NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Parthenon Those who have seen Parthenon with their own eyes claim that every picture or slide of the building is nothing compared to the real site, and they are definitely right. Parthenon in Athens, which is probably the most famous and most studied building on earth has had an incredible influence on modern and ancient architecture. Buildings even now continue to borrow parts of the Doric order of which it is built. The Parthenon while deceptively simple in design is in fact an intricate and complex piece of architecture for which the ancient Greeks should be admired.
The Parthenon built by Pericles between 447 and 438 B. C. to immortalize the greatness of Athens and secure it a place in history did its job very well. As mentioned before, the Parthenon is deceptively simple in design.
It is simple because the structural elements are not overly complex. This is the result of a design process that focuses on determining the size and proportions of the columns, which are used in turn to determine every other aspect of the building's design and size. The width of the average column base is in fact used to determine most of the other major dimensions of the structure and most importantly the interracial spacing (the distance from column center to column center) determines the center as well as the height of the colonnade and the height of the entire facade. These measurements seem insignificant to us, but to the Greeks, they appear to have been incredibly important and reflect a great deal of experimentation. This approach to architecture may seem somewhat odd to us, but if we think of architectural design primarily as a complex problem of geometry, the Parthenon will make more sense to us. The Parthenon was the climax of over four centuries of Greek temple architecture.
Though no original plans of the temple exist, it appears that the temple was built on a square root-of- 5 rectangle, that is, it is O 5 times as long as it is wide. These are also the dimensions of the longest side view of the temple. The Parthenon is littered with a (x to 2 x + 1) system of proportions also known as the golden rectangle. These proportions are most readily evident in the plan of the temple which uses eight columns across its facade and seventeen along its flanks.
More subtly, the Parthenon uses a four to nine ratio throughout much of its design. This four to nine ratio is used the width of the platform relative to its length, the height of the columns are up to the horizontal cornice relative to the temple's width, the diameter of the columns relative to the interracial distance between the columns, and also the front elevation is built these are only some examples of parts of the building which yield this 4 to 9 ratio. The Parthenon is really one giant optical illusion. It appears to be made of straight horizontal and vertical lines.
The columns have the appearance of being straight up and down when in fact they tilt ever so slightly toward the middle and if extended 2 miles up would touch. The corner columns are slightly larger in diameter, with their spacing reduced to make it possible for the frieze to conform to the rule that it must terminate with a triglyph. The area above the columns is a frieze made up of metope's and triglyph's. The metope's had statues of heroes or gods on them and were the section between triglyph's. The triglyph's are a pattern of three vertical lines between the metope's. The stylobate or foundation has an upward curvature towards its center.
The steps were 508 mm high to conform to the rest of its mathematical exactness. When the Parthenon was built it was meant to glorify all of Athens achievements and the mathematical perfectness of the world around them. It is hard to believe that even the Greeks could have predicted the lasting effect, which this single building would have on the world. That by using such precise measurements and the golden rectangle they could change architecture forever. When the Greeks built the Parthenon they did more than create a lasting monument, they created an immortal monument.
Even when the remnants of the Parthenon are no more than pebbles on the ground, its architecture will be in use throughout the world. Words Count: 729.
Free research essays on topics related to: architecture, vertical lines, parthenon, columns, temple
Research essay sample on Deceptively Simple In Design Four To Nine Ratio Parthenon
