Art

Parthenon is considered the most important surviving historical structure of modern Greece. Present Parthenon is a reconstruction of older Parthenon which was constructed in 438 BC and, was demolished during Persian Invasion in 480 BC. The Parthenon stood as a symbol of Greek liberty, culture, and honor. It saw the rise, fall and revival of Greece. Initially serving the purpose of both temple of goddess Athena and state treasury, Parthenon was turned into a Church and then a mosque following Ottoman-Turk invasion. During Turk rule, Parthenon confronted several adversities. A large part of it was blown while bombardment by Venetians. The attack was severed by the stored Turk ammunition inside the temple. Later, several parts from Parthenon were carved out and sold to British Empire by Lord Elgin. These unrecoverable pieces were loaded and transferred through ships to England. One of the ships sank while transporting these structures. Parthenon is an irreplaceable cultural heritage of Greece that has been abused since its inception. Recent Government initiatives provide a ray of hope for its restoration.

Parthenon was constructed by Pheidias, a famous Greek sculptor, to house the 38 feet tall gold and ivory statue of goddess Athena. Parthenon derives its name from Virgin Athena. Athena is the goddessof wisdom, arts and crafts, and war(MacKillop, 2004). Athena also represents civilization and virginity .Her replicated image is a symbol of Greek struggle through times and, its firm belief in justice. According to Greek mythology, Athena was the daughter of planet Mercury and Titan ruler Metis, the most knowing and, Zeus the overseer of the universe. Zeus become afraid of bearing a supremely powerful offspring from Metis and, therefore embodied Metis in himself. However, Metis kept bringing Athena secretively inside him and one day Athena came out from Zeus head. According to some psychologists, domineering Patriarchic systems suppressed Athenas feminine attributes. J.J. Bachofen advocated that Athena was originally a maternal figure stable in her security and poise but was caught up and perverted by a patriarchal society (Bachofen, n.d). The statue of Athena was completely destroyed during attack by Venetians. In both physical and psychological parameters, the statue faced assaults and contradictions.

Demolished statue of goddess Athena has been reconstructed by some through historical descriptions. Museum at Toronto displays one of the sculptures. Statue of Athena holds a winged icon in her right hand displaying victory over enemies. The helmet on her head is decorated with a sphinx figure and griffins. Athenas chest bears a crafted shield with a snake on the inside. This serpent represents religious origin of Athenians. Her footwear consist carvings of war between Gods, giants, Athenians and Amazons. It is said that a water pool was constructed in front of the statue that reflected the statue in indirect light.

Architecture of Parthenon is incomparable in its distinctive design and intricate detailing. Athenas temple, Parthenon was built by architects Iktinos and Kallikrates on a limestone foundation on Acropolis. Doric order reached its culmination in Parthenon. The building was constructed with extreme refinement where even the slight curvatures in stylobate, naos and entasis matched. Stylobate is the topmost step of crepidoma, the bottom stepped platform of Parthenon, Naos is the enclosed cell of the temple and, Entasis is the slight bulge in columns.

Fig 1 Plan of Parthenon
A procession path was made between internal and external column for worship of the deity. Many of Parthenons proportions are constructed in Golden ratio and the building is known for its corrected optical illusions. The Parthenons facade as well as elements of its facade and elsewhere can be circumscribed by HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiGolden_rectangle o Golden rectangle golden rectangles(Mersbergen, 1998).It is an octostyle temple with Doric columns and Ionic features. The Octostyle temples are rare in Greek history. Frieze running continuously on top is finely carved depicting festivals, celebrations and sacrificial offerings to goddess Athena. There are 72 metopes in the temple which display mythical battles in their carvings. Upper triangular portion above the columns is pediment. Moldings are placed at the ends of pediments. Internal sculptured triangular area in pediment is called tympanum. It consists of Greek and Roman mythological figures and bright colors.

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Fig 2 Sections of Parthenon

During Ottoman Turk Empire, Lord Elgin distributed elements from Parthenon to foreign countries. Nicholas says that about half of the surviving works are now in London, while museums in France, Germany, Austria and Denmark also own small fragments (Paphitis, 2008). Like Parthenon, Greece was attacked and destroyed several times that influenced its culture which now carries essence from many of its rulers, including Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. During invasions most of the cultural heritage was lost or badly damaged. Parthenon in its injured yet firmly standing state depicts the culture and history of Greece.

The New York Times editor says that throughout the history, the Parthenon friezes have been hostages to Christianity, to Islam, to the diplomatic tensions between France and England during the Napoleonic era. But they have also become hostages of affection, of a profound love for their dynamism and grace, for the clarity of vision they embody. And, hostages they remain (Return the Parthenon marbles, 2002).

Government of Greece is supplementing several programs to restore Parthenon. Restoration process was initiated in year 1975. Under restoration, the Government planned to recover its distributed marbles and, reconstruct the damaged ones. One part was recovered from Italy but, its major components still remain with British museum. Talks between two countries are still on with no apparent resolution in near future. However, reconstruction has been successful. In the year 1999, the Government issued  5.7 billion dollars for the project. Its damaged columns were lowered and repaired Many of its parts that were damaged by acid rain have been treated. The restoration was completed in May this year.

Parthenon is an extremely important contribution not only to the Greek society but also to the world architecture therefore, adequate efforts at regional, national and international levels should be made to save this monument. It can be brought back to its previous grandeur with international cooperation and Government initiatives. Cultural heritage of nations represent their souls and it is very important to keep them intact.