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The Pantheon Vs Parthenon

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Two very important historic buildings from the Greek and Roman civilizations, namely the Parthenon and the Pantheon respectively, are worthy of academic exploration. An analysis of their function and style will help to put their design and features into perspective, and create a better appreciation for their emulation in Western civilization. These buildings possess very unique individual characteristic designs, which bears testimony to the societies from which they originate. However, they are also a resourceful database of knowledge in terms of their symbolism, rich heritage of their era and application to the present civilization. Their permanent contribution to historical reference and modern society, are a token of their expression …show more content…

The design of the Parthenon was reflection of the then current Grecian Empire. According to Silverman (n.d.), “the Parthenon represents the tangible and visible efflorescence of Athenian imperial power. It symbolizes the power and influence of the Athenian politician, Perikles, who championed its construction”. The style and function of the building being a reflection of the culture is reflected in the Orders of the design. The Parthenon building consists of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns. These orders are distinguished by their capitals at the top of the column. They are either short and thick, as in the case of the Doric column or tall and slimmer, as in the case of the Iconic columns, the dimensions of either of which is indicative of strength and or power. According to Ricard (2010), “Doric is not only a type of column, but an "order"; this means that temples of the Doric order not only have this type of column, but also have a certain structure at the upper levels”. This could be interpreted as a reflection of the social class system of Greece, of which, Batista (2017) argues that, “Athenian society was ultimately divided into four main social classes: the upper class; the metics, or middle class; the …show more content…

This description can be collaborated with the fact that the depredations of the Peloponnesian War were occurring within the Grecian domain, between the two ancient Greek city-states. These were the Delian league of Athens and the Peloponnesian league Sparta. Reflected in the building’s metopes, Silverman (n.d.) denotes

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