Art Hum Unit 1 - The Parthenon

Parthenon — identification

Iktinos and Kallikrates (architecture); Pheidias and workshop (sculpture); Pentelic marble; 447–432 BCE.

Parthenon — historical context

Built on the Athenian Acropolis under Pericles during Athens' fifth-century BCE political and cultural ascendancy.

Parthenon — broader significance

Temple of Athena and expression of Athenian civic identity, religious devotion, and imperial power.

Acropolis

Elevated fortified/sacred precinct; the Parthenon stands on this feature of Athens.

Propylaia

Monumental gateway controlling and framing the approach to the Athenian Acropolis.

Pentelic marble

Fine-grained marble from Mount Pentelikon used for the Parthenon's architecture and sculpture.

Doric order

Greek architectural order with relatively plain capitals and a frieze of alternating triglyphs and metopes.

Ionic order

Greek architectural order characterized by volute capitals and often a continuous frieze; the Parthenon’s inner wall has some of these elements.

Column

Vertical architectural support consisting of shaft and capital, sometimes with a base.

Colonnade

A row or series of columns forming a supporting or enclosing architectural element.

Capital

Uppermost part of a column, between the shaft and the structure above it.

Shaft

The long vertical body of a column beneath its capital.

Base

Bottom support of a column; standard Greek Doric columns have no separate base.

Cornice

Projecting upper molding at the top of the entablature or architectural façade.

Pediment

Triangular space beneath the sloping roofline at the end of a classical temple.

Parthenon east pediment

Birth of Athena; sculptural program supervised by Pheidias, 447-432 BCE.

Parthenon west pediment

Contest of Athena and Poseidon for the patronage of Athens; fifth century BCE.

Pedimental sculpture

Sculpture designed for the triangular field of a pediment, with poses adapted to its varying height.

Metopes

Square sculptural panels alternating with triglyphs in a Doric frieze.

Triglyphs

Three-grooved blocks alternating with metopes in a Doric frieze.

Parthenon metopes — identification

Pheidias and workshop, Pentelic marble, ca. 440 BCE; reliefs showing mythic conflicts.

Parthenon metopes — significance

Mythic clashes such as Lapiths versus Centaurs can evoke struggles between order and disorder.

Parthenon Ionic frieze — identification

Pheidias and workshop, Pentelic marble, chiefly ca. 442–438 BCE; continuous sculptural band.

Panathenaic procession

Athenian religious festival/procession for Athena; commonly associated with the Parthenon's Ionic frieze.

Cella (naos)

Inner chamber of a Greek temple, housing its cult image.

Athena Parthenos

Monumental gold-and-ivory cult statue of Athena made by Pheidias for the Parthenon's cella.

Optical refinements

Deliberate subtle adjustments to forms and lines, including entasis, curvature, and inclination.

Entasis

Slight convex swelling of a column shaft, counteracting a visually rigid appearance.

Inclination

Slight inward lean of columns or architectural elements in a classical building.

Curvature

Subtle upward bending of apparently horizontal elements, such as the Parthenon's stylobate.

Post-and-lintel construction

Structural system of vertical supports carrying horizontal beams; used in Greek temples.

Relief sculpture

Sculpture attached to a background plane; high version of this projects farther than low version.

Sculpture in the round

Freestanding three-dimensional sculpture viewable from multiple angles.

Polychromy

Use of multiple colors; ancient Greek architecture and sculpture were often painted.

Naturalism

Representation that seeks convincing anatomy, bodily movement, and appearances observed in life.

New York Kouros — identification

Unknown sculptor; marble; ca. 590–580 BCE; Archaic Greek statue.

New York Kouros — visual characteristics

Rigid frontal stance, left leg advanced, stylized hair and anatomy, and relative symmetry.

Doryphoros — identification

Polykleitos; lost Greek bronze original ca. 450–440 BCE; known through Roman marble copies.

Doryphoros — significance

Classical ideal of harmonious proportion, balanced posture, and contrapposto (most weight on one foot, creating an S shape).

Contrapposto

Weight shift onto one leg producing an asymmetrical balance of hips and shoulders.

Drunk Old Woman — identification

Unknown Hellenistic sculptor; lost Greek marble original of late 3rd–early 2nd century BCE; Roman marble copy.

Drunk Old Woman — significance

Hellenistic interest in age, vulnerability, emotional expression, and subjects outside idealized youth.

Archaic Greek sculpture

Greek sculpture associated with frontal, relatively rigid, stylized human figures such as kouroi.

Classical Greek sculpture

Emphasizes harmonious proportion, idealized naturalism, and balanced bodily movement.

Hellenistic Greek sculpture

Often emphasizes expressive poses, individualized subjects, dramatic emotion, and bodily variety.

Floor plan / ground plan

Horizontal diagram showing a building's spatial organization as if viewed from above.

Section

Diagram of a building as if cut through to show internal vertical relationships.

Elevation

Flat representation of a building's exterior or interior face.

Elgin Marbles debate

Debate over the British Museum's retention versus repatriation of Parthenon sculptures to Greece.

Mary Beard — The Golden Age of Athens

Beard examines how an idealized “Golden Age” narrative obscures Athens’s exclusions, imperial power, and the limits of democracy.

Jeannette Greenfield — The Elgin Marbles Debate

Greenfield examines Elgin’s disputed authority, removal and damage, Greek claims for reunification, and the universal museum defense.

Beard — Why question the phrase “Golden Age of Athens”?

Beard challenges celebratory narratives: Athenian democracy and cultural splendor existed alongside empire, hierarchy, and exclusion.

Beard — Who could participate in Athenian democracy?

Male citizens exercised political rights; women and enslaved people were excluded, complicating claims of equality.

Beard — What was the link between empire and democracy?

Imperial resources partly financed compensation for civic participation, supporting democracy alongside unequal imperial power.

Beard — Why is Pericles central to the Parthenon story?

His leadership became closely linked with the Acropolis rebuilding and the idealized narrative of fifth-century Athenian achievement.

Beard — How is Athens’s past presented to modern tourists?

The Acropolis sound-and-light spectacle promotes a heroic story of Persian victory, Pericles, and democracy; Beard scrutinizes it.

Greenfield — What are the Greek arguments for return?

Parthenon sculptures belong to an architecturally unified monument and to Greece’s cultural and historical identity.

Greenfield — What issues surround Elgin’s permission?

Elgin obtained Ottoman authority (a firman), but its meaning, legitimacy, and the scope of removals are contested.

Greenfield — How might removal itself matter ethically?

The account describes removal of carved elements and damage to architectural fabric, not merely transfer of loose artifacts.

Greenfield — What is the universal museum counterargument?

Keeping the sculptures in Britain can be defended as widening international access to a shared cultural heritage.

Greenfield — Why distinguish legal title from cultural justice?

Return involves legal disputes but also questions of cultural identity, historical loss, and ethical responsibility.

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The Parthenon image

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The Parthenon - Ground plan image

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The Parthenon - West Pediment (Athena vs. Poseidon for patronage of Athens) image

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The Parthenon - East Pediment (birth of Athena) image

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The Parthenon - Metopes image

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The Parthenon - (Ionic) Frieze image

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New York Kouros (590 BCE) image

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Doryphoros (450 BCE) image

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Drunk Old Woman (200 BCE) image