a. The curvature on the exterior of the Parthenon is an architectural element whose purpose has been much debated. The three main theories, as documented by Pollitt, are the compensation theory, the exaggeration theory, and the tension theory. The first suggests that the variations are “‘betterments’ to counteract optical illusion” that would “make the appearance of the temple fit their [the Athenians] mental conception of it”. That is to say, it would compensate for what the eye sees and the mind’s distortion of it. An example of this compensation can be found in the corner columns, which, according to Vitruvius, should be thicker “ ‘because they are completely set off against the open air and [without compensatory thickening] appear more slender than they are’”. (Pollitt 75). The second theory, contrary to the first, proposes that the curvature “was intended to amplify normal optical distortion so that the temple appeared to be more immense that it actually was”. And still the third conjectures that the deviations serve “the purpose of creating a tension in the mind of the viewer between what he expects to see and what he actually does see…a fascination which makes the structure seem vibrant, alive, and continually interesting”. (Pollitt 76).
b. The east and west pediments of the Parthenon feature symbolic narratives illustrated by sculpture in the round.
On the east pediment can be seen the story of the birth of Athena, the patron goddess of Athens and dignitary of this temple. Athena is shown springing fully-grown and militarily clad from Zeus’ head, dancing a dance of war that distinguishes her as the Athena Promachos, a goddess ready for battle. (An important aspect to note is the way in which the figures are positioned so as to conform in a seemingly natural way to the slope of the pediment).
The west pediment, which would have faced the entrance to the Acropolis, shows the contest for Athens, the battle between Athena and Poseidon for deity-ship of the city and rule over the Athenians. Poseidon offers the power of the sea while Athena, who ultimately wins the battle, offers the olive tree. This sculptural narrative provides a good example of the Greeks’ affinity for expressing their history through the idiom of myth. Athena’s offering symbolizes the importance of the olive tree to Greek culture (for agriculture, export, and affluence) and the accreditation of this wealth to the goddess.
c. There are 92 metope reliefs featured in the exterior frieze of the Parthenon (Stokstad 133). Each metope depicts a legendary battle between two opposing forces that is symbolic, as is the Parthenon in its entirety, of the Greeks’ defeat of Persia and, in such, the triumph of reason over barbarism. In the metopes on the south side of the Parthenon, the Persians are represented as centaurs, half men and half brutes, while the Greeks are symbolized in the form of mythical Greek Lapiths. This sculptural interaction is another example of the Greeks’ tendency of historical expression through myth. It also thoroughly illustrates both their humanizing and generalizing impulses (as well as their demonization of enemies) that are direct correlations of Periclean Athens’ social consciousness.
d. The second frieze (regrettably unavailable for photograph) is located within the Doric peristyle, along the exterior wall of the cella (Stokstad 133). On it is an illustration of the festivities of Athens, the Panathenaeaic procession that took place every four years and in which the women and young girls of the city carried a newly-woven dress or peplos to the Acropolis in order to clothe a statue of Athena (not the gold and ivory Athena of Pheidias). (Pollitt 85). The rhythmic position of the figures in the frieze suggests natural, realistic, and lifelike movement and interaction. Contrasting colors, as well as a deeper relief at the top of the frieze, made clearer the action that takes place on this particular architectural element (Stokstad 135).
e. The casts of the original pedimental sculpture shown above are from the east pediment, the best preserved of the two. The three female figures are “probably Hestia (a sister of Zeus and goddess of the hearth), Dione (one of Zeus’ many consorts), and her daughter, Aphrodite” (Stokstad 132).
These figures provide an incredible example of the attention given to human likeness that was born out of 5th Century Athens. The contours of women’s bodies are “expertly rendered” and create an illusion of real flesh and bone beneath the gracefully and sensually draping folds of fabric (Stokstad 133). They are extraordinarily full of individual, humanistic life—something that had not been seen in Greek, or any, sculpture before this point.
f. The statue of Athena located in the interior cella of the Parthenon is not the same warrior Athena that is depicted on the east pediment, but the Athena Parthenos, Virgin and patron goddess of Athens. The figure, designed by Pheidias in ivory and gold, is outfitted in armor and holds both a shield (bearing an Amazonomachy on its exterior and Gigantomachy on its interior) and a Victory (Stokstad 130). These symbols, along with the reliefs on her sandals representing a Centauromachy make “the goddess who was the embodiment of Athenian intellectual and cultural attainments” a symbol “of the triumph and order and civilization over chaos and barbarism on all levels” (Pollitt 98). She is a cult image, framed by Doric columns and colossal in size to emphasize her importance as the presiding deity of Athens and benefactor of its cultural and civil wealth and prosperity.
No comments:
Post a Comment