Profile of a Sacred Space: Parthenon and the Acropolis

Profile of a Sacred Space: Parthenon and the Acropolis

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Parthenon is an ancient Greek temple, originally dedicated to the goddess Athena. It sits atop the Athenian acropolis, which is itself a famous site containing multiple buildings, mostly religious in nature. Time and war have left the majority of the buildings on the Acropolis, including the Parthenon, in ruins. The current Parthenon was completed in 438 BC under the direction of Pheidias, and symbolized the Greeks’ victory over the Persians, who had destroyed the Old Parthenon. The structure is elaborately decorated, and various sculptures (particularly friezes) depict the warriors, gods, and heroes of Athens.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

The most prominent feature of the Parthenon is its colonnade of massive columns (these include Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian types). Forty-six columns in a rectangular shape make up the outermost “wall” of the Parthenon, while an additional thirty-nine lie deeper within the structure. Measured at its base, the Parthenon is 228 ft. by 101.4 ft with most columns standing at around 34 ft high. A large room along the east pediment housed the cult statue of Athena Parthenos, while a smaller room along the west pediment functioned as a treasury. These two rooms together formed the naos (inner chamber) of the Parthenon. Sculptures or reliefs are displayed throughout the pediments, walls, and edges of the building.

HARMONY WITH NATURE

Thanks to its tall, spaced columns, the Parthenon invites sunlight. It also sits atop an acropolis, which is by nature higher ground, allowing the structure to “oversee” its natural surroundings. Its numerous mythological depictions also pointed towards a unity with nature: centaurs (half-horse, half-man) on the south side, an olive tree and the god of the sea on the west side, and a serpent alongside the statue that once stood in the interior were all considered significant to the people of Athens, and in some cases, directly connected with the city’s very founding.

SYMBOLISM AND SACRED OBJECTS

Numerous symbolic myths are represented on or in the structure of the Parthenon. The most iconic and sacred object within the Parthenon was the statue of Athena Parthenos, which has unfortunately been completely lost or destroyed. In her right hand, the statue of Athens’ patron goddess held a figure of Nike, who symbolized victory. By extension, then, the statue symbolized Athens’ triumph over its enemies. Another notable sculpture is that of the contest between Poseidon and Athena. In their attempts to control Athens, the two gods produced gifts that would be judged by Zeus to determine a victor. Athena created an olive tree, and Poseidon, a salt spring. Zeus judged Athena the victor; thus she gained her role as the city’s patron goddess and the olive tree obtained its perception as a sacred blessing from the gods.

HOW IT IS USED BY WORSHIPPERS

The Parthenon functioned primarily as a monument – a source of pride meant for aesthetic appreciation and didactic recounting of significant myths and histories. The structure (through its sculptures) exalted the city, its people, and the gods – particularly Athena. Another likely function is that of treasury, since the smaller of the Parthenon’s two interior rooms housed funds of some kind. Also worth noting is that later in its history, the Parthenon was used as both a Christian church and an Islamic mosque.

SOURCES

Internet:

Ancient-Greece.org. 7 April 2010 http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/

Parthenon.html

Wikipedia.org. 7 April 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis_of_Athens

Wikipedia.org. 7 April 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon

Book:

Morford, Mark, and Robert Lenardon. Classical Mythology.7^th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.