Sculptures of The Parthenon
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The Parthenon, built atop the Acropolis, was ancient Athens' greatest temple. It was dedicated to the worship of Athena Parthenos (the virgin), and the rich program of sculptural decoration was devoted to the glory of her city and her legend. The principal decorative aspects of the Parthenon are the following: the east and west pediments; the metopes, which are divided panels set below the roofline and pediments on all sides of the building; the frieze, which runs, uninterrupted, around the outside top of the cella, behind the peristyle; and the enormous statue of Athena Parthenos that was housed inside the cella. The statue disappeared long ago, and, since 1687, the Parthenon itself has been a ruin, with many of the surviving sculptural fragments dispersed around the world. But archaeologists and scholars have tried to reconstruct the original order and meanings of these various parts--looking for the unifying principle which unites all aspects of the decorative program. Though the meanings of various parts of the sculptural program--especially the frieze--have caused a great deal of controversy, a clear picture of the overall decorative scheme of the Parthenon is slowly emerging. The importance of the sculptures at the Parthenon is clear from the fact that the sculptor Phidias, the friend of Pericles, was appointed as general overseer of the entire Parthenon project. An earlier version of the Parthenon was demolished around 488 BC. Its successor was, however, only
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e figures is East Metope IV, which shows Athena spearing a giant while the hovering figure of Nike crowns her with a wreath. Each of these metopes is located four places in from the outside, and "this symmetrical arrangement highlights Herakles' role . . . and the special association he enjoyed with Athena, who brings glory to the hero and to the city of Athens" (Schwab 89). The central pair of east metopes have been shown to represent Zeus and Hera, and the correspondences between other pairs seem to bear out a meaningful symmetry on the east fatade. This plan appears to "describe relationships that form the strength of unity" which the gods required to defeat the giants (Schwab 89). The presence of Herakles guarantees the victory of the gods so that, even though "the battle is fully engaged" in the metopes, "the outcome is assured" (Schwab 90). This description fits perfectly with the notion of depicting the middle of the battle, in order to guarantee the formidable nature of the foe, while also showing what the outcome was to be.
Surely, if this section of the metopes demonstrates such a carefully worked out plan, the others must be as carefully integrated. But, as Mantis shows, many cases simply do not provide enough ev
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4133
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page)
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