The Parthenon is one of the most famous monuments of ancient architecture. This 2,500-year-old magnificent temple on the Acropolis in Athens has survived earthquakes, fires, explosions and repeated looting attempts. And although the Parthenon was in no way an engineering breakthrough in construction, its style became the paradigm of classical architecture.

1. Acropolis in Athens

The Acropolis in Athens, where the Parthenon is located, is also called the "sacred rock" and was used for defensive purposes.

2. Cultural layers

Cultural layers discovered on the slopes of the Acropolis indicate that there were settlements on the hill since 2800 BC, that is, long before the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures.

3. The Acropolis was a sacred place

Long before the construction of the Parthenon, the Acropolis was a sacred place and there were other temples on it. The Parthenon replaced the old Temple of Athena, which was destroyed during the Persian invasion in 480 BC.

4. House Parthenos

The name "Parthenon" is derived from one of the many epithets of Athena (Athena Parthenos), and it means ""house of Parthenos"". This name was given to the temple in the 5th century BC because a cult statue of Athena was installed inside it.

5. Construction of the Parthenon

Construction of the Parthenon began in 447 BC. and was completed in 438 BC, but the final decoration of the temple continued until 432 BC.

6. Ictinus, Callicrates and Phidias

The Parthenon, which was built by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates under the supervision of the sculptor Phidias, is, according to most modern architects and historians, the highest expression of ancient Greek architectural genius. The temple is also considered the culmination of the development of the Doric order, the simplest of the three classical Greek architectural styles.

7. 192 Greek warriors

Several modern historians (including art historian John Boardman) believe that the frieze above the Doric columns of the Parthenon depicts the 192 Greek soldiers who died at the Battle of Marathon against the Persians in 490 BC.

8. Stones from Pentelikon

Some of the financial records of the construction of the Parthenon have been preserved, which show that the largest expense was the transportation of stones from Pentelikon, which was located sixteen kilometers from the Acropolis of Athens.

9. The Greek government and the EU have been restoring the Parthenon for 42 years

The Parthenon Restoration Project (which is funded by the Greek government and European Union) has been going on for 42 years. It took the ancient Athenians only 10 years to build the Parthenon.

10. 12-meter statue of the goddess Athena

The rectangular building, 31 meters wide and 70 meters high, was built of white marble. Surrounded by forty-six columns stood a 12-meter statue of the goddess Athena, made of wood, gold and ivory.

11. Tyrant Lahar

Although much of the structure remains intact, the Parthenon has suffered significant damage over the centuries. It all started in 296 BC, when the Athenian tyrant Lacharus removed the gold covering from the statue of Athena in order to pay the debt of his army.

12. In the fifth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church

In the fifth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church, and in 1460 a Turkish mosque was located in the Parthenon. In 1687, the Ottoman Turks placed a gunpowder warehouse in the temple, which exploded when the temple was shelled by the Venetian army. At the same time, part of the temple turned into ruins.

13. 46 external columns and 23 internal

The Parthenon had 46 outer columns and 23 inner columns, but not all remain today. In addition, the Parthenon used to have a roof (it currently does not).

14. The Parthenon's design is earthquake resistant

The Parthenon's design is earthquake-resistant, even though the temple's columns are quite thin.

15. The Parthenon was used as a city treasury

The Parthenon was also used as the city's treasury, like many other Greek temples of the era.

16. The construction of the Parthenon was not financed by the Athenians.

Even though the Parthenon is the most popular Athenian building of all time, its construction was not financed by the Athenians. After the end of the Persian Wars, Athens became, in 447 BC, the dominant power in what is now Greece. Funds for the construction of the temple were taken from the tribute paid to Athens by other city-states of the Delian League.

17. Delhi League deposits were kept in an opisthodome

The monetary deposits of the Delian League, which was ruled by Athens, were kept in the opisthodome - the rear closed part of the temple.

18. The Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Temple of Nike were built over the ruins of the Acropolis.

During the "classical period" not only the Parthenon, but also the Erechtheion and the Temple of Nike were built over the ruins of the Acropolis.

19. The first theater in history

Besides these structures, another important monument at the foot of the Acropolis is the "Theater of Dionysus", which is considered to be the first theater in history.

20. The Parthenon had a multi-colored facade

From 1801 to 1803, part of the remaining sculptures of the temple were taken away by the Turks (who controlled Greece at that time). These sculptures were subsequently sold to the British Museum.

23. A full-scale replica of the Parthenon is located in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Parthenon is the most copied building in the world. There are many buildings around the world that were created in the same style. There is also a full-size replica of the Parthenon located in Nashville, Tennessee.

24. The opening of the Acropolis Museum took place in 2009

More than half a million people visited the new Acropolis Museum within the first two months of its opening in 2009.

25. Golden Rectangle of the Parthenon

A rectangle's length to width ratio of 1.618 was considered most pleasing to the eye. This ratio was called the "golden ratio" by the Greeks. In the world of mathematics, this number is called "phi" and it was named after the Greek sculptor Phidias, who used golden ratio in his sculptures. From the outside, the Parthenon is a perfect “golden rectangle”.

The famous ancient Greek temple, the Parthenon, is located on the famous Acropolis of Athens. This main temple in Ancient Athens is a magnificent monument of ancient architecture. It was built in honor of the patroness of Athens and all of Attica - the goddess Athena.

The construction date of the Parthenon is considered to be 447 BC. It was installed thanks to the found fragments of marble tablets, on which the city authorities presented resolutions and financial reports. Construction lasted 10 years. The temple was consecrated in 438 BC. on the festival of Panathenaia (which translated from Greek means “for all Athenians”), although work on decorating and decorating the temple was carried out until 431 BC.

The initiator of the construction was Pericles, an Athenian statesman, famous commander and reformer. The design and construction of the Parthenon was carried out by the famous ancient Greek architects Ictinus and Kallikrates. The decoration of the temple was made by the greatest sculptor of those times - Phidias. High quality Pentelic marble was used for the construction.

The building was built in the form of a peripterus (a rectangular structure surrounded by columns). Total 50 columns (8 columns on the facades and 17 columns on the sides). The ancient Greeks took into account that straight lines are distorted at a distance, so they resorted to some optical techniques. For example, the columns do not have the same diameter along the entire length; they taper somewhat towards the top, and the corner columns are also inclined towards the center. Thanks to this, the structure seems ideal.

Previously, in the center of the temple there was a statue of Athena Parthenos. The monument was about 12 m high and made of gold and ivory on a wooden base. In one hand the goddess held a statue of Nike, and with the other she leaned on a shield, near which the serpent Erichthonius was curled up. On Athena's head there was a helmet with three large crests (the middle one with the image of a sphinx, the side ones with griffins). The scene of Pandora's birth was carved on the pedestal of the statue. Unfortunately, the statue has not survived to this day and is known from descriptions, images on coins and a few copies.

Over many centuries, the temple was attacked more than once, a significant part of the temple was destroyed, and historical relics were looted. Today, some parts of the masterpieces of ancient sculptural art can be seen in famous museums around the world. The main part of the magnificent works of Phidias was destroyed by people and time.

Restoration work is currently underway; reconstruction plans include maximum recreation of the temple in its original form in ancient times.

Parthenon composed of Athens Acropolis included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Predecessors of the Parthenon

Main articles: Hecatompedon (temple), Opisthodomos (temple)

The interior (59 m long and 21.7 m wide) has two more steps (total height 0.7 m) and is amphiprostyle. The facades have porticoes with columns that are just below the columns of the peristyle. The eastern portico was a pronaos, the western one a posticum.

Plan of the Parthenon sculptural decoration (north right). Antiquity period.

Material and technology

The temple was built entirely from Pentelic marble, mined nearby. During mining he has White color, but under the influence of the sun's rays it turns yellow. The northern side of the building is exposed to less radiation - and therefore the stone there has a grayish-ashy tint, while the southern blocks have a golden-yellowish color. The tiles and stylobate are also made of this marble. The columns are made of drums fastened together with wooden plugs and pins.

Metopes

Main article: Doric frieze of the Parthenon

The metopes were part of the triglyph-metope frieze, traditional for the Doric order, which encircled the outer colonnade of the temple. There were a total of 92 metopes on the Parthenon, containing various high reliefs. They were connected thematically along the sides of the building. In the east the battle of the centaurs with the Lapiths was depicted, in the south - the Amazonomachy, in the west - probably scenes from the Trojan War, in the north - the Gigantomachy.

64 metopes survive: 42 in Athens and 15 in the British Museum. Most of them are on the eastern side.

Bas-relief frieze

East side. Plates 36-37. Seated gods.

Main article: Ionic frieze of the Parthenon

The outer side of the cella and opisthodome was surrounded at the top (at a height of 11 m from the floor) by another frieze, Ionic. It was 160 m long and 1 m high and contained about 350 foot and 150 mounted figures. The bas-relief, which is one of the most famous works of this genre in ancient art that has come down to us, depicts a procession on the last day of the Panathenaia. On the north and south sides horsemen and chariots, just citizens, are depicted. On the south side there are also musicians, people with various gifts and sacrificial animals. The western part of the frieze contains many young men with horses, mounting or already mounted. In the east (above the entrance to the temple) the end of the procession is represented: the priest, surrounded by gods, accepts the peplos woven for the goddess by the Athenians. standing nearby important people cities.

96 frieze plates have survived. 56 of them are in the British Museum, 40 (mostly the western part of the frieze) are in Athens.

Pediments

Main article: Pediments of the Parthenon

Pediment fragment.

Giant sculptural groups were placed in the tympanums of the pediments (0.9 m deep) above the western and eastern entrances. They have survived very poorly to this day. The central figures almost didn't make it. In the center of the eastern pediment in the Middle Ages, a window was barbarically cut through, which completely destroyed the composition located there. Ancient authors usually avoid this part of the temple. Pausanias, the main source on such matters, mentions them only in passing, paying much more attention to the statue of Athena. Sketches by J. Kerry dating back to 1674 have been preserved, which provide quite a lot of information about the western pediment. The Eastern one was already in a deplorable state at that time. Therefore, the reconstruction of the gables is mostly just guesswork.

The eastern group depicted the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus. Only the side parts of the composition have been preserved. A chariot driven, presumably, by Helios, enters from the south side. Dionysus sits in front of him, then Demeter and Kore. Behind them stands another goddess, perhaps Artemis. Three sitting people reached us from the north female figures- the so-called "three veils" - who are sometimes considered Hestia, Dione and Aphrodite. In the very corner there is another figure, apparently driving a chariot, since in front of it is the head of a horse. This is probably Nyux or Selena. Regarding the center of the pediment (or rather, most of it), we can only say that there, definitely, due to the theme of the composition, there were the figures of Zeus, Hephaestus and Athena. Most likely, the rest of the Olympians and, perhaps, some other gods were there. A torso survives, attributed in most cases to Poseidon.

The western pediment represents the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for the possession of Attica. They stood in the center and were located diagonally to each other. On both sides of them there were chariots, probably in the north - Nike with Hermes, in the south - Iris with Amphitryon. There were figures of legendary characters around Athenian history, but their exact attribution is almost impossible.

28 statues have reached us: 19 in the British Museum and 11 in Athens.

Athena Parthenos statue

The statue of Athena Parthenos, standing in the center of the temple and being its sacred center, was made by Phidias himself. It was upright and about 11 m high, made in the chrysoelephantine technique (that is, from gold and ivory on a wooden base). The sculpture has not survived and is known from various copies and numerous images on coins. In one hand the goddess holds Nike, and with the other she leans on the shield. The shield depicts Amazonomachy. There is a legend that Phidias depicted himself (in the image of Daedalus) and Pericles (in the image of Theseus) on it, for which (as well as on charges of stealing gold for the statue) he went to prison. The peculiarity of the relief on the shield is that the second and third plans are shown not from behind, but one above the other. In addition, its subject matter allows us to say that this is already a historical relief. Another relief was on Athena's sandals. A centauromachy was depicted there.

The birth of Pandora, the first woman, was carved on the pedestal of the statue.

Other finishing details

None of the ancient sources recalls the fire in the Parthenon, but archaeological excavations have proven that it occurred in the middle of the 3rd century. BC BC, most likely during the invasion of the barbarian tribe of the Heruli, who sacked Athens in 267 BC. e. As a result of the fire, the roof of the Parthenon was destroyed, as well as almost all the internal fittings and ceilings. The marble is cracked. In the eastern extension, the colonnade, both main doors of the temple and the second frieze collapsed. If dedicatory inscriptions were kept in the temple, they are irretrievably lost. Reconstruction after the fire did not aim to completely restore the appearance of the temple. The terracotta roof was installed only over the internal premises, and the external colonnade was unprotected. Two rows of columns in the eastern hall were replaced with similar ones. Based architectural style restored elements, it was possible to establish that the blocks in an earlier period belonged to various buildings of the Acropolis of Athens. In particular, 6 blocks of the western doors formed the basis of a massive sculptural group depicting a chariot drawn by horses (scratches are still visible on these blocks in the places where the horses' hooves and chariot wheels were attached), as well as a group of bronze statues of warriors, which Pausanias described. The other three blocks of the western doors are marble tablets with financial statements, which establish the main stages of the construction of the Parthenon.

Christian temple

Story

The Parthenon remained a temple to the goddess Athena for a thousand years. It is not known exactly when it became a Christian church. In the 4th century, Athens fell into disrepair and became a provincial city of the Roman Empire. In the 5th century, the temple was robbed by one of the emperors, and all its treasures were transported to Constantinople. There is information that under Patriarch Paul III of Constantinople the Parthenon was rebuilt into the Church of St. Sophia.

In the early 13th century, the statue of Athena Promachos was damaged and destroyed during the Fourth Crusade. The Athena Parthenos statue probably disappeared as early as the 3rd century BC. e. during a fire or earlier. Roman and Byzantine emperors repeatedly issued decrees banning pagan cults, but the pagan tradition in Hellas was too strong. At the present stage, it is generally accepted that the Parthenon became a Christian temple around the 6th century AD.

Probably, under the predecessor of Choniates, the building of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Athens suffered more significant changes. The apse in the eastern part was destroyed and rebuilt. The new apse was closely adjacent to the ancient columns, so the central slab of the frieze was dismantled. This slab depicting the "peplos scene", later used to build fortifications on the Acropolis, was found by agents of Lord Elgin and is now on display in the British Museum. Under Michael Choniates himself interior decoration the temple was restored, including the painting Judgment Day on the wall of the portico where the entrance was located, there are paintings depicting the Passion of Christ in the narthex, a number of paintings that depict saints and previous Athenian metropolitans. All the Parthenon paintings from the Christian era were covered with a thick layer of whitewash in the 1880s, but in the early 19th century the Marquis of Bute commissioned watercolors from them. It was from these watercolors that researchers established the plot motifs of the paintings and the approximate time of creation - the end of the 12th century. Around the same time, the apse ceiling was decorated with mosaics, which collapsed within a few decades. Glass fragments of it are also on display in the British Museum.

On February 24 and 25, 1395, the Italian traveler Nicolo de Martoni visited Athens, who left in his Pilgrim's Book (now in the National Library of France, Paris) the first systematic description of the Parthenon since Pausanias. Martoni presents the Parthenon as a landmark exclusively Christian history, however, he considers his main wealth not to be the numerous relics and the revered icon of the Mother of God, painted by the Evangelist Luke and decorated with pearls and precious stones, and a copy of the Gospel written in Greek on thin gilded parchment by Saint Helen Equal to the Apostles, mother of Constantine the Great, the first Byzantine emperor to officially convert to Christianity. Martoni also talks about the cross scratched on one of the columns of the Parthenon by Saint Dionysius the Areopagite.

Martoni's journey coincided with the beginning of the reign of the Acciaioli family, whose representatives proved themselves to be generous benefactors. Nerio I Acciaioli ordered the doors of the cathedral to be inlaid with silver; in addition, he bequeathed the entire city to the cathedral, giving Athens into the possession of the Parthenon. The most significant addition to the cathedral from the Latinocracy period is the tower near the right side of the portico, built after the city was captured by the Crusaders. For its construction, they used blocks taken from the back of the tomb of a Roman nobleman on the hill of Philopappou. The tower was supposed to serve as the bell tower of the cathedral, in addition, it was equipped with spiral staircases that rose to the roof. Since the tower blocked the small doors to the narthex, the central western entrance of the Parthenon of the ancient era began to be used again.

During the reign of Acciaioli in Athens, the first and earliest drawing of the Parthenon that has survived to this day was created. It was executed by Ciriaco di Pizzicoli, an Italian merchant, papal legate, traveler and lover of the classics, better known as Cyriacus of Ancona. He visited Athens in 1444 and stayed in the luxurious palace into which the Propylaea had been converted to pay his respects to Acciaioli. Chiriacus left detailed notes and a number of drawings, but they were destroyed by a fire in 1514 in the library of the city of Pesaro. One of the images of the Parthenon has survived. It depicts a temple with 8 Doric columns, the location of the metopes - epistilia - is accurately indicated, and the frieze with the missing central metope - listae parietum - is correctly depicted. The building is very elongated, and the sculptures on the pediment depict a scene that is not similar to the dispute between Athena and Poseidon. This is a 15th century lady with a pair of rearing horses, surrounded by Renaissance angels. The description of the Parthenon itself is quite accurate: the number of columns is 58, and on the metopes, which are better preserved, as Cyriacus correctly suggests, a scene of the struggle of the centaurs with the Lapita is depicted. Cyriacus of Ancona also owns the very first description of the sculptural frieze of the Parthenon, which, as he believed, depicts the Athenian victories of the era of Pericles.

Mosque

Story

Reconstructions and decoration

Most detailed description The Parthenon from the Ottoman period belongs to Evliya Çelebi, a Turkish diplomat and traveler. He visited Athens several times throughout the 1630s and 1640s. Evliya Celebi noted that the conversion of the Christian Parthenon into a mosque did not greatly affect his internal view. The main feature of the temple remained the canopy over the altar. He also described that the four columns of red marble that supported the canopy were polished to a shine. The floor of the Parthenon is made of polished marble slabs up to 3 m each. Each of the blocks that decorated the walls was masterfully combined with the other in such a way that the border between them is invisible to the eye. Celebi noted that the panels on the eastern wall of the temple are so thin that they are able to transmit sunlight. This feature was also mentioned by Spohn and J. Wehler, who suggested that in fact this stone is phengite, a transparent marble, which, according to Pliny, was the favorite stone of the Emperor Nero. Evliya recalls that the silver inlay of the main doors Christian temple removed, and the antique sculptures and paintings are covered with whitewash, although the layer of whitewash is thin and you can see the plot of the painting. Next, Evliya Celebi gives a list of characters, listing the heroes of pagan, Christian and Muslim religions: demons, Satan, wild animals, devils, sorceresses, angels, dragons, antichrists, cyclops, monsters, crocodiles, elephants, rhinoceroses, as well as Cherub, archangels Gabriel, Seraphim, Azrael, Michael, the ninth heaven, on which the throne of the Lord is located, scales weighing sins and virtues .

Evliya does not describe the mosaics made of gold pieces and shards of multi-colored glass, which would later be found during excavations on the Acropolis of Athens. However, the mosaic is mentioned in passing by J. Spon and J. Wehler, describing in more detail the images of the Virgin Mary in the apse behind the altar, which survived from the previous Christian era. They also talk about a legend according to which the Turk who shot at the fresco of Mary lost his hand, so the Ottomans decided not to harm the temple anymore.

Although the Turks had no desire to protect the Parthenon from destruction, they also had no intention of completely distorting or destroying the temple. Since it is impossible to accurately determine the time of overwriting the Parthenon metopes, the Turks could continue this process. However, overall they carried out less destruction of the building than the Christians a thousand years before Ottoman rule, who transformed the majestic antique temple to the Christian Cathedral. As long as the Parthenon served as a mosque, Muslim worship took place surrounded by Christian paintings and images of Christian saints. The Parthenon was not subsequently rebuilt and its present appearance has remained unchanged since the 17th century.

Destruction

The peace between the Turks and the Venetians did not last long. A new Turkish-Venetian war began. In September 1687, the Parthenon suffered its most terrible blow: the Venetians, under the leadership of Doge Francesco Morosini, captured the Acropolis fortified by the Turks. On September 28, the Swedish general Koenigsmark, who was at the head of the Venetian army, gave the order to fire at the Acropolis from cannons on Philopappou Hill. When the cannons fired at the Parthenon, which served the Ottomans as a gunpowder storehouse, it exploded, and part of the temple instantly turned into ruins. In previous decades, Turkish gunpowder magazines were repeatedly blown up. In 1645, a warehouse built in the Propylaea of ​​the Acropolis was struck by lightning, killing Disdar and his family. In 1687, when Athens was attacked by the Venetians together with the army of the allied Holy League, the Turks decided to locate their ammunition, as well as hide children and women, in the Parthenon. They could rely on the thickness of the walls and ceilings or hope that the Christian enemy would not fire at the building, which had served as a Christian temple for several centuries.

Judging by the traces of shelling on the western pediment alone, about 700 cannonballs hit the Parthenon. At least 300 people died, their remains were found during excavations in the 19th century. central part the temple was destroyed, including 28 columns, a fragment of a sculptural frieze, and interior spaces that once served as a Christian church and mosque; the roof in the northern part has collapsed. The western pediment turned out to be almost undamaged, and Francesco Morosini wanted to take its central sculptures to Venice. However, the scaffolding used by the Venetians collapsed during the work, and the sculptures collapsed, falling to the ground. Several fragments of fragments were nevertheless taken to Italy, the rest remained on the Acropolis. From this time on, the history of the Parthenon becomes the history of ruins. The destruction of the Parthenon was witnessed by Anna Ocherjelm, lady-in-waiting of the Countess of Königsmarck. She described the temple and the moment of the explosion. Shortly after the final surrender of the Turks, while walking along the Acropolis, among the ruins of a mosque, she found an Arabic manuscript that was transferred by Anna Ocherjelm's brother to the library of the Swedish city of Uppsala. Therefore, after its two-thousand-year history, the Parthenon could no longer be used as a temple, since it was destroyed much more than one can imagine from its current appearance - the result of many years of reconstruction. John Pentland Magaffey, who visited the Parthenon several decades before restoration work began, noted:

From a political point of view, the destruction of the Parthenon had minimal consequences. A few months after the victory, the Venetians gave up power over Athens: they did not have enough forces to further defend the city, and the plague epidemic made Athens completely unattractive to invaders. The Turks again established a garrison on the Acropolis, albeit on a smaller scale, among the ruins of the Parthenon, and erected a new small mosque. It can be seen on the first of famous photographs temple, created in 1839.

From destruction to reconstruction

Early explorers of the Parthenon included the British archaeologist James Stewart and architect Nicholas Revett. Stuart first published drawings, descriptions and drawings with measurements of the Parthenon for the Society of Dilettantes in 1789. In addition, it is known that James Stewart collected a considerable collection of ancient antiquities from the Acropolis of Athens and the Parthenon. The cargo was sent by sea to Smyrna, after which the trace of the collection is lost. However, one of the fragments of the Parthenon frieze, removed by Stuart, was found in 1902 buried in the garden of the Colne Park estate in Essex, which was inherited by the son of Thomas Astle, an antiquarian and trustee of the British Museum.

The legal side of the matter still remains unclear. The actions of Lord Elgin and his agents were regulated by the Sultan's firman. Whether they contradicted him is impossible to establish, since the original document has not been found, only its translation into Italian, made for Elgin at the Ottoman court, is known. In the Italian version, it is allowed to measure and sketch sculptures using ladders and scaffolding; create plaster casts, dig up fragments buried under the soil during the explosion. The translation does not say anything about permission or prohibition to remove sculptures from the facade or pick up those that have fallen. It is known for certain that already among Elgin’s contemporaries, the majority criticized at least the use of chisels, saws, ropes and blocks for removing sculptures, since in this way the surviving parts of the building were destroyed. Irish traveler, author of several works on ancient architecture Edward Dodwell wrote:

I felt an unspeakable humiliation as I witnessed the Parthenon being deprived of its best sculptures. I saw several metopes being removed from the south-eastern part of the building. To raise the metopes, the wonderful cornice that protected them had to be thrown to the ground. The same fate befell the southeast corner of the pediment. Original text(English) I had the inexpressible mortification of being present, when the Parthenon was despoiled of its finest sculptures. I saw several metopes at the south east extremity of the temple taken down. They were fixed in between the triglyphs as in a groove; and in order to lift them up, it was necessary to throw to the ground the magnificent cornice by which they were covered. The south east angle of the pediment shared the same fate.

Independent Greece

Duveen Hall at the British Museum, which displays the Elgin Marbles

It is extremely limited to see in the Athenian Acropolis only a place where, like in a museum, you can only see the great creations of the era of Pericles... At least, people who call themselves scientists should not be allowed to cause senseless destruction on their own initiative. Original text(English) It is but a narrow view of the Akropolis of Athens to look on it simply as the place where the great works of the afe of Perikles may be seen as models in a museum… At all events, let not men callins themselves distinguished lend themselves tj such deeds of wanton destruction.

However, official archaeological policy remained unchanged until the 1950s, when a proposal to remove a staircase from a medieval tower at the western end of the Parthenon was abruptly rejected. At the same time, a restoration program was underway. appearance temple. Back in the 1840s, four columns of the northern facade and one column of the southern facade were partially restored. 150 blocks were returned to their place in the walls of the interior of the temple, the rest of the space was filled with modern red brick. The work was most intensified by the 1894 earthquake, which largely destroyed the temple. The first cycle of work was completed in 1902, its scale was quite modest, and it was carried out under the auspices of a committee of international consultants. Until the 1920s and for a long time Afterwards, chief engineer Nikolaos Balanos worked without external control. It was he who began the restoration program, designed for 10 years. It was planned to completely restore the internal walls, strengthen the gables and install plaster copies of the sculptures removed by Lord Elgin. In the end, the most significant change was the reproduction of the long sections of colonnades that connected the east and west facades.

Diagram showing blocks of individual columns from the ancient era, Manolis Korres

Thanks to the Balanos program, the destroyed Parthenon acquired its modern look. However, since the 1950s, after his death, his achievements have been repeatedly criticized. First, no attempt was made to return the blocks to their original location. Secondly, and most importantly, Balanos used iron rods and clamps to connect the antique marble blocks. Over time, they rusted and warped, causing the blocks to crack. In the late 1960s, in addition to the problem of Balanos fastenings, the effects of environment: Air pollution and acid rain have damaged the Parthenon sculptures and reliefs. In 1970, a UNESCO report proposed a variety of ways to save the Parthenon, including enclosing the hill under a glass cover. Eventually, in 1975, a committee was established to oversee the preservation of the entire complex of the Acropolis of Athens, and in 1986 work began to dismantle the iron fastenings used by Balanos and replace them with titanium ones. In the period -2012, the Greek authorities plan to restore the western facade of the Parthenon. Some elements of the frieze will be replaced with copies, the originals will be transported to the exhibition of the New Acropolis Museum. The chief engineer of the work, Manolis Korres, considers the first priority to be to patch up the holes left by bullets fired at the Parthenon in 1821 during the Greek Revolution. Also, restorers must assess the damage caused to the Parthenon by strong earthquakes in 1999. As a result of the consultations, it was decided that by the time the restoration work was completed, the remains of the apse from the Christian era could be seen inside the temple, as well as the pedestal of the statue of the goddess Athena Parthenos; Restorers will pay no less attention to the traces of Venetian cannonballs on the walls and medieval inscriptions on the columns.

In world culture

The Parthenon is one of the symbols not only of ancient culture, but also of beauty in general.

Modern copies

Nashville Parthenon

5th century BC became the most famous period in history Ancient Greece. It was then, in the era called classical, that Greek art reached its greatest flowering. The most culturally developed and prosperous city was Athens. The religious and social center in it was considered the Acropolis, a large oblong hill on which temples had been built since ancient times.

Work on the creation of the ensemble of the Athens Acropolis

The buildings of the Acropolis were destroyed during the wars with the Persians, but the then head of the government of Athens, the wise and enlightened Pericles, decided to restore the architectural ensemble. He entrusted his friend, the greatest Athenian sculptor Phidias, to lead the reconstruction work. The master dedicated 16 years of his life to the Acropolis. He exercised general supervision over the construction of temples and commanded teams of artisans and stonemasons. Under the leadership of Phidias, a magnificent ensemble grew up, which aroused the constant admiration of his contemporaries and descendants.

Parthenon - the main temple of the Acropolis of Athens

The main structure of the Athens Acropolis was the mighty Parthenon - the temple of Athena Parthenos (Virgin Athena). Its immediate creators were Iktinus and Kallicrates. It is believed that the first developed the design of the building, and the second supervised the progress of construction work. The temple occupies the highest part of the hill and, to this day, is visible from anywhere in the city. Powerful Doric columns give the Parthenon monumentality and austere beauty.

The decorative decoration of the temple was created by the great Phidias himself and his students. The reliefs on the eastern pediment depicted the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus. The theme of the western pediment was the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for supremacy over Attica. The center of the structure was a huge 12-meter statue of Athena Parthenos, created by Phidias from gold and ivory. The goddess's eyes sparkled with sapphires. in the palm of her hand right hand the goddess of victory Nike stood, and the left one leaned on a shield depicting the battle of the Greeks with the Amazons.

Fate of Phidias

Unfortunately, the created masterpiece ruined the great master. At first, Phidias was accused of part of the gold from which Athena's clothes were made. However, he easily proved his innocence: the gold was removed from the base and weighed. But the artist’s envious and ill-wishers did not calm down. The second charge turned out to be much more serious. The fact is that the ambitious Phidias depicted himself and Pericles on the goddess’s shield in the images of fighting warriors. In those days this was considered a terrible sacrilege. The great sculptor was thrown into prison, where he spent the rest of his days. The beautiful and majestic Parthenon still towers over the city as

The goddess Athena is the strangest (in terms of motivation) character in Greek mythology.

After all, she is the goddess of “smart” war, but at the same time she tries to resolve all issues peacefully.

She despises the pettiness of the other Olympians and rarely interferes in their conflicts.

But in the event of a threat to the Pantheon itself, Athena will be the first to enter the battle.

The goddess Athena repeatedly served as the punishing sword of Olympus, punishing the most self-confident mortals, but it was she who founded the greatest city of Greece, and then remained to watch over these mortals after the gods of Olympus had left forever.

And it is not surprising that her greatest sanctuary, the legendary Parthenon, also faced a very difficult and at times simply amazing fate.

Where is

The Parthenon is located in the very center of the capital, on the Acropolis of Athens.
The center of Athens is easy to navigate. There are many pedestrian areas, and the attractions are concentrated closely. It is impossible to get lost - two guiding hills rise above the main plane of the city: the Acropolis and Lycabettos.
Acropolis (Akropolis) - translated from Greek: “upper city” - was built on a rocky hill 156 meters high, which served as a natural fortification during sieges.

Parthenon during ancient Greece

The Parthenon is located on top of the Acropolis, the nearest Athens metro station from which you can get here is called Akropolis.

The large pedestrian street Dionysiou Areopagitou leads from the center of Athens to the main attraction of Greece.
Follow it straight, without turning anywhere. Gradually climbing up the mountain, it will lead you straight to your goal.

The Parthenon in Athens is visible from almost everywhere and looks especially beautiful at night when the lights are turned on.

Moreover, at first glance at the Acropolis, you can understand that the gods played a very important role in the life of the Greeks - it is literally crammed with various temples and sanctuaries of almost all more or less noticeable Olympians, from the powerful and formidable Zeus to the eternally drunk, but no less formidable Dionysus.

It is worth noting that the Parthenon is not the first sanctuary of the Acropolis dedicated to Athena. 200 years before its construction, not far from its current location, there was another temple - Hekatompedon. Scientists even admit that for some time, temples existed in parallel.

History of the temple, who built the Parthenon

Parthenon during restoration

Construction of the Parthenon began in 447 BC. The project is attributed to the architect Icten, and the construction was led by Callicrates, who was practically the court master of the ruler Pericles.

In addition to the Parthenon, Callicrates built several more temples on the Acropolis, and also actively participated in worldly life city, bringing to mind and completing the project of the Long Walls, which then very unpleasantly surprised the Spartan army during the Pelloponnesian Wars.

True, the offended Spartans still razed the walls to the ground thirty years later, but, alas (or maybe vice versa, fortunately), Kallicrates did not see this. In addition, the city residents restored the walls and they served as a symbol of Athenian independence for another three hundred years.

The Parthenon is the master’s main masterpiece. The temple still did not turn out the way Callicrates intended it. Construction took more than nine years, and all these years the Athenian government regularly reported to its people for every coin spent on construction (archaeologists managed to find marble tablets with reports).

Panatheneon holiday

At the Panathenaic festival of 438 BC. e., the temple was solemnly opened to visitors, but decorative work continued for another six years under the direction of the sculptor Phidias, successor of Callicrates and creator of one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the statue of Zeus at Olympia. For the Parthenon, Phidias created an equally beautiful statue of Athena Parthenos, which became the main decoration of the temple.

Alas, the glorious history of the sanctuary did not last even two hundred years - the last ruler who truly honored Athena was Alexander the Great. After his visit to the temple in 323 BC. e., Athens gradually slipped into tyranny, and was later repeatedly captured, first by barbarian tribes, and then by the Romans. Around the same time, there was a big fire in the temple and the statue of Athena Parthenos was lost (however, by the time of the fire it was practically worthless - all the gold elements were torn off in advance so that the then ruler of Athens could pay the soldiers).

Byzantine era Parthenon

After the fire, the temple was restored and it served as the final refuge of the goddess for almost 800 years, until under Patriarch Paul III it was turned into the Cathedral of St. Sophia.

All the treasures were taken to Constantinople, however, by that time there were few of them left. The temple was significantly rebuilt, but overall retained its characteristic appearance.

But in 1458, Athens again changed its state affiliation, becoming part of the Ottoman Empire.

The Turks placed a military garrison in the Acropolis, and turned the Parthenon into a mosque, rebuilding it into Once again and seriously damaging the paintings inside the temple. Interestingly, apart from painting over all subjects that are contrary to Muslim culture, no other changes were made to the interior decoration of the temple.

In 1687, during the war between the Ottomans and the Holy League, the Parthenon, which served the Turks as a warehouse and shelter, was fired upon from a commanding height - Philopappou Hill. A direct hit on the powder magazine literally destroyed the temple, burying more than 300 Turks under it.

Parthenon in 1840

For the next two hundred years, the ruins of the Parthenon served as a historical monument, until restoration began in 1840.

The process of restoring the main ancient temple is still going on, with varying success, but the fact that many archaeological discoveries have been made is difficult to deny.

True, in last years, the restoration project was frozen - after joining the EU, Greece simply did not have any money left to restore the monuments.

What the Ancient Greek Parthenon looked like

The ancient Greek Parthenon was a truly magnificent sight.

Parthenon in section

The basis of the temple is the stylobate that has survived to this day - a three-stage rise leading to the temple. The temple itself is a rectangular building, with a colonnade on each of the four sides. The dimensions of the base rectangle are 69.5 × 30.9 meters.

There were 8 columns on the facades of the temple, and another 17 on the sides, which in total gives us 48 supports (the corner columns are simultaneously elements of both the facade and the side part).

Interestingly, the columns were not perpendicular, but located at an angle, leaning inward. Moreover, the angle of inclination of the corner columns is much less than that of others. The columns themselves were classic examples of the Dorian order, although they were unusually large in size.

One of the surviving friezes of the Parthenon

Inside the temple, two additional steps were made, which led to the central platform, surrounded on the facades by another 12 columns.
The site was divided into three naves, a large central one and two small ones on the sides. The central nave was surrounded by three sides 21 columns. In its center was the same, later missing, statue of Athena Parthenos.

The internal frieze of the temple was made in the Ionic style and depicted a festive procession on the last day of Panathenaia.

A total of 96 plates of this frieze have survived, most of them in the British Museum. For many decades, the Greek government has been trying in vain to return the marble fragments of the Parthenon to their historical place.

As for the exterior, quite little is known about it. The pediments of the Parthenon were destroyed back in the Middle Ages, so they are being restored mainly by guesswork.

The east pediment may have depicted the birth of Athena, but almost no details of the sculptures remain. The western one most likely shows the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for the possession of Attica. A total of 30 statues from the pediments have survived, but their condition is quite deplorable, especially those that were in the British Museum at the end of the 20th century - they were subjected to a rather barbaric cleaning.

The external friezes of the Parthenon are a little better preserved - at least we know exactly what was depicted on them.

On the eastern side of the temple was depicted the history of the war between the centaurs and the Lapiths, on the western side - the Trojan War, in the north - the Gigantomachy, and in the south - scenes from the battle of the Greeks and the Amazons.

Most of the surviving high reliefs are in the Athens Museum, and their exact copies are gradually taking their places in the restored Parthenon.

Athena statue

The most successful copy of the famous statue of Phidias

The statue of Athena is described as one of Phidias' greatest works. The statue of the goddess was made of wood covered with gold (about a ton) and decorated with ivory.

Instead of emphasizing the inaccessibility and aloofness of the deity (as he did with Olympian Zeus), Phidias portrayed Athena as simple and close to her people.

The statue was relatively low (13 meters) and depicted a proudly standing Athena, holding a spear in one hand, and a two-meter figure of the goddess of victory Nike in the other.

The goddess's head was decorated with a three-crested helmet, and at her feet there was a shield depicting scenes from battles.

Alas, the statue cost the Parthenon architect his life - in an effort to immortalize not only the divine Athena, but also himself, the master included a bald old man with a sculptor’s hammer in one of the scenes decorating the goddess’s shield.

Phidias on the shield of the sculpture of Athena the Virgin

The Athenians did not appreciate the humor and condemned it for blasphemy. Phidias died in prison.

The famous statue was probably destroyed by fire, probably in the 5th century BC. e., but there are several copies of varying degrees of accuracy.

The most reliable one, called “Athena Varvarikon”, can be seen in the National Archaeological Museum.

Modern Parthenon

Modern Parthenon

It makes no sense to describe in detail what the Parthenon looks like today - Greek archaeologists and builders brought it as close as possible to the ancient temple.

Of course, all the gloss and beauty of the Parthenon sculptures have been lost, but the building still amazes the imagination.

Every year the temple becomes more beautiful and the stories of the guides more impressive, so visiting the Parthenon is an experience that is interesting to repeat every few years.

How much does a visit cost?

Surviving sculptures on the roof pediment of the Parthenon

Access to the main monument of ancient Hellenic architecture is open from 8.30 to 18.00.
It is recommended to visit it in the early hours or in the evening, when the heat is not particularly strong and the influx of tourists is not very large. At the entrance there is a small stall selling sparkling water and freshly squeezed juices (4.5 euros). Please note that you will not be allowed inside with a glass, and the glass is quite large.

Bring a bottle of water; there are fountains and a toilet upstairs in front of the entrance and to the left.
Login from big bags is also prohibited, but there are storage lockers on site where you can leave them.

There are several entrances and ticket offices, including from the side of the museum and on the south-eastern side, near the Theater of Dionysus.

The line at the ticket office on the museum side is usually shorter.

The ticket price for entry to the Parthenon territory (12 euros) includes visits to 6 attractions, including the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Ancient and Roman Agora, the Theater of Dionysus and the oldest district of Athens - Ceramics.
The ticket is valid for 4 days.

The ancient Parthenon temple in Athens is not only a grandiose monument. This is also national symbol Greece, of which the country is very proud.

Incredibly beautiful in its simplicity, the building successfully stood the test of time and fell only under shells from heavy cannons made thousands of years after the construction of the last sanctuary of Athena.

Isn’t this worthy of admiration for the work of ancient masters!

Even though the temple greek goddess It has been restored for a long time and is surrounded by scaffolding, being near it is an amazing and exciting feeling.
If you happen to visit Athens, be sure to visit the Parthenon - the great spirit of ancient Hellas, frozen in Pentelic marble.