The Parthenon: A universal symbol of Classical Greece
The Parthenon is a great temple in Greece. Her aesthetic appeal comes from perfecting many established rules of Greek architecture and the quality of sculpture decoration.
The Parthenon describes all the ideas of Greek thought during the Classical era through artistic means. The idealism of the Greek way of life, as well as the understanding of a mathematically explained harmony in the natural world, were notions that in every Athenian eye distinguished them from the barbarians. These ideals are represented in the perfect proportions of the building, its intricate architectural features and the anthropomorphic statues that adorned it.
Some of these details were found in other Greek temples, while some were unique to the Parthenon. The temple owes its sophisticated appeal to the subtle details that were built on the architectural elements to meet practical needs or enhance the visual appeal of the building.
In the Parthenon there are no absolute straight lines because it gives a thin organic character to an obvious geometric structure. The columns of the peristyle cone in a light arc as they reach the top of the building give the impression that they are swollen with enthusiasm as if they were burdened by the weight of the roof. A thin feature that classifies anthropomorphic transfers to other wisely detectable objects.
The peristyle columns have a height of over ten meters and are oriented slightly towards the center of the building at the top of about 7 cm. While the platform on which the arcs support in a soft arc that brings the corners about 12 cm closer to the ground
The architecture of The Parthenon
The Parthenon architects seem to be exceptional scholars of visual illusion, a feature undoubtedly accentuated by years of architectural improvement and observation of the natural world. They have designed the columns appearing at the corners of the temple to be 1 / 40o about 6 cm larger in diameter than all the other columns, while making the space around the smaller ones of the remaining columns about 25 cm.
The reason for this small adjustment of the corner columns is due to the fact that they are placed in the bright sky, which would make them appear a little thinner and a little farther from the columns placed on the darkest background of the building wall. Increasing the size and reducing the space thus compensates for the illusion that usually causes the bright background.
These distinct features place the Parthenon apart from all other Greek temples, because the overall result is a deviation from the static Doric structures of the past, towards a more dynamic form of architectural expression.
Athenian citizens were proud of their cultural identity and aware of the historical size of their ideas. They believe they were civilized among the barbarians and that their cultural and political achievements were inevitably to change the history of all civilized people. The catalyst for all their achievements was the development of a system of government that the world had never seen: democracy.
Democracy, undoubtedly was the epitome of the Athenian way of thinking, was at the center, while the Parthenon was built. This was a direct democracy where every citizen had a voice on common issues through the Convention that met on the Pnyx Hill next to the Acropolis forty times a year to decide on all internal or foreign policy issues.
The fact that citizens were depicted as individuals for the first time in the Parthenon frieze was due to the fact that for the first time in history every citizen of a city was recognized as an important entity and a major driving force in the city and observable universe.
