The Parthenon is one of the greatest temples ever built in ancient times. It is a masterful piece on engineering done by the Athenians at the peak of their power. It took the Greeks almost 15 years from start to finish to build this temple. The temple outlasted the Greeks by nearly 2000 years and has filled the many roles required by the people who have occupied it. It’s architecture is unmatched by any other building in the world. The origin of the word Parthenon is from the Greek word παρθενών, which means the “unmarried woman’s apartments” in a house. This name and meaning started out to refer to only one particular room in the temple, which is debated to be either the western cella or the room in which the peplos was presented to Athena
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It is a Doric temple with some Ionic features in it. The temple itself stands on a platform of 3 steps. It is of post and lintel construction like most other Greek temples and is surrounded by columns. There are eight columns at each end of the temple, which is known as “octastyle”. The temple also has 17 columns on the side. The columns surround the inner cella, which was divided into two compartments. Above the columns was a frieze that was separated into metopes and triglyphs. The metope was covered in relief sculptures like the Plaque of Ergastine, and the triglyphs were that consisted of 3 mini relief columns that separated the metopes. At the ends of the building and above the frieze, were the pediments, which were filled with various sculptures depicting Athenian …show more content…
During the third century, a huge fire broke out in the Parthenon and the fire destroyed much of the roof and the interior of the Parthenon. A wooden roof was built to cover the temple, although it paled in comparison to the original roof. In the early sixth century AD, the Parthenon became a church dedicated to the pagan god Athena to a church dedicated or the Virgin Mary. Its new name was the Church of the Parthenos Maria. The orientation of the building was changed so that it faced the east and the main entrance was moved to the west end of the building. Christian icons were placed inside the building and many were painted onto the walls and Christian inscriptions were carved into the wall. These renovations lead to the destruction of many of the original sculptures located in the
It is a Doric temple with some Ionic features in it. The temple itself stands on a platform of 3 steps. It is of post and lintel construction like most other Greek temples and is surrounded by columns. There are eight columns at each end of the temple, which is known as “octastyle”. The temple also has 17 columns on the side. The columns surround the inner cella, which was divided into two compartments. Above the columns was a frieze that was separated into metopes and triglyphs. The metope was covered in relief sculptures like the Plaque of Ergastine, and the triglyphs were that consisted of 3 mini relief columns that separated the metopes. At the ends of the building and above the frieze, were the pediments, which were filled with various sculptures depicting Athenian …show more content…
During the third century, a huge fire broke out in the Parthenon and the fire destroyed much of the roof and the interior of the Parthenon. A wooden roof was built to cover the temple, although it paled in comparison to the original roof. In the early sixth century AD, the Parthenon became a church dedicated to the pagan god Athena to a church dedicated or the Virgin Mary. Its new name was the Church of the Parthenos Maria. The orientation of the building was changed so that it faced the east and the main entrance was moved to the west end of the building. Christian icons were placed inside the building and many were painted onto the walls and Christian inscriptions were carved into the wall. These renovations lead to the destruction of many of the original sculptures located in the