Parthenon Analysis

The Parthenon and the Altes Museum have been significantly important architectural buildings throughout this whole period of time. The Parthenon was built between 447 and 438 B.C in the Acropolis of Athens in Greece, by Iktinos and Kallikrates. It represents the culmination of classical Greek architecture and its search for perfection. The greatest German neoclassical architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781-1841) designed the Altes Museum in Berlin, which was opened in 1830. In his design, Schinkel linked architectural motifs from Greek and Roman antiquity and incorporated them into the museum. Even though these two iconic structures come from different cultures and times- they show some similarities in their construction and design elements.

All the sculpted figures are depicted with natural form and coherence with the space in the building. This can be seen from the north frieze, where the row of eleven chariots not only suggests a sense of motion within the space of the frieze, but also leads the movement of the viewer in the real space. In addition, the comparison is often made between the Parthenon and the Hephaesteum, in terms of their similar combination of a Doric facade with an Ionic frieze, whereas the latter has a significantly smaller size, and its frieze with carved figures only covers two porches. Jenkins, The Parthenon Frieze, p. 10.

However, the new construction project was not welcomed by everyone in Athens. The people saw the construction as vain and they were also upset that the money being used to build the Parthenon was originally handed over as the usual

They were the statue of Athena, the Ionic frieze, the Doric metopes, and the pediments. Except for the gold and ivory statue of Athena, all of the other sculptures were painted with bright colors. When the Greek temple builders placed a sloped roof over the entablature it left a triangular space at each end of the building. This empty space needed decoration so the pediment was created. The Parthenon had sculptured panels along its exterior above the columns known as metopes and sculptures in the triangular spaces underneath the roof line at both ends of the building, also knows as pediments and a unique sculptural feature the Ionic frieze which was around the top of the

During the Roman Republic the senatorial class competed for status through the means of public buildings, coins, tombs, and artifacts. By commemorating both past events as well as important figures the Romans are able to hold onto the past in a rather sophisticated manner. Correspondingly, as an aspiring consul I would strategically build a Hall of Memory museum to pay tribute to my respectable ancestors and to uphold the reputation that my last name carries.

An extravagant architectural building: with almost absolutely no straight lines throughout the building itself, a forty foot high statue of Athena stands inside of the main room, and eight columns surround the outside. Throughout the article “Deep Frieze,” Daniel Mendelsohn talks about the parthenon, Greece’s most iconic temple, to be one of the highly controversial buildings of it’s time proceeding into some lives of today. He states “When we look at the Parthenon today, we are looking at a building that began life much as One World Trade Center did-as a monument to a national cataclysm. “By now of course, it is one of the most iconic structures in the world….” (Mendelsohn, 34). In this article Mendelsohn focuses on the history, conspiracies, and the different controversies caused by the Parthenon.

If we look at the Pantheon, we recognize that Pantheon in Greek means to honour all Gods, which is therefore another influence that Greece had on Roman Architecture. The building design is one of a substantial round shape very much like a large barrel with a dome covering the top. There is a light-well in the centre of the dome. Layers of alluring thin brickwork cover the outside, round walls. There are small access holes that appear infrequently in the wall which were utilized during construction to frame interior voids. The main entrance is completely impressive: with double bronze doors that measure 6.4 meters, with a lasting and fitting contribution from their metal smiths. These doors are protected by a high, broad porch, made with 16

I think it is important to correlate it’s style with role. Especially, at that time, It is quite true. The Parthenon building means the power of the Athenians. So, it was chosen as a monument. At that period, those who lived in Athena believed that god of Greece helped and would help them to thrive. In a sense, It makes sense to build the buildings like Parthenon for them. According to what I searched for, Parthenon is being used as a museum. The Pantheon, on the other hand, was used as the tomb of kings. And now, it is used as a Roman church.

I choose to compare and contrast the Greek Parthenon to the Roman Pantheon. First I would like to go into a little history of the who buildings. Starting with the Parthenon, built between 447 and 432 BCE dedicated to the deity Athena. “The acropolis itself measures some 300 by 150 metres and is 70 metres high at its maximum. The temple, which would sit on the highest part of the acropolis, was designed by the architects Iktinos and Kallikratis, and the project was overseen by the sculptor Pheidias. Pentelic marble from the nearby Mt. Pentelicus was used for the building, and never before had so much marble (22,000 tons)  been used in a Greek temple.” (Cartwright, Mark. "Parthenon.") The Parthenon being the largest Greek temple mixing both Doric and new Ionic styles. The temple gives you an illusion of true straight lines with the columns leaning inwards giving the building a lifting effect appearing lighter than the material it 's built out of suggests. It has a beautiful frieze depicting Athena center stage. “The frieze ran around all four sides of the building (an Ionic feature). Beginning at the southwest corner, the narrative follows around the two sides, meeting again at the far end. It presents a

Cartwright (2012) lay much emphases on those details clearly ahead of time, “The temple measure 30.88 m by 69.5 m and was constructed using a 4:9 ratio of the diameter of the columns in relation to the space between columns, the height of the building in relation to its width, and the width of the inner cella in relation to its length. Other sophisticated architectural techniques were used to combat the problem that anything on that scale of size when perfectly straight seen from a distance to be curved. To give the illusion of the true, the columns lean over so slightly inwards, a feature which also gives a lifting effect to the building making it appear lighter than its construction material would suggest. Also, the stylobate or floor of the temple is not exactly flat but rises slightly in the center. The columns also have entasis, that is, a slight fattening in the middle, and the four corner columns are imperceptibly faster than the other

The National monuments and famous artists , such as; Grant Wood and Michelangelo, have been studied by many artist. The history behind the artists and monuments around the world are important to many people today. Many of the pieces of art, are even considered as symbols to many nations. Art and artists have also been recognize by their country’s. Many Artist and their art work have been studied for years. There are many interesting facts about the great that came before us.

The dome is the top architectural design in both the literal and figurative sense. Therefore, as the most difficult element of the building, it becomes the easiest landmark. For the first time, the dome ceiling was developed in the architecture of ancient Rome. For Roman architecture characteristic hemispherical dome with the jacketed inner surface. Once emerged, it was called the fabricated sky, preserved in the heart of Rome. Consequently, this element of architecture has had a tremendous impact on the imagination of many generations of architects. The Pantheon has inspired Brunelleschi for the creation of the dome of the cathedral of Santa-Maria Del Fiore in Florence. The paper investigates the history of the creation of both objects and compares the architectural peculiarities of both buildings.

The style of the Pathernon shows a few things about the Athenians. They were a highly spiritual people who believed that the gods were in their favour. The building was dedicated to the Greek Goddess Athena which shows how important this deity was to the Greeks. Thus both the style and the function of the buildings design were intended for religious purposes.

The ancient Greek artists were relentless in their pursuit of excellence. They developed changes and improved existing artistic trends and styles. Because of this intense passion of the arts Greek architecture evolved over the course a few centuries displaying the ideals of human beauty and architectural design that continue to influence today’s modern civilizations. One structure that represents Greek architecture at its best are Greek temples. Initially built up sites throughout Greece were called sanctuaries, they were thought to be sacred to one or more gods. The earliest sanctuaries included outdoor altars or shrines, as more structures were added to a sanctuary they started to take shape as a home for the gods also called a temple. Several building styles evolved, ranging from simple, one-room structures with columned porches to buildings surrounded entirely by columns. (Stokstad & Cothren, 2013, p.102). Two of the earliest styles in Greek architecture designs emerged during the Archaic period, the Doric and the Ionic order. Some of the most famous and well-preserved structures from this era are temples that built for the gods and have withstood the test of time.

Europe’s Renaissance period is characterized mainly by the rebirth of society as a whole. For once, culture thrived and people looked beyond their differences and problems and focused on achieving their maximum potential instead. The nature of this rebirth can be categorized as artistic where culture was portrayed in creative manners from art, literature, to several other aspects representing people’s culture in an unorthodox manner. Also, this revitalization of culture of the era has had a profound impact on architecture. It was a challenge for architects to stay beside the evolving theories and new aesthetics in the arts according to the time churches and public buildings were considered as public works of art. However, in order for this