Parthenon - ideal proportions and not an easy fate

The main temple of Athens. Parthenon.

So we got to the main thing. Having passed through the front gates of the Propylaea to the territory of the Acropolis, we found ourselves in front of one of the most significant architectural structures in the world.

This is the Parthenon.

I will try to talk about this ancient and unique structure. Let's start with the name.

There are different versions. For example, there is an assumption that the name Parthenon comes from the Greek word, which translates as "apartments for unmarried women." It is believed that this word refers specifically to one room in the Parthenon. Historians still argue which room it is. According to another version, it is possible that the name of the temple means the virgins (parthenoi) who participated in the sacrifices to the goddess Athena, it was this action that guaranteed the safety of the city.

It turns out that the word Parthenon is somehow connected with the Greek word "virgin". Let's not forget that this is the temple of Athena, who was also a virgin. So, perhaps, all this is connected specifically with women.

The Parthenon was built in honor of the goddess Athena-Pallas, who was considered not only the patroness of Athens, but also crafts, art, knowledge and science. She was also revered as the goddess of wisdom, a victorious war, the defender of justice and law.

The Parthenon was built from 447-438 BC.

This was during the reign of Pericles. In the construction involved the best, at that time, artists and spent huge amounts of money. But I must say that Athens itself did not spend money on construction. The funds were received in the form of tribute from the conquered peoples. The builders of the Parthenon are called the ancient Greek architects Iktin and Kallikrath. Researchers of the classics believe that Iktin did the design of the building, and Kallikrath led the progress of construction work. The great sculptor Phidias completed the decoration and, together with Pericles, observed the construction.

It is difficult to say who exactly was the father of this building. But, in mathematics, the sign of Phi, which is formed on behalf of Phidias denotes the ratio of the golden ratio. And the golden ratio is the mathematical foundation that lies at the base of the Parthenon architecture.

One of the famous Parthenon research architects found that in the proportions of the structure lies the same proportion as in the proportions of man. The cult of the beauty of the human body in ancient Greece, mathematics and the amazing golden ratio converged at a single point in space, forming a unique temple, the crown of creation of Hellenic culture.

The material for the temple was Pentelian marble, quarried near Athens, on the height of Pentele. The stone was white immediately after mining, but later acquired a warm yellowish hue. Such marble had excellent mechanical qualities and was easy to process. Due to the presence of iron in marble, over time, the stone acquired a golden patina of extraordinary beauty. It lay on the sides of the stones, facing east and west, while the southern side of them almost retained its original shade. These color transitions give the temple colonnade a warm, vibrant color.

The construction work during the construction of the Parthenon was very thorough.

Marble slabs and quadra were laid dry. The horizontal connection between the blocks was carried out with the help of I-beam iron braces filled with lead. The vertical connection of the stones was provided by iron pins. When laying individual stones, the following rule was observed: if they worked on a bend, then the layers of marble were located vertically; if for compression, then horizontally.

In addition to the ideal proportions of the temple, there are several more amazing optical effects that were used by architects. In order for all the lines of the temple to look even, in fact they are made with curvatures. The extreme columns that look against the sky are made thicker so that next to the columns against the background of a dark temple they look the same.

In a word, in order for such a powerful and harmonious temple to stand in front of us, everything in it should be done taking into account promising and optical illusions.

It is amazing!

By the way, it is interesting that in the original the temple was painted. It was painted in blue, red and yellow. Of course, not everything. But scientists with the help of special analyzes found that the frieze was definitely painted.

By the way, many architectural structures in all parts of the world that today have a natural stone color or are covered with white paint in the original were decoratively painted.

Of course, the temple was not a simple story.

In the era of Christianity, the temple turned into a church. A bell tower was even attached to it. Then these places fell under the rule of the Turks and the temple turned into a mosque. The bell tower turned into a minaret.

During the war between the Turks and the Venetians in 1687, a tragedy occurred. During the advance of the Venetians, the Turks hid in the acropolis. This place is hard to take by storm. But one of the shells fired from the cannon hit the powder warehouse, which is located in the Parthenon.

The explosion shook everything around and destroyed the building.

Since then, the Parthenon was destroyed and the Turks, who again returned to Athens, did not restore