgin, later brought a substantial portion of the surviving sculptures to England. There were originally 115 panels in the frieze. CORINTHIAN Question 12 The Peloponnesian War involved what two … [citation needed], When independent Greece gained control of Athens in 1832, the visible section of the minaret was demolished; only its base and spiral staircase up to the level of the architrave remain intact. Since the corrosion product (rust) is expansive, the expansion caused further damage by cracking the marble. For comprehensive drawings showing the location of each piece today, see: Pollini 2007, pp. [78], Joan Breton Connelly offers a mythological interpretation for the frieze, one that is in harmony with the rest of the temple's sculptural program which shows Athenian genealogy through a series of succession myths set in the remote past. The frieze of the Parthenon's entablature contained 92 metopes, 14 each on the east and west sides, 32 each on the north and south sides. [88], A major fire broke out in the Parthenon shortly after the middle of the third century AD[89][90] which destroyed the Parthenon's roof and much of the sanctuary's interior. [93] These renovations inevitably led to the removal and dispersal of some of the sculptures. [73] According to the building records, the metope sculptures date to the years 446–440 BC. [100] In 1018, the emperor Basil II went on a pilgrimage to Athens directly after his final victory over the Bulgarians for the sole purpose of worshipping at the Parthenon. Of these, ninety-four still exist, either intact or broken. [81], The figures on the corners of the pediment depict the passage of time over the course of a full day. If the marble blocks were not up to standard, the architects would reject them. It was built in the mid-5th century bce and dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena Parthenos (“Athena the Virgin”). [97] Icons were painted on the walls and many Christian inscriptions were carved into the Parthenon's columns. Poseidon, Apollo, and Artemis, marble relief, portion of the east section of the Parthenon frieze, 448–429. [109], Despite the alterations accompanying the Parthenon's conversion into a church and subsequently a mosque, its structure had remained basically intact. [18] According to this theory, the name of the Parthenon means the "temple of the virgin goddess" and refers to the cult of Athena Parthenos that was associated with the temple. It is also suggested that it was to enliven what might have appeared an inert mass in the case of a building without curves. In this case, the ceiling and floor of the temple may seem to bow in the presence of the surrounding angles of the building. After some delay, a Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments was established in 1983. "the temple"). The decorative stonework was originally highly colored. The most characteristic feature in the architecture and decoration of the temple is the Ionic frieze running around the exterior of the cella walls. [117] For the next century and a half, parts of the remaining structure were looted for building material and especially valuable objects. In the mid-5th century BC, when the Athenian Acropolis became the seat of the Delian League and Athens was the greatest cultural center of its time, Pericles initiated an ambitious building project that lasted the entire second half of the century. It was completed in 438 BC, although decoration of the Parthenon continued until 432 BC. [98][116], The following year, the Venetians abandoned Athens to avoid a confrontation with a large force the Turks had assembled at Chalcis; at that time, the Venetians had considered blowing up what remained of the Parthenon along with the rest of the Acropolis to deny its further use as a fortification to the Turks, but that idea was not pursued. In subsequent centuries the building was transformed into a Byzantine church, a Roman Catholic cathedral, and later a mosque. Lincoln, NE 68516 (402) 423-2222. [14], Since 1975, numerous large-scale restoration projects have been undertaken; the latest is expected to finish in 2020. In common with other Greek temples, it is of post and lintel construction and is surrounded by columns ('peripteral') carrying an entablature. This is because the earliest archaeological... See full answer below. Each salvageable piece of marble was returned to its original position, while gaps were filled with new marble from the same quarry the ancient Athenians had used. [118], The 18th century was a period of Ottoman stagnation—so that many more Europeans found access to Athens, and the picturesque ruins of the Parthenon were much drawn and painted, spurring a rise in philhellenism and helping to arouse sympathy in Britain and France for Greek independence. It is suggested to have occurred in c. 481–484, in the instructions against the remaining temples by order of Emperor Zeno, because the temple had been the focus of Pagan Hellenic opposition against Zeno in Athens in support of Illus, who had promised to restore Hellenic rites to the temples that were still standing. DRACONIAN LAW CODE Question 10 Who excavated the ancient city of Troy? Parthenon, temple that dominates the hill of the Acropolis at Athens. The colonnade, consisting of 8 columns on the east and west and 17 on the north and south, encloses a walled interior rectangular chamber, or cella, originally divided into three aisles by two smaller Doric colonnades closed at the west end just behind the great cult statue. [26], Although the Parthenon is architecturally a temple and is usually called so, some scholars have argued that it is not really a "temple" in the conventional sense of the word. The Turks seized the Acropolis in 1458, and two years later they adopted the Parthenon as a mosque, without material change except for the raising of a minaret at the southwest corner. It was previously presumed that the missing metopes were destroyed during the Morosini explosion of the Parthenon in 1687.[77]. 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