In the 5th century BCE Athens was thriving. At the time the Parthenon was built, in the 440s and 430s BCE on the Acropolis at Athens, Athens had more wealth and more subordinate allies than any other Greek city had ever had before. With a bit of arrogance, they decided to go through with an enormous building project despite the objections and embarrassment of a few. The Parthenon was the largest temple built on the Acropolis, the hill the building project took place on. Some of the other buildings were the Propylaea, the gateway; the Pinakotheke, the picture gallery; the Temple of Athena Nike; and the Erechtheum, a temple to gods associated with Athens. However, looking only at the Parthenon we can see what some of the values of the Athenians were and how they defined themselves as a city.
The Parthenon can tell us quite a bit about Athenian values. From its high perch on the Athenian acropolis, one of the views from the structure is of the sea, which the Athenians must have valued being near the coast. Its also shown that they value the sea on the west pediment of the Parthenon where Poseidon is offering Athens the sea in a contest. It was important to Athenians that they felt they came from the earth. This is evidenced by the presence of the Erechtheum. The Erechtheum, a small temple near the Parthenon, was named after the hero Erechtheus. Erechtheus was thought of as being the first king of Athens and was associated with being born from the earth.
The Essay on Pericles Athens Great Athenian
Ancient Greece had many ups and downs in it s very long history. As a growing civilization it earned numerous allies as well as enemies. One of these great enemies were the Persians. Although the Persians were very powerful adversaries, the Greeks defeated them and at that point the era of classical Greece began. The Delian league which was created to unite all states and protect them from ...
Erechtheus being a hero leads to another value of the Athenians: heroism. Heroism is also shown on the Parthenon. On the western metopes the Greeks are shown battling the Amazons. Most likely there were scenes of the great hero Theseus defeating the warrior women. Their reverence for heroes is also revealed on the west pediment where old Athenian heroes are shown watching the contest between Athena and Poseidon. In this contest between this goddess and god, Athena is offering the people of Athens the olive, which the Athenian people valued so much that they chose her to be the winner and thus the patron goddess of Athens. Although it may seem odd since they chose a goddess over a god, the Athenians actually preferred maleness over femaleness. This can be seen again on the west metopes where the Greeks are defeating the Amazons, a race of female warriors. The procession scene (108,109) on the frieze in the Parthenon also shows how males were regarded more highly than females, for it is mostly men involved in the procession.
Also, the choice of Athena, as opposed to another goddess, reveals the Athenian peoples preference of maleness over femaleness. Athena was born without a mother; instead she sprang from Zeus head fully armed. She denies the female role, preferring the male. Youth was also valued. In the procession on the frieze, the younger beardless men are shown naked emphasizing their youthful strength while the elder bearded men are covered with clothing (108).
Honoring the gods was obviously very important to the Athenians too.
The Parthenon was built in honor of Athena and held the large gold and ivory statue of her. The Panathenaia scene on the frieze shows the festival they held in her honor. Additionally, various gods and goddesses are shown watching the procession on the east frieze (110).
Finally, value of balance is revealed to us through the overall layout and symmetrical design of the Parthenon (102).
Not only does it show us some of the values the people of Athens had, but the Parthenon also tells us how they may have defined themselves. This self-definition can just about be summed up in one word: superior.
This theme has been written all over the Parthenon. It can be seen in the idealism of the citizen as being active, good-looking, young, proficient. It should also be noted that only native born Athenians were allowed inside the Acropolis. The sheer size of the Parthenon also pronounced that superiority. Its size surpassed even that of the temple of Zeus at Olympia (compare 102 with 94).
The Essay on Ancient Greece Gods And Goddess
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece is a peninsula located off the Mediterranean Sea, and is surrounded by several islands. Ancient Greece was made up of different types of government. There were two types of city states an oligarchy, which is ruled by a small group of citizens and a direct democracy ruled by the people. All citizens could make speeches and vote at the Assembly. The Council made up of ...
It had more square feet than the temple of Zeus, was made completely of marble, the columns were a bit taller, it had metopes all around instead of just on two interior sections, it had a sculpted frieze all around the cella, and housed a huge statue of Athena.
The statue itself most likely cost more than the rest of the building; it was about twelve meters high and made of ivory and gold. The statue held Victory in her hand, proclaiming Athens as victorious. This victory can be seen in the sculptures on the Parthenon as well. Their gods are shown defeating the giants on the east metopes. The Greeks are defeating the Amazons on the west metopes. They are also defeating the Trojans on the north metopes (103, 104) and the Centaurs on the south (105).
Although these battles are Greeks fighting the enemy, they are being adopted as Athenian victories by being on the Athenian temple. In conclusion, from the representations of the ideal citizen we can see the people of Athens valued youth, beauty and heroism. From the contest scene on the west pediment we can see that they valued the olive and the sea. The layout of the Parthenon itself hints that balance was important to them. The procession on the frieze among other things shows how they valued maleness over femaleness. We can also see that they thought it important to honor their gods and goddesses.
Finally, the size and opulence of the Parthenon attested to Athens seeing itself as being beautifully superior and victorious.
Bibliography:
Osborne, Robin. Archaic and Classical Greek Art. oxford: new york, 1998..
