Take a second to think about all the buildings you encounter on a daily basis. Whether it is a school, office or a historical monument, most likely, the last thing on your mind is the purpose or history of the building.
The average person may not pay very close attention to the reasoning of a building; who built it, why they build it, or maybe even who/what it is dedicated to. The truth is, almost every respectable building has its own individual story. In the ancient Greek city of Athens, the Parthenon was built in respect to the growing community and a strong democratic society.Not only did it symbolize equality “The Parthenon was a creation of a free democracy, initiated, controlled, and approved by popular assembly and its judicial organs” (Bruno 111). Just a single building had such a tremendous influence on the entire city. Through design, social atmosphere and government, the Parthenon demonstrates characteristics of a free democratic civilization.
The Parthenon was first built between year 447 BC and 432 BC by Greek architects Ictinos and Callicrates, while designed and supervised by Phidias, a famous sculptor.The large monument measures about 111 feet by 228 feet and its tall parallel columns tower over the city of Athens, Greece. It was built on top of a hill called the Acropolis, which had been the original site for early kings of Athens and a place to go and worship. After being built, the building was not only used for religious practices but political usage as well. The Parthenon symbolized Athenian wealth and power and was dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena.
After the Persian invasion destroyed these temples in 480 BC, it was ordered by the Athenian leader Pericles to construct the current standing temple of Athena.Athena is known for the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, law and justice, civilization, strength, and strategy. It was believed that she helped the Greeks conquer the Persian Empire, thus a statue of Athena made of gold and ivory stands twelve meters tall inside of the Parthenon. The Persian wars were fought between the Greeks, who wanted democratic freedom versus a ruthless mighty empire, the Persians, who wanted ultimate control. The first Persian war was sparked by Athens and Sparta’s refusal of submission to the reigning King Darius I.
Due to refusal, The Persians wanted to teach the Greeks a lesson about ignoring orders. King Darius took his army to battle the Greeks at marathon. After Athens defeated the Persians they sent a messenger to tell the good news hence how the race, Marathon, received its name. The second Persian war was due to a new king, Xeres the Great, rekindling old flames. He felt he could defeat the Athenian people. When the war broke out again, the Spartans helped the Athenians and won the war.
The building mirrored the development of the Doric order; one of three classical Greek architectural styles.Doric order indicates that the building consists of a rectangular floor with a series of low steps on each side. There are two interior rooms. The first, called the Naos, is where the Greek goddess Athena had been placed.
The smaller room, called the opsthodomos, was used as a treasury. The Parthenon combined two of the three Greek architectural styles: The Doric and Ionic orders. Four Ionic columns support the smaller of the two interior rooms. The metopes, a square space between triglyphs in a Doric frieze, all represented different scenarios of the struggle between forces of order and justice on one side and criminal chaos on the other.Different depictions of battles were shown in each.
On the west side, the mythical battle of the Amazons is shown. On the south side, a battle between Lapiths and the Centaurs. On the east side, the battle between gods and giants is shown and on the north side, the Greeks versus the Trojans. Next, the Parthenon has Sculptures located above the triangular space where the triglyphs and metopes are. These statues also told stories and were significantly placed.
At the west end of the temple, the statues portrayed the contest between Poseidon and Athena for the right to be the deity over Athens.Each of these minor descriptive factors of the Parthenon contributes to events happening prior to the construction of the building. Throughout the entire monument there are narratives being told in distinct detail. The sculpt of this building has a lot of background, and before one can understand that architecture also has a political view, you must first comprehend each ridge of the building and why it was placed in such a strategic way. The Parthenon stands approximately 30 meters tall.
It has 46 outer pillars and 23 inner pillars. Each entrance has an accompanied six additional columns in front of it.From the front towards the rear, the building distributes a line of axial symmetry directly through the middle. This simple characteristic holds a strong relationship symbolizing balance and peace within the community.
Proportion and relation is immensely significant when it comes to balance. Regarding architecture, Meiss believes “Balance is also evident when the elements thus disposed have no other common factor than their relation to this nonphysical axis” (Meiss 65). Balance is defined as the state of equilibrium, or equal distribution.In regards to equality, this is the same message trying to be portrayed toward the democratic view. By enforcing symbolism within the building the idea of a stable democracy sounds possible and very much successful. Government to society is the idea of having organization, power, and structure within a community.
Individuals want to feel safe living in the place that they call home with respects to the laws and the common way of life. In the ancient Greek times, architecture was a powerful expression of the concepts that actively involved the public.Democracy enables citizens of a community to equally be involved in anything in regards to policies or laws, either directly or through selected representatives. In this type government favor will rule in the majority of the votes from the society. The idealism in the lives of the Greek is the importance of keen details and symmetrical harmony.
Those factors represent the precise aspects and proportions associated with the building. The open-minded idea of democratic union in the city of Athens greatly influenced the construction and establishment of the Parthenon. The city itself held democratic qualities.The “demos” were people that decided where the buildings were built and who would be the one to build them. There were commissioners were elected by the Athenian people. They were the ones who would monitor the work of the buildings and would also control the finances.
The Parthenon was a main building that underwent the supervision of the commissioners and demos. The entire construction of the Parthenon was an example of “a free democracy” (Bruno 111). From planning to construction the building was controlled and approved by the majority of the people. Pericles became the leader of Athens.After the citizen s of Athens elected him he was in power for over 30 years.
He considered himself and all residents as equal thus, he declared Athens a democratic civilization. Pericles believed that “It is true that we (Athenians) are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many and not the few, with equal justice to all alike in their private disputes. ” He was right, the Athenian held several democratic qualities, very impressive for such an ancient civilization. One thing that stands out is the fact that only citizens were considered creditable when it came to voting and decision making.The citizens had more privileges than anyone else.
They were allowed to own their own property and also participate in political issues and law making. Not everyone in Athens was considered a citizen. None of the slaves, women or any foreigner was allowed to be a citizen. This governing method seemed unethical because women had no say in how their society was run.
Even children that were not born to an Athenian family yet born and raised in Athens had no say so on how their government was run. Slaves also had no voice when it came to government. They were imprisoned and held captive from the war.Citizens would buy and sell the slaves and use them for labor.
Dependant on the owner, some slaves lived a decent life unlike others who were brutally abused and beaten. The slaves in Athens were able to make money and possibly become free from their owners but still would never have the opportunity to become citizens and gain the right to vote. Unlike most civilizations around this time in history, the acropolis in Athens was structured in a way that felt welcoming instead of intimidating. When entering the acropolis the very first thing you see is the Parthenon.The appearance of the Parthenon is a large example in the relevance of equality.
The structure is slightly, but noticeable shifted to the right which gives the viewer an utmost full view and equal observation of the entire monument. Viewers are able to see the length, height, and width of the structure without having to navigate around it. It is entirely in plain view to visitors who are able examine it without feeling threatened or intimidated by this enormous building. At the very first sight there is a balance between equality and the individual. The placing of the building gives off a sense unity in their community.In comparison to other ancient civilizations that practice other types of government, Athens was fairly easygoing.
For example, the ancient Egyptian civilization was run and dominated by a single man, the Pharaoh. The pharaoh was the most powerful person in all of Egypt. The citizens of Egypt believed that he was more than just a man but he was their god. This advantage gave him absolute control. Ancient Egypt was classified as a theocracy. In a theocratic government it is believed that “god himself is recognized as the head” of the state and everyone is under the rule of God.
The civilization was controlled by the clergy, a group of religious leadership. The priests were of pharaoh were the only people that were commendable to proclaim the commands of the king. The government officials included the prime minister, chief treasurer, minister of public works, the tax collector, and the army commander. The citizens were taxed, but not with currency. They paid all taxes in goods and labor.
Most of the Egyptian people were very poor and worked near to the Nile River. These citizens had absolutely no say in government policies but accepted this fact because their religion supported it.
