By Stephen Christian-Noonan
Hello Dear Readers, this month we are going to look at the Parthenon, the house of the Maiden, its history and how she is forever intertwined with Athens. Even today she dominates the skyline and is a reminder of the city’s past fame and splendour. The picture shows from left to right, a series of temples devoted to the goddess Athena, the ceremonial gateway, the Propylea, the Erechtheum (these I will feature in the next article) and at the highest point the Parthenon. This area is known as the Acropolis. The word Acropolis is a combination of the Greek words `acro` meaning high and `polis` meaning city.
Before looking at the Parthenon, let us first look at the founding of Athens. Though not much is known about this area during the Neolithic Age, evidence about the first human activity has been uncovered through the discovery of multiple pottery fragments. However, the establishment of Athens can be traced back to the myths which date from the Mycenaean period. Legend states that King Kekropos founded the city following an earthquake. This city was named Kekropia after the king. Poseidon and Athena contested the patronage of this newly founded city. King Kekropos was asked to judge the contest. Poseidon struck the rock of the Acropolis with his trident, water and a horse sprang forth. Athena struck a nearby rock with her spear and an olive tree burst forth. The olive was a symbol of peace and prosperity. The King declared Athena the winner and the city was renamed after her, Athens. During the Mycenaean Age, the first Mycenaean palace, similar to the ones at Pylos and Mycenae, was built there. During the sixth century B.C. a Doric temple made from marble and limestone was built and dedicated to the City of Athena.
With the collapse of the Mycenaean civilisation around 800 B.C. (commonly referred to as the Greek Dark Ages 800-480 B.C.), the Acropolis became a sacred area and many religious festivals were held there. Around roughly 490 B.C. work began on a new majestic marble temple, as the previous temple had been destroyed during the first Persian invasion, this new temple became known as the Old Parthenon. This temple and other structures were destroyed during the second Persian invasion around 480 B.C.
After defeating the Persians, Athens became the undisputed leader of Greece and with Pericles as its leader, gave birth to the Golden Age of Athens (460-430 B.C.) and was home to the greatest dramatists, artists, philosophers and statesmen. Pericles initiated a massive building programme to make Athens greater than it was before. The jewel in this ambitious building programme was the Parthenon. Construction of this commenced on the original site and they economised by reusing the pre-existing platform and the ready made blocks. The temple, like other Greek temples, would act as treasury but it's main aim was to house the new gigantic sculpture of Athena by Pheidias. Pausanias described the statue as ` being upright with the tunic of Athena reaching her feet, an ivory head of Medusa on her breast….she holds a statue of victory in her right hand and in the other hand a spear, while a shield and serpent lie at her feet .`The serpent was thought to be Erichonius, an early ruler of Athens.` This remarkable piece of sculpture was made from gold and ivory and one can imagine the sense of awe as you entered through the temple door where you then found yourself in the overwhelming presence of Athena, standing forty feet high on her pedestal, reaching to the roof.
Pericles wanted this new temple to be more magnificent than before. Therefore the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, built it entirely in white marble from Mount Pentelikon. The tiles of the roof were of Parian marble, with mouldings and other carved features above the columns picked out in bright paintwork, as shown in this reconstruction.
Another illustration of this is by the artist Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Pheidias showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his friends (1868). These brightly coloured exterior sculptural decorations were beautifully crafted. In the West showed the contest between Athena and Poseidon, battles of the giants, the Lapiths and Centaurs. On the East side, the birth of Athena. The second frieze was a continuous bas-reliefs to encompass all the participants in the Panthenaen procession.
They extended the older platform to accommodate a wider temple with 8 rather than the usual 6 Doric columns. This would provide the space to house the giantsculpture of Athena. Inside the interior columns that rose to the ceiling, were of the Ionic-style. No other temple was so richly decorated, before or after.
This temple was to show the rest of Greece she was now the imperial power. This did not bode well. Athens and her allies became embroiled in a war with Sparta and her allies. Athens lost and her influence declined. The Athenians still maintained the temple of Athena into the 5th century A.D. Around 334 B.C, Alexander after defeating the Persians, displayed the captured Persian shields around the outside of the temple. Imprints of at least 14 shields can still be seen. In between these impressions, one can see holes that secured bronze letters which gave the Emperor Nero (61/62 A.D.) Athenian honours.
During the Roman occupation numerous repairs were made including a new clay tiled roof, as the original was destroyed in a fire around 267 A.D. When Rome became Christian, it was turned into a church to house the Virgin Mary. Around 1460 it was converted into a Mosque by the Turks. It was also used as a munitions dump. In 1867, a cannon ball fired from the Venetian artillery hit the munitions dump and destroyed the centre of the whole building. It is not certain whether this shot was fired in anger or as A.R. Burn suggests, it was fired by a French lieutenant, without orders and purely to demonstrate his skill. In 1801, the occupying Turkish government gave permission for Lord Elgin, Ambassador to Turkey, to remove sculptures from the Parthenon. He removed over half, now referred to as the Elgin marbles, and sold them to the British Museum. Just a thought, should the Elgin marbles be returned to Greece? After all, the Turkish government had no right to give them away. Something for you to ponder on.
In 1830, Greece finally gained her independence and, in 1834, Athens became the capital. From 1841, they began restoration work on the temple, removing much of the Christian and Islamic alterations. Even today work continues in the conservation and restoration of this temple and, during this journey, new and exciting evidence about the Parthenon`s original appearance is being discovered.
Even today the Parthenon is still so impressive and as one historian said “There is something insolent in the way the Parthenon says “I have been worn to the bone, but I am the most living of all things.”
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