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Breanna McArdle

Prof. Watson

Architecture History Before 1400s

6 October 2023

Complexities within the Parthenon

While religious and ritual centers might seem like a thing of the past, temples, mosques,

and churches are continually placed at the forefront of societies. In the past, civilizations built

their communities centered around their religious infrastructures, while today’s society draws

inspiration and precedents from the same religious infrastructures. Specifically, the Parthenon,

the temple of Athena in Athens, represents the complexities of human civilizations in the past,

present, and future.

In eighth grade, I visited the Parthenon for the first time. My family travels quite a bit, so

I saw the Parthenon as just another old religious center that you have to tour when you go to

Europe. Recovering from jet lag and possibly a stomach bug, I hiked the mile up the Acropolis

with my family. I remember walking past the ancient Greeks’ amphitheater, the rock from Paul’s

Areopagus sermon in the Bible, the Propylaea, and the Erechtheion before even seeing the

Parthenon. The path felt like I was time traveling backward and getting glimpses of history until

I finally made it to the Parthenon. But, once I got to the Parthenon, it was the twenty-first

century, again. Everyone surrounded the Parthenon taking pictures of each other, missing all of

the details within the frieze and columns. I remember wanting to get closer, to climb up the large

limestone steps and go inside, but I couldn’t get out of the crowd. The Parthenon, which I

thought was going to be overrated, felt so grand, and the experience of walking from the city of

Athens up to the Parthenon intrigued me.

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The knowledge from this class has helped me understand what was so intriguing. There

are so many details of the Parthenon that everybody taking pictures missed. I even failed to

notice them when I stared at the Parthenon for almost an hour, waiting for the police to help my

dad find his pickpocketed wallet. The entire Parthenon used a system of proportions, x to (2x+1),

to determine the number of columns needed in length and to construct the overall height.1 To

please our eyes more, the columns are leaning slightly outwards and the base is slightly curved. 2

Vitruvius explained that if a building is “built truly flat, it will appear to the eye to be hollowed

out”.3 These architectural design elements allow people to unconsciously be drawn to the

Parthenon and demonstrate Athens’ advancement in architecture.

Regarding the political and social conflicts of the time, the Parthenon also used design

elements to represent the victory of Persians during the Greco-Persian Wars. The sculptures on

the Parthenon’s frieze compare logic and reasoning with the chaos and destruction during the

war.4 These elements show the political opinions of the Greek city-states during a hard time. The

Parthenon was also the “first Doric Monument to make use of an Ionic frieze and of eight

columns along its short side as opposed to six”.5 This could have been due to Athens’

individualism after the Greco-Persian Wars. Additionally, architectural elements highlight the

ancient Greeks’ focus on religion and mythology. They tried to emulate the best representation

of Athena throughout the entire temple. The Doric columns on the outside of the Parthenon

demonstrate the strength and masculinity Athena possessed as the goddess of war, while the

Ionic columns on the inside symbolize her femininity.6

1 Roth, Understanding Architecture, 239.

2 Roth, Understanding Architecture, 240.
3 Roth, Understanding Architecture, 239.
4 Roth, Understanding Architecture, 237.
5 Pssara, The Parthenon and the Erechtheion: the Architectural Formation of Place, Politics and Myth, 81.
6 Roth, Understanding Architecture, 236.
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To zoom out, the Parthenon as a whole contrasts the other temples on the Acropolis,

developing the ancient Greeks' political and social opinions even further. The Erechtheion, the

temple of both Athena and Poseidon, is unusually modern and irregular.7 The contemporary

elements of the Erechtheion most likely contributed to Athens’ mindset shift during and after the

Greco-Persian Wars. They wanted to manifest their advancements and achievements in culture,

politics, and public life, and their leadership within the Delian League.8 They also wanted the

temple to showcase their strength, power, and growth. This temple’s construction was disrupted

by the Peloponnesian War, which could have contributed to the imbalance in its form as well.

The complexities of Athens’ civilization and culture are demonstrated within its design, context,

and movement.

Relating to my experience at the Parthenon, the site plan allowed citizens of Athens to

move and experience the temples in a particular way. The Propylaea and Erechtheion were

placed specifically on the Acropolis to lead people to the Parthenon. Notably through its

asymmetry, the Propylaea, or the entrance of the Acropolis, gives people direction to the

Parthenon symbolically. The Erechtheion’s entrance is easily accessible, moving Athenians and

visitors around the mountain. These spatial and movement elements on the Acropolis connect

people from hundreds of centuries together and parallel the complexities of human civilizations.

Human civilizations are constantly telling their political, social, and historical stories

throughout their architecture and religious centers. The Parthenon, specifically, tells Athens’

story of independence from Persian design, its hope in power and dominance, and its focus on

religion. Simply, visitors of the Acropolis can connect with Athens’ history almost

unconsciously through its deliberate design elements.

7 Pssara, The Parthenon and the Erechtheion: the Architectural Formation of Place, Politics and Myth, 79.
8 Pssara, The Parthenon and the Erechtheion: the Architectural Formation of Place, Politics and Myth, 78.