What two friezes were there in the ancient Greek Parthenon? What is the Parthenon? Parthenon in Greece

Greece is famous throughout the world, first of all, for its glorious ancient history, which left incredible volumes cultural monuments. Thus, in the capital of the country, on a high hill, the monumental marble Parthenon, the main sanctuary of ancient Athens, rises above the bustle of the city. Almost 2.5 thousand years have passed since the construction of this majestic structure, which managed to survive all the troubles and hardships that befell it. Today this temple is protected by the world organization UNESCO and is gradually returning its facades to their former luxurious appearance.

The Parthenon (Greek Παρθενών, English the Parthenon) is a classic ancient Greek temple in Athens, distinguished by its unique architectural forms.

It is impossible to tell the story of the construction of this sanctuary without mentioning in which city and what country the Parthenon is located, as well as what customs and beliefs prevailed at the time of its construction. Therefore, first we will take a short historical excursion to ancient Athens and get acquainted with the deity to whom the Parthenon is dedicated to this day.

Patroness of Athens

Ancient Greece was dominated by polytheistic religious system, based on the myths of various Gods of Ancient Greece. In connection with the Parthenon, we are interested in the main god - Zeus, and his daughter Athena.

The myth says that Zeus was predicted to have a daughter, followed by a son who would overthrow him from the throne. Therefore, when his wife Metis (Wisdom) became pregnant from him, the Supreme God did not find anything better than to swallow her. But the child of love did not want to give up, and soon Zeus began to have an unbearable headache. Unable to endure the torment, he ordered his head to be cut, and so his daughter Athena was born. Wisdom was reflected in the girl’s eyes, and on her body she wore military attire, for which she was called the Goddess of justice, wisdom, military tactics and strategy.

Unlike other deities, Athena did not stay too long on Olympus, but paid attention ordinary people. She gave them a lot of knowledge and crafts, taught them how to draw up laws and conduct government affairs, and helped restore justice in disputes and battles. For her care, the grateful people of Greece greatly revered the wise and magnanimous Athena and sought to build the best of Greek temples in her honor.

Athena

After a dispute with Poseidon, wisely resolved by King Cecrops, Athena became the patroness of the most important cultural and political center Ancient Greece - the city of Athens. Therefore, it was decided that the Acropolis of Athens would place the Parthenon on its lands.

And if we delve deeper into history, it is worth mentioning that what has come down to us architectural complex there was a predecessor. The first temple to be built on this site was Hekatompedon, also dedicated to Athena. Unfortunately, as a result of the Persian attack, the structure failed to survive. When the Athenians won the war, they began with even greater enthusiasm to restore the old Hekatompedon and build a new, larger and more luxurious Parthenon temple in recaptured Athens.

Construction of the Parthenon

Construction of the new sanctuary began in 447. The location of the temple was chosen immediately. It was located in the upper city: the majestic Parthenon and the sacred Acropolis in the minds of the Greeks were supposed to become one.

The decision to build the temple was made by the Athenian ruler Pericles, despite the fact that the construction of the Parthenon required large financial investments. The construction budget included 450 talents, an amount unheard of for the Greeks, because in those days they built an entire ship for 1 talent! There was indignation and grumbling among the people, but Pericles was able to convince people of the need to in honor of Athena unprecedented beauty and adorned the Acropolis Parthenon with power.

The architect of the building was Callicrates, and the design of the future shrine was developed by Iktin. It was this master who achieved a unique optical perception of the temple by the eye, having decided to make the columns of the Parthenon not perfectly straight and at an angle. He was responsible for the external and internal decoration of the shrine, as well as the sculptures decorating the pediments of the Parthenon. famous sculptor Phidias (author of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia).

The architectural type of the temple is decorated in a classical greek style and represents a Doric perimeter surrounded by columns. There are a total of 50 columns on all sides of the Parthenon: 8 on the central facades, and 17 on the side facades. Unlike the Colosseum, the colonnade of the classical Parthenon allows you to view the facade of three sides of the building from one point. The height of the erected temple was 14 m, width 31 m and length 70 m.

The Parthenon was finally built in 438, and in the same year the temple was consecrated at the Festival of Panathaeus. However, another 6 years after the official opening, Phidias decorated the pediments and friezes of the erected Parthenon. He also invented and sculpted the sculpture of Athena Parthenos (Virgin, Virgin), in whose honor the sanctuary received its name.

Periods of decline and revival

The Parthenon Temple of Athena, located in the city center on the Acropolis, has gone through a lot over the years. Short description The history of the Parthenon is as follows.

After its construction, the temple was revered for approximately 100 years. Its last patron was Alexander the Great, who donated 14 shields for the eastern pediment and the armor of defeated warriors to the shrine. After his death, dark days awaited the Parthenon.

The rulers allowed themselves to plunder the temple’s precious decor and turn the shrine almost into a brothel. And in the 3rd century BC. A major fire broke out in the building, destroying part of the roof, ceilings and doors of the shrine. It also caused the sculpture of Athena Parthenos to disappear without a trace. After the fire, the temple was restored, but the Parthenon looked a little different.

After 800 years, the ancient sanctuary was destined to turn into a Christian cathedral. All the ancient wealth was taken to Constantinople, and the temple itself was again slightly rebuilt in a new way. Centuries passed, and in the 15th century the Parthenon became a Muslim mosque, because... Athens was captured by the Turks. They painted over all the plots that contradicted their faith, but more interior decoration nothing was affected.

Later, in 1687, ammunition was stored here during the war. The shelling of the Acropolis from above and a direct hit on the boxes of gunpowder literally turned the Parthenon into ruins. For two hundred years these fragments stood on the hill as a memory of the former glorious past. In 1840, attention was again paid to the ancient sanctuary and it was decided to carry out its restoration. This process continues to this day with varying degrees of success.

Where is the Parthenon and how to get to it

In the minds of many travelers, Greece is primarily Athens and the Parthenon.

Tourists will not have to wander for long through the streets of Athens, looking for the place where the ancient Parthenon is located. It is very easy to find it, because... the main temple of Athens, like the Roman Pantheon, is located in historical center capital Cities.

The guiding landmark is the Acropolis, the main sanctuary in Greece, located on an elevated hill. To get there, take the red line of the local metro and get to the Akropolis station of the same name. You will enter the pedestrian street Dionysiou Areopagitou, which, gradually rising uphill, will lead you directly to the Temple of Athena.

Dionysiou Areopagitou street

Features of the Parthenon architecture

Unfortunately, the Parthenon, the ancient Greek temple of the goddess Athena and a monument of ancient architecture, has not survived to this day in all its glory. According to the surviving descriptions of the architectural complex, it was an innovation and breakthrough in Greek architecture of that time.

Surrounded by Doric columns, the Temple of the goddess of wisdom Athena was supposed to be the most majestic and luxurious building in Greece. But due to subsequent actions of Christian and Muslim invaders, the temple lost most of the elements of ancient decor.

The eastern pediment of the building was decorated sculptural composition“The Birth of Athena”, and the western part was dedicated to the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for patronage of the Greek capital. The historical scenes contained friezes and metopes of the Parthenon. In particular, they depicted the battle of gods with giants, as well as battles with Amazons, episodes of the Trojan War and solemn processions.

The statue of Athena, made of wood and decorated with gold and ivory, deserves special attention. Phidias did not spare a whole ton of gold for the brilliance and grandeur of his statue, and his descendants plundered it a century after the construction of the temple.

But the distinctive features of the architectural design are hidden not in the decor, but in the base of the temple.

Layout

The heights of the Acropolis provide natural protection during a siege, so no thought was given to the defensive function during the construction of the temple.

At the base of the structure there is a three-stage rise, on which a rectangular building surrounded by a colonnade is based. The columns are almost the central part of the Parthenon, since thanks to them the idea of ideal optical perception of forms is embodied.

The inner part of the sanctuary was separated from the columns by two more steps. The length of the temple from the inside was 60 m, with a width of 22 m. The building housed a large platform with a statue of Athena, also surrounded by columns around the perimeter. On either side of it were two more small rooms. The internal friezes of the Parthenon depicted a festive procession of virgins to the Acropolis with gifts to the wise Athena, the patroness of the city, which is narrated by the relief on the western pediment.

Material and technology

Most of the shrine was built from stone.

As building material Blocks of Pentelic marble were chosen for the building. In this case, the blocks were laid “dry”, i.e. without adding cement or other mortar. To do this, each stone was carefully ground and adjusted to a specific size. The roof of the temple was also made of marble, but the ceilings were wooden.

It is noteworthy that the properties of the material created another uniqueness of the Parthenon. This type of marble absorbs sunlight well, changing its color to golden. Therefore, on the southern side, where the sun is very hot, the temple is painted yellow-gold, and in the north the building has an ash-gray tint.

Sculptural ensemble

Regarding the decorative decoration, Iktinus and Kallikrates transferred their powers to the Great Phidias.

The main sculpture was undoubtedly the statue of Athena Parthenos, located in the center of the temple. Many reliefs with historical and mythological subjects were located on the metopes, friezes and pediments. There were many figures of historical characters in the Parthenon.

But, unfortunately, a small part of the sculptures has survived to our times. The Greeks managed to preserve 30 statues, 96 frieze parts and 57 metopes.

Parthenon - past and present

Pericles told his contemporaries that the construction of the Parthenon would become a reason for posterity to be proud of their predecessors. And he was right. Today the Acropolis and the Parthenon are one, because... the temple is the central element of the ancient sanctuary. And even though the statue of the goddess Athena Parthenos was lost, and the friezes and pediments of the Parthenon were destroyed, modern Greeks are proud of their historical past.

They are trying to restore the shrine to its original form: the way it was in its best ancient times. And although the construction of the restored temple began almost 2 centuries ago, unfortunately, it is still not completed, because There are not enough funds for all the work. In the modern world, it is necessary to reckon with political and economic difficulties, so that the monuments of the past are relegated to the background. But the Greeks believe that the day will surely come when the Parthenon will shine in its former glory.

Visit to the Parthenon

Entrance to the territory of the Acropolis is paid: the ticket price is 12 euros. For this amount you can see not only the Parthenon, but also other attractions located on the hill. And this is the Temple of Zeus, and the Theater of Dionysus, and the Roman Agora and the oldest district of the city - Ceramics. The purchased penetration will be valid for 4 days, so you can leisurely study and capture ancient greek architecture in photos and videos.

Access to the territory is open from 8.30 to 18.00. If you do not like the proximity of numerous tourists, then it is better to choose to visit in the morning. You should also take into account that you can approach the Acropolis from different directions: there are several ticket offices and gates. The least crowded entrances are at the museum and at the Theater of Dionysus.

In front of the cash registers there are small stalls where you can buy soda or freshly squeezed juice. Keep in mind that no one will let you near the attractions with a glass of juice, so it is better to buy drinks in bottles or cans. Also, before entering the territory, you must leave large bags and backpacks in special storage rooms. Another prohibition worth noting is that it is strictly forbidden to touch monuments of the past with your hands.

The restrictions should be treated with understanding, since they are aimed at better preserving the pieces of Ancient glory that have barely reached us. The aftertaste of these minor inconveniences will be forgotten at the first glance at the unique masterpieces ancient architecture and sculptures.

In contact with

Classmates

Name: Παρθενών (el), Parthenon (en)

Location: Athens, Greece)

Creation: 447–438 BC.

Architect(s): Callicrates, Iktin

Customer / Founder: Polis of Athens during the reign of Pericles

Parthenon architecture

Entablature. The orders of stone temples were borrowed by the Greeks from ancient wooden buildings. They are based on a simple connection of load-bearing parts (column with capital) and supporting floor beams - an entablature. In the classical era (V-IV centuries BC), the order system reached perfection.
Architrave. Each stone beam of the architrave (the lower part of the entablature) is 6 centimeters narrower in the center than at the edges. Hewn along a curved line, from a distance they look absolutely flat.
Frieze. Inside the temple, directly under the beams of the peristyle, there was a carved marble frieze. On marble reliefs The Parthenon depicts Athenian horsemen, mythological characters, competitions of the gods, heroic battles of the Greeks with the Amazons, episodes of the siege of Troy. The main theme of the frieze is the solemn procession in honor of the celebration of the Day of the Great Panathenaia, dedicated to the goddess Athena. In 1801-1803, the frieze panels were dismantled. In the upper part of the frieze, the sculptural images are made in more relief. This technique softens the impression of a sharp reduction in figures that appears when viewed from below.
Doric order. The Parthenon is surrounded by monumental columns of the Doric order. The column trunk is cut along its entire height by vertical grooves - flutes. They create a special play of light and shadow and emphasize the volume of the column.
Corner column. Corner columns are thicker than others. They are moved closer to the neighbors and slightly inclined towards the center of the building - otherwise the structure would seem to be falling apart. The remaining columns are also inclined inward by 6 cm relative to the vertical axis.
steps. The Parthenon stands on a podium, the curved surface of which rises towards the center. The steps are also curved. The harmony of the Parthenon is based on complex geometric calculations.
Entasis. The columns of the Parthenon are slightly convex in the middle. If they were straight, they would appear concave from a distance. "Amendment" to optical illusion The Greeks called it entasis.
Athena statue. The statue of Athena, the patroness of the city, was made by Phidias from gold and ivory. She stood opposite the eastern entrance and was illuminated by the rays of the rising sun. The height of the statue is 12.8 m.

Symbolic interpretation of the Parthenon structure

At the Parthenon maximum amount columns, perceived from one point, for example from the Propylaea, is 24 (8 +17-1 angular, common for two facades), which directly correlates with the number of hours that make up a day.
The number of drums in the column is 12, which directly correlates with the number of months in the year.
Each triglyph consists of three protruding parts, which corresponds to the division of the month into three decades of ten days, customary in Ancient Greece. Total There are 96 triglyphs-months around the entire perimeter of the temple, which corresponds to the eight-year calendar cycle widespread in antiquity. The triglyphs seemed to contain time, real time: an eight-year cycle composed of decades and months.
In between the triglyphs and metopes, mythological time was placed - the history of the struggle of the Greek tribe of Lapiths with the centaurs. Behind the Doric frieze containing the eight-year cycle, in the depths of the peripter on the wall of the cella, closer to Athena, the main deity of the temple, there is a relief frieze depicting the Panathenaic procession, which took place every four years. Behind the external general calendar eight-year cycle is hidden a private four-year cycle of time, the most important specifically for the temple of Athena.
Under each triglyph there is a board with 6 droplets: 6 droplets above the column and 6 droplets above the intercolumnium. It can be assumed that each step of the columns contained a year consisting of 12 drop-months. The total number of drops around the perimeter of the temple: 96 boards of 6 drops each equaled 48 years - a period that was a multiple of the eight-year cycle, and possibly correlated with the average human lifespan of that time.
Under the cornice shelf there were also stone drops hanging from the mutul boards: 6 rows of three in each row. If we assume that each of them corresponds to a decade, then we get six months of three decades. In this case, for each step of the columns (two boards - 3 × 12 drops) there is again a year, consisting of 12 months of three decades each. The Latin name of these drops is “regula” (from “regulo” - to direct, to order) indicates the continuity of tradition in the understanding of time as a universal regulator of life.

This is far from a complete analysis of the development of the Doric tradition in the Parthenon, but it already reveals this temple as a complex, harmoniously balanced spatial-temporal system containing both archaic and later, modern for its builders, ideas about the world order.

In the Parthenon, a person, having ascended the steps of the stylobate, found himself not only in sacred space, but also in sacred time, confirmed by the rhythm of the columns and the flow of flutes flowing to the floor.

About the Parthenon as a monument of its era and the features of its composition

N.I. Brunov

Moscow, “Art”, 1973

The Parthenon was a treasury depository, a state bank.
Various proceeds flowed into the treasury of the goddess Athena on the acropolis: precious metal vessels, income from the lands that belonged to the goddess, parts of military booty, a tenth of the production of silver mines. In total, this amounted to a very large amount, which represented state fund. The treasury of Athena was actually at the disposal of the state. The goddess was a banker...

The main building material of the Parthenon is Pentelic marble, the quarries of which are located near Athens in the Pentelikon mountain range. The changes that this marble undergoes under the influence of sun rays. In the quarry it is white, similar in color to sugar. The surface of the stone is crystalline, fine-grained, transparent, so that the eye penetrates a little deeper, which gives the stone a unique transparent texture. Due to the fact that there are microscopic pieces of metal inside marble, and microscopic mosses develop in it under the influence of sunlight, the stone turns golden-yellowish in air when exposed to air, which is very beautiful and gives it a warm tint...
Architectural and artistic composition of the Parthenon
- The dismemberment of the architectural mass of the Parthenon is the fruit of analytical architectural thinking. What is most significant for the architecture of the Parthenon is that this analysis is combined with a holistic emotional perception architectural composition. This is the similarity of the Parthenon architecture with the architecture of eastern despotism, and this is its difference from many works of architecture of subsequent eras...
- In the Parthenon, the relationship between the column and the human figure, observed in other classical temples, is expressed with particular conviction. In this respect, the Greek column continues a tradition dating back to the distant past. ultimately to the primitive vertically placed stone as funerary monument or a monument erected in memory of an event...
- Pentelic marble in a quarry, in nature, or even a piece of it exposed to sunlight, is significantly different from what the architects did with it in the building itself. They, of course, deeply took into account the natural properties of Pentelic marble and those changes. Which subsequently causes the action of sunlight in it. However, depending on the inclusion of Pentelic marble in the architectural and artistic composition, its figurative quality has undergone significant changes. In accordance with the tripartite dialectical structure of the Parthenon, it is necessary to separately consider the interpretation of the building material in the crepid, columns and entablature...
- A characteristic feature of archaic and classical peripters, especially clearly expressed in the Parthenon thanks to its system of eight columns on the end sides, is the compactness of the outer volume, the main part of which is not adjacent to any additional volumes. In ancient times, this feature must have been especially evident, since a complex asymmetrical composition dominated in urban residential buildings...
- What is new in the Parthenon, compared to geometricism in Egyptian architecture, is the synthetic combination of geometricity and organicity. In classical Greek architecture a living sense of matter is very strongly expressed...
- The peripteral form of the building creates an interpenetration of mass and surrounding space. The latter is integrated into the architectural volume, forming external porticoes. It is impossible to tear them away from the surrounding space and from the landscape, to which beautiful views open in all directions from the porticoes. True, both when contemplating the Parthenon from the outside, and when looking at nature from the porticoes, the massive column trunks dominate the spaces between them, the columns come to the fore and squeeze the intercolumnia with their volume. However, the columns are arranged in relationship with the space surrounding the temple, and with the opening landscapes, which serve as the necessary background for the perception of the columns themselves...
- In the Parthenon, the process of crystallization of the unity of the outer volume of the peripterus, which began in the archaic era, was completed... The unity of the volume of the Parthenon is greatly enhanced by the inclination of the columns towards the naos, giving the entire volume a slightly tapering upward shape. This narrowing increases in a more vertical form from the ground to the three steps of the crepida, continues and ends with flatter slopes of the roof. The result is a curving curve of the silhouette of the building...
- The architectural forms of the Parthenon evoke in the viewer a certain idea of the size of the human figure for which they are intended. If we forget about the actual height of a person and try to imagine his height based on architectural forms, then it turns out that architecture evokes, when contemplating it, the image of a person approximately twice as tall as he actually is. When perceiving the Parthenon, the viewer has a clear idea of an enlarged human figure, towards which the dimensions of the architectural forms are oriented. At the same time, the viewer perceives the building and its parts in relationship with himself. Therefore, the viewer identifies with himself the image of a person enlarged in size, generated by architecture, that is, he mentally grows in size, seems to himself larger and stronger than he really is...
- Along with the ideological and figurative content, which is inherent in all classical Greek peripters, the Parthenon contains ideas expressed through the means of art, characteristic of Athens in the mid-5th century. BC e., which found their most complete and perfect expression in him. The ideas common to all classical temples include the dominance of man over nature and his connection with it, as well as the principle of humanity, the humanistic principle expressed in the language of architecture...

Sources:

Brunov N.I. "Monuments of the Athens Acropolis. Parthenon and Erechtheion", Moscow "Art" 1973
Ikonnikov A.V. The artistic language of architecture M.: Art, 1985, ill.
"Greek Architecture" by Allan Marquand, Ph.D., L.H.D. Professor of ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY IN RINCETON UNIVERSITY New York THE MACVILLAN COMPANY 1909
K.I. Ronchevsky "Samples of ancient Greek architectural orders" Moscow, 1917
P.P. Gnedich “General History of Arts. Painting. Sculpture. Architecture". Modern version Moscow “Eksmo”, 2009

The Ionian frieze depicting the Panathenaic procession occupies the huge hall of the British Museum. Only a few of his slabs are now in other collections. Procession of Athenian girls from the eastern wall - in the Louvre: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F ile:Egastinai_frieze_Louvre_MR825.jpg
Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis - in the Acropolis Museum: http://ancientrome.ru/art/artwork/img.h tm?id=1643
There are also several more slabs there. But only in the British Museum can one get a complete picture of this part of the Parthenon’s sculptural decoration.
In front of us is the corner of the western and southern walls. Male figure looks very strange: the body is depicted from the front, the legs are turned in one direction, the head in the other. The movement is thus stopped:

The length of the frieze that ran along the walls of the temple cella, behind the columns, is 160 meters, its height is 1 meter.
Preparations for the procession were depicted on the western wall. Some characters are already driving, some are standing. The flow of the main movement is directed to the left, but some figures are directed to the right. In this part of the frieze we see only men:

Now on the Parthenon itself there are copies of the reliefs. This is what the western façade looks like:

The Panathenaic procession on the frieze is an image, not a detailed document. Sculptors depict the most important things without going into details. The procession of the Athenians bifurcates: along the southern and northern walls, mortal people move towards the gods.

The sculptors depict horsemen with special pleasure. The procession is multifaceted. On the frieze everything is flattened, sometimes, like knots, you have to untangle the legs of horses and riders. In the next room there is a special multimedia program that transforms the planar image on the frieze into a spatial one. Very exciting! By the way, when everything was painted, the plans were separated more clearly.

To the extent that the movement of the horses and the postures of the riders are individualized, all the young men are so similar. Just brothers! The ideal type dominates, nothing personal.
This is not the army of Qin Shi Huangdi.

What was the Panathenaic procession depicted on the frieze?
“The holiday was many days, solemn and magnificent; he demanded the presence of all Athenians (and from the time of Peisistratus, formally, all Hellenes). His main rite was to bring a new fire to the Acropolis from the lower city. They took it from the Academus grove, planted under Cleisthenes at the end of the 6th century. BC e. Torches were lit on the altar of Eros or Prometheus, and young men assigned to each of the ten Athenian phyla (territorial units) carried it in a relay race to the Acropolis. The winner received a strange prize: hydria with water. However, in the ritual of cosmogony it is quite natural: after all, this “water” is the parent of “fire”. The act of bringing fire was at night - in accordance with the night ritual of the passions of the sun god in the underwater world.
Early in the morning, at sunrise, a procession was drawn up near the Athens cemetery Ceramics. It included all full-fledged citizens, except slaves - indigenous people and Meteca migrants, old men, boys and girls. At the head was a girl-priestess with a ritual basket-kanun, in which a knife was hidden among the barley intended to feed the victim animal. Next, at the beginning of the procession, came the tallophores - noble elders in white robes, with flowering branches in their hands. The indigenous Athenians carried two diphros - solemn thrones without backs - for the gods. They were followed by sacrificial animals, cows and sheep, accompanied by young men and musicians, followed by metics in purple robes - men carried heavy boat-shaped scaphoses with honeycombs and other gifts to the gods and hydrias with water on their shoulders, women carried umbrellas. The third part, the tail of the procession, was made up of ephebe youths on horseback in black cloaks.” /Akimova L.I. The Art of Ancient Greece: Classics. – St. Petersburg: ABC-classics, 2007, p.184/

“The procession, approaching the Acropolis, took a model of the ship in the Prytaneum, the building where the city magistrates met, where the state seal and other symbols of the Athenian polis were kept. On the mast of the ship, a newly woven saffron peplos was fixed, fluttering and shining like the sun. At the entrance to the Acropolis, the ship was left below and the peplos was carried on the stulis mast removed from it; the ephebes on horseback dismounted. The rest of the procession climbed up the steep slope. Having reached the Parthenon, the procession split into two branches - one went around the temple from the north, the other from the south, and they met at the far end of the temple, where the Great Altar was located and where sacrifices were made. After the sacrifices, the central event of the holiday, the goddess was given a new peplos. With sunrise, the doors of the temple dissolved, and in the naos an extraordinary sight was revealed to the participants: they were greeted in all its splendor, illuminated by the first rays of the sun, by the colossal (about 12 m high) statue of Athena Parthenos by Phidias, made of gold and ivory. Previously, in the temple of Polyada, peplos was placed on the knees of the seated goddess. In the Parthenon, where the statue was standing, after the ceremony it entered the temple treasury. Then the multi-day agony began.” /Akimova L.I. The Art of Ancient Greece: Classics. – St. Petersburg: ABC-classics, 2007, p.185/

So far we have looked at the reliefs of the northern side. On the southern wall we see the same set of characters, they are just grouped differently.

Horsemen alternate with chariots:

Men lead sacrificial animals:

The East Frieze looks completely different. Here people come closer to the gods. The movement becomes slower and gradually people stop.

In the central part of the relief, the priest and priestess receive sacred gifts - peplos and diphlos:

People and gods are nearby, and at the same time, as if in different worlds. They don't interact. The gods communicate only with each other. People stand and gods sit. At the same time, the principle of isokephaly (equality of heads) is preserved, since the gods are greater than people:

Hermes, Dionysus and Demeter:

Demeter and Ares:

Iris, Hera and Zeus:

The reliefs not only lost their coloring. In many parts they are badly damaged.

But we are already educated in the sculpture of modern times, we know about the unfinished nature of Michelangelo’s works! That is why these “melting” images are full of such charm for us. We seem to see how these beautiful images were born:

Pediments of the Parthenon: http://cicerone2007.livejournal.com/290 08.html

Answered: 8

25/08/2010 21:20

The main feature in the design of the Parthenon is the combination of features of the Dorian and Ionian orders in a single design. As is known, these orders had significant differences in general proportions, types of capitals, appearance of columns, and the nature of the entablature. Dorian in its main features, the Parthenon, as we remember, also had some features taken from the Ionian order. It is typical for Dorian temples to have not eight (as in the Parthenon), but six columns on the facade. The lighter proportions of the order and the continuous frieze are also features that came from Ionics. Let's not forget about the four Ionian columns in the treasury. Such a combination of two orders in the architecture of one building is a fundamentally new phenomenon, practically never seen before in Greek architecture. The reasons for the appearance of this feature, as many scientists quite rightly believe, are not only artistic, but also ideological.

The Greek people of the ancient era were divided into several groups (they are usually called tribes), the most important among which were the Dorians (Dorians) and the Ionians (Ionians). According to the ideas that existed at that time, the difference between them was revealed not only in the fact that each of these tribes had its own dialect, but also in the presence of certain character traits supposedly characteristic of these tribes. The Dorians were considered more simple, straightforward, and stern, while the Ionians were considered more refined, prone to elegance and luxury in everyday life, more committed to various innovations than the traditional Dorians. Although, from the point of view of modern science, these differences within the ancient Greek ethnos have no more than a ten-degree significance, the Greeks themselves considered them very important.

The Athenian Maritime League was originally a union of only Ionian poleis. In addition to the real power of Athens, their leading role in the war with the Persians, the circumstance that helped create this association was old tradition, according to which Athens was considered the metropolis (homeland) of all Ionians, the center from where they spread to the islands of the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor. Subsequently, many Dorian policies also joined the union. The desire to present Athens as a natural center for the unification of all Greeks, regardless of their tribal affiliation, became one of the leading lines in the politics of the Athenian polis. Thus, the Parthenon, which was intended to be the main temple of the union, turned out to be a building in which the features of the two orders organically merged. The Athenians wanted the Parthenon to be considered their temple by all Greeks.

Let us now turn to the Parthenon sculpture. Let us remember that the main task of the temple was to store the chrysoelephantine statue of Athena. Despite the importance of this statue, the “sculptural component” of the temple was not limited to it. It included two large pediment compositions from a number of sculptures, separate sculptural groups executed in high relief on the metopes (on all four sides) and an Ionian frieze in low relief. The entire sculpture located on the temple is made of Pentelicon marble, but some details (weapons and images of horse harness) are made of metal. A number of details and the background were painted.

Plutarch, talking about the construction of the temple, was amazed at the speed with which it was built (Plut., Pericl., XIII, 2)212. But no less surprising is the speed with which the sculpture was created. Since both the metopes and the frieze were integral parts of the structures, they had to be completed before the construction was completed. Since the cornice and roof, judging by the reports we mentioned above, were completed in 438 BC, one can think that the creation of sculptural groups on the metopes and frieze covered the time from 447 to 438. BC. At the time of the consecration of the temple in 438, the compositions on the pediments were not yet completed, and the work on their manufacture and installation was completed only in 432.213

Previously, it was a very popular opinion that Phidias personally supervised and supervised all sculptural work, but today this opinion is abandoned. The work of producing such a significant number of sculptures (2 pediment compositions, 92 metopes and the entire frieze) in such a short time (until 438) required, of course, the participation of large group masters In addition, it was at this time that Phidias was busy making a chrysoelephantine statue of Athena. Most likely, Phidias participated in the discussion of the subjects of the metopes, frieze and pediments, but he is unlikely to have created sketches for many of them, although it cannot be considered that he completely withdrew from this work.

The Parthenon is richly decorated with sculpture. Olympian gods and heroes, battles of the Greeks with Amazons and centaurs, battles of gods with giants, episodes of the Trojan War and solemn processions are depicted on its pediments, metopes, and friezes. The feelings and mood of the Greeks during the heyday of Athens were embodied in plastic images. That is why fiction here is perceived as reality, and plots inspired by life acquire the character of a special sublime ideality. The Parthenon sculpture contains deep meaning. The greatness of man is revealed in clearly visible images - an idea that is also expressed in the architecture of the temple 37.

Metopes of the Parthenon. Metopes were placed above the outer colonnade of the temple. Previously, relief metopes were usually located only on the eastern and western sides. They also decorated the Parthenon from the north and south (ill. 39). On the western side, the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons was depicted in the metopes; in the south - Greeks with centaurs; on the north - scenes from the Trojan War; in the east - the battle of gods and giants 38.

The metopes on the western side of the Parthenon are badly damaged. The northern metopes are also poorly preserved (out of thirty-two, only twelve): this part of the colonnade was badly damaged by a gunpowder explosion. This is all the more regrettable because here, apparently, the reliefs were especially well executed, since they were most often in plain sight. Along this side of the Parthenon there was a solemn procession along the Acropolis.

The sculptor who decorated the metopes on the northern side with reliefs took this into account, and he coordinated the direction of the general movement and the development of action on the northern metopes with the movement of people along the temple. Indeed, on the first metope on the northern side (if you walk along the Parthenon from the Propylaea) the sun god Helios was depicted, as if opening events, and on one of the last, the final ones, the goddess of the night Nyux. These images corresponded to the beginning and end of the action. The middle metopes showed preparations for the campaign, farewell of the soldiers, departure, and scenes of the Trojan War. The entrance to the temple was from the east, and in the decorations of this side the sculptors represented the most significant events. The eastern metopes showed the struggle and victory of the Olympian gods over the giants.

Southern metopes. Battles of the Greeks with the centaurs. 18 (out of 32) metopes on the south side of the Parthenon facing the cliff are the best preserved. The proximity of the cliff obviously made it difficult for a person standing on the Acropolis near the temple to perceive them. They were clearly visible from a distance, from the city below. Therefore, the masters made the figures especially voluminous.

The reliefs differ in the nature of their execution; there is no doubt that they were worked on different masters. Many have not reached us, but those that have survived amaze with their masterful depiction of the battle. These metopes represent the battle between the Greeks and the centaurs 39 . The square frames show scenes of fierce life-and-death fights, various struggle situations, and complex body positions.

There are many tragic themes here. Often centaurs triumph over defeated people. In one of the metopes, the Greek tries in vain to defend himself from the advancing enemy, in the other, a Hellene is shown prostrate on the ground and a centaur triumphant over him. In such slabs full voice the deep drama of the event sounds - the death of the hero in a fight with a terrible evil force (ill. 40, 41). The victorious Greeks are also depicted: one has grabbed the weakening enemy by the throat, the other has swung at the centaur and is about to deal him a decisive blow (ill. 42, 43). Sometimes it is impossible to predict who the winner will be. In one metope, a Greek and a centaur are likened to two high waves colliding with each other.

Classical masters bring countervailing forces in metopes into balance and achieve a generally harmonious impression from each monument. Classical sculptors always show the inner boiling of passions, complex, sometimes tragic conflicts in an outwardly calm, restrained manner. Each individual image is excited and dynamic, but as a whole the whole scene is usually brought into a state of compositional harmony.

Each metope has its own, unique theme - sometimes tragic, sometimes victorious and bravura, sometimes filled with the tension of inhuman struggle, sometimes calm. The nature of feelings is expressed with crystal clarity and purity. These images are infinitely far from the theatrical pathos, insincerity, meaningful reticence that will appear in art later centuries. Classics are extremely truthful when they depict something terrible and tragic; it remains whole and harmonious even in the expression of great suffering. Masters of high classics are able to show with restraint, with deep calm, what artists of later eras will narrate with trembling voices.

Frieze of the Parthenon. The frieze (zophorus) of the Parthenon (ill. 44), with a total length of 160 meters and a width of about a meter, is a particularly solid work, harmonious with the deep interconnectedness of all its images.

In the third year of each Olympiad (quadrennial), around the end of July according to our calendar, after gymnastic and musical competitions, a solemn procession to the Acropolis began. For this day, the girls were preparing fabric for the ancient wooden statue of Athena. The fabric was secured to the mast of the ship, which was carried by hand. The ship was followed by priests, city rulers, noble Athenians, and ambassadors. Chariots moved through the streets and riders galloped on horses.

The frieze shows the procession of the Athenians on the day of the Great Panathenaia. Movement on the reliefs starts from the southwestern corner of the temple and goes in two streams. One part of the people depicted on the frieze goes east on the southern side of the Parthenon, the other goes first along the western side, then turns and walks along the northern side of the temple to the eastern frieze, where the gods are shown. Participants in the actual procession, passing near the Parthenon, saw these reliefs - a generalized, ideal image, an echo of real life.

West side of the frieze. On the relief slabs you can see how the horsemen prepare for the procession: they talk to each other, tie their sandals, saddle and slowly lead their horses, and tame too hot horses. The images are full of vitality, especially the scene where, near two young men talking, a horse drives away a horsefly or fly from its leg. Then the riders begin their movement, following each other (ill. 45, 46, 47). The composition of the western part is the beginning of the entire frieze: the movement of the procession will move to the northern side of the temple. At the same time, it is perceived as a completely finished relief, since along the edges, as if framing it, stand the figures of calm young men. Depicted near the northwestern corner, it seemed to stop the riders for a moment, who the next moment would continue their journey on the reliefs of the northern side.

The procession goes from right to left. It is noteworthy that the remains of figures on the western metopes can speak of a general movement on them, on the contrary, from left to right. Thus, the actions on the frieze and metopes seemed to cancel each other out. This balance corresponded to the end side of the temple, along which the path of the solemn procession did not go. To avoid monotony in the depiction of galloping horsemen, the master interrupts the movement in two places. Thus, he shows on one of the slabs a dismounted young man, facing the opposite direction of the movement, placing his foot on a stone (ill. 47). The sculptor seems to give the viewer’s eye an opportunity to rest, and after a pause the movement begins again. The distribution of actions on the metopes and frieze of the western facade, as well as the features of the composition, convince us of the consistency of the work of the sculptors and architects of the Parthenon, of the deep unity of architecture and plasticity of this beautiful classical structure.

North side frieze. The frieze on the northern side of the temple is longer. It shows not only horsemen, but also chariots, priests with sacrificial animals, musicians, and young men with sacred gifts. The movement at the beginning is faster than on the western part and uneven. The horses gallop, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Riders sometimes get close to each other, and it seems that they are crowded (ill. 48). Sometimes they are placed more freely. One gets the impression of a pulsating, intense rhythm, as if one could hear the fractional clatter of horse hooves. Sometimes the procession is stopped by a figure appearing against the flow. And again the horses are galloping after her. The beauty of the composition of the northern frieze is enhanced by smooth, flexible contour lines and low, seemingly breathing relief forms.

Before the horsemen, the flower of the Athenian youth, representatives best families city 40, chariots are shown, steadily drawn by powerful, beautiful horses. Sometimes the harness is not visible because it was painted with paint that has not survived. In this part of the frieze there are many smooth rounded contours - wheels, the croup of horses, the curves of their bodies, the hands of charioteers. The mood is calm, movements are measured.

The speed of the chariots gradually slows down. An oncoming figure seems to stop them. From quickly galloping horsemen and the slow movement of chariots, the master moves on to the calm procession of elderly Athenians who carry olive branches in their hands. Their gestures are restrained. Some talk to each other, others turn back, as if looking at the procession following them.

In front of the elders, four young men carry hydrias - water vessels - on their shoulders (ill. 49). On the right, one bends down and picks up a jug from the ground. The figures are placed freely, dispersed. The sacrificial rams are led by priests talking to each other (ill. 50). One of them affectionately strokes the ram on the back. In front of them are shown musicians in long robes, with flutes and lyres, then strangers with gifts - baskets filled with fruits and bread. At the end of the northern frieze you can see priests with sacrificial bulls. One of the bulls lifted his muzzle and seemed to roar pitifully. Beautiful figures The drivers express sadness - their heads are bowed, one is tightly wrapped in a cloak (ill. 51). The last, corner figure completes the frieze, as if closing the composition and stopping the movement.

Everything is brought into harmonious harmony in the picture of the festive Panathenaic procession. At first the figures were filled with tension. Closer to the eastern part of the frieze, the procession participants walk solemnly. The masters of the classics did not like the raggedness of action, lack of agreement, they preferred clarity and logical completeness. The procession on the frieze of the longitudinal side of the temple also corresponded to the direction of action on the northern metopes.

Southern frieze. The southern frieze suffered more severe damage, but on it you can also see participants in a calm and majestic procession. Riders ride three deep, but there is no crowding or commotion. The master shows young men in smart leather boots with cuffs, short armor, and sometimes in cloaks. They seem amazed at the solemn celebration; obviously, this is the first time they are participating in it. As on the northern side, chariots and drivers with sacrificial animals move here. Some bulls walk obediently, others, moaning pitifully, are restrained by the servants (ill. 52, 53). The group, which shows two priests walking behind a bull, is impeccable in the beauty of its composition and rhythm. One of the priests turned around as he walked and, bending slightly, looked back.

East frieze. Traffic on the northern and southern friezes is directed towards the eastern part of the temple. The eastern frieze depicts seated gods. Noble Athenians are coming towards them from right and left. The Olympians meet the procession in two groups. The left faces the characters of the southern frieze. Right - to those approaching from the north. The closer to the center, the less often the figures are shown.

The Athenians talk decorously with each other, as if all the time remembering the proximity of their patrons. Here are girls with bowls and jugs in their hands, stately women. Their figures are slender. The flowing folds of the cloaks are like the grooves of the Parthenon columns. Sublime and significant ideas embodied in the architectural forms of the temple are, as it were, repeated in its details, in the decor, in the simple and ordinary - in the beautiful folds of people’s clothes (ill. 54).

The gods seated on their thrones are significantly larger than the mortal Athenians. If the gods wanted to stand up, they would not fit on the frieze. This is how they differ from ordinary people, otherwise similar to the wonderful Olympians. On the left sit Zeus on a throne with a backrest, Hera, who turned her face to him, Iris and Eros, Ares, Demeter, Dionysus and Hermes. On the right side are Athena, Hephaestus, then Poseidon, Apollo, Peytho 41 and then Aphrodite. In the center of the frieze above the entrance to the temple are depicted the priest and priestess of the goddess Athena (ill. 55,56).

It is noteworthy that the placement of the gods on the eastern frieze is consistent, with some exceptions, with the placement of the gods on the eastern metopes, where they fought the giants. It is also no coincidence that the movement in the eastern metopes and in the eastern part of the frieze is directed towards the center from the corners. This gives the sculptural decoration of the temple unity and a deep connection with the architecture. The Parthenon frieze is the creation of a genius. There is reason to believe that Phidias took a direct part in its execution.

Pediments. The pediment compositions of the Parthenon are the pinnacle in the development of this type of Greek sculpture after the sculptures of the temples of Artemis on Corfu, Athena on the island of Aegina and Zeus in Olympia. The statues, attached with lead for strength, were at a great height and therefore had a slight tilt of the upper part forward, so that when viewed from below they were better visible (ill. 57). Over two and a half millennia they have suffered greatly, and what is now kept in museums is only the remains of beautiful sculptures. Most of them remained in ruins.

On many statues one can see traces of rain streams that poured through the cornice openings for centuries 42. But even in this state, these ancient sculptures make an indelible impression.

West pediment of the Parthenon. Athena and Poseidon argued, according to myth, for primacy in Attica. They were supposed to bring gifts to the city. Poseidon, striking the ground with his trident, carved out a source. Athena, thrusting a spear into the ground, created the olive, a tree that bears fruit - olives. The Greeks gave preference to the goddess, and she became the patroness of their city. This dispute was depicted in the center of the west pediment of the Parthenon (ill. 71).

To imagine how the figures on the pediment were located in ancient times, researchers had to do great job. Surviving descriptions of ancient authors, random sketches of travelers - everything was taken into account. Before the explosion of the Parthenon, the western side (ill. 58) was in better preservation than the eastern, judging by the famous drawings of the artist Carrey, who accompanied it in the 17th century. French ambassador on a trip to Greece 43 (ill. 59, 60). Ancient authors also left descriptions of the Parthenon statues.

On the western pediment were located from left to right the following statues: Cephisus, Nymph, Kekrop, his three daughters and son, Nike, Hermes, Athena, Poseidon (part of this statue is in Athens, part of it in London), Iris, Amphitrite, three daughters and grandson Erechthea, Ilis (in Athens), Callirhoe. Apparently, the babies of Boread were also presented, as well as sculptures of the olive tree planted by Athena, the source of Poseidon, the horses and chariots on which the gods arrived 44 .

The deities of the rivers flowing in Athens - Ilis and Kephis, shown in the corners in the form of young men, indicate the scene of action. On the left is the god of the river Cephisus. The outline of his figure resembles the elastic bend of a wave. This impression is helped by the smoothly flowing folds of clothes flowing from his hands, like streams of water (ill. 61, 62).

The statue of the Ilisa River in the right corner is much worse preserved. The river god is also full of life and tension. However, if Kephis showed open and brightly impetuous movement, then Ilis is restrained and reserved. Different interpretation The images are not accidental and are caused by the location of the figures on the pediment. Kefis, with his dynamic impulse, seemed to point to the unfolding composition. Ilis, which completed it and was located near the cliff of the Akronol rock, stopped a person’s attention and returned him to the center of the pediment.

In front of Cephisus was Kekrop, the ancient Attic deity of the earth, the mythical founder of cities in Attica, which is why Attica is sometimes called Kekropia, and the Athenians - Kekrop. According to legend, he was the first king and under him there was a dispute between Athena and Poseidon. Usually depicted as a man with a snake's tail instead of legs, he sits on its rings, leaning on them with his hand. His daughter gently pressed herself against his shoulder (ill. 63, 64). His daughters were the goddesses of dew and saviors from drought 45, the closest companions of Athena - Aglaurus, Pandros, Herse 46. The most ancient Attic hero Erechtheus, son of the earth, pupil of Athena, the ancient deity of earthly fertility, whose cult later merged with the cult of Poseidon, is shown on the right side of the pediment, not far from Ilis. Here are the daughter of Erechtheus Creus with her son Ion, as well as Leucothea with the baby Polemon.

The statues of deities are full of life. Even the poorly preserved marble torso of Poseidon’s wife Amphitrite convinces of the former perfection of her sculptural image. The plasticity of the forms testifies to the hand of a great master. The movements of the goddess of the seas are confident, noble and leisurely (ill. 65). The goddess of the rainbow Iris, connecting heaven and earth, a mediator between the Olympians and people, quickly rushes forward to meet the strong, gusty wind 47. She is wearing a short and light, as if wet, chiton, tightly adhered to the body and forming many small beautiful folds (ill. 66-68). The peculiarity of the classical composition, in which individual figures are dynamic and the overall action is balanced, is also manifested in the pediments of the Parthenon. With a strong contrast between the actions of various characters general impression the entire ensemble of the statue remains harmonious. Each figure seems to exist in space, lives independently, without touching the others, but still has a very strong effect on them.

Athena and Poseidon. The middle of the Parthenon pediments is not marked, as in earlier temples, by a single figure. The central statue in such compositions appeared in archaic buildings, with an odd number of columns at the ends. The tallest figure on the pediment then corresponded to the middle column. Gradually, the architects moved from an odd number of columns at the ends to an even number. But the sculptural compositions of the pediments of the temple of Athena on the island of Aegina, as well as Zeus in Olympia, still retained, according to ancient traditions, the main figure of the deity in the center. Only in the Parthenon the sculptural composition of the pediments fully corresponds to the architecture of the temple. Only fragments of the statues of the arguing gods Athena and Poseidon located in the center have survived, but they are also very expressive. Greek masters knew how to permeate all elements of a work with a single and integral feeling. Even part of a broken statue therefore preserves its mood and idea. Thus, in a small fragment of the statue of Athena, the majesty of the goddess appears in a proud turn of her head, in a strong turn of her shoulders (ill. 69).

Poseidon's hand, striking with the trident, was raised. This can be understood even from that insignificant fragment of the statue, which time has not spared (ill. 70). The formidable strength of the Olympian, his power is embodied in the generalized and integral forms of the torso. Every muscle of Poseidon seems to be saturated with life. General ideal ideas about the power of the deity are conveyed here in the forms of the human figure. The Greek sculptor, who sought to show the perfection of God, thereby simultaneously asserted limitless possibilities of a person with the harmony of his spiritual and physical development. In a visually clear, tangible image taken from life, not private and small, but integral and deep feelings and thoughts were expressed. The idea that excited humanity happily found a concrete form of expression in art at this time.

East pediment of the Parthenon. On the eastern pediment, mainly since the entrance to the Parthenon was from the east (ill. 72), a great event for the Hellenes is represented - the birth of Athena (ill. 73). This is a pan-Hellenic plot, more significant than the dispute between Athena and Poseidon 48 . In the center are depicted the gods on Olympus, in the corners there are no longer the Athenian rivers Cephisus and Ilis, but the sun god Helios and the goddess of the night Nyux in the waters of the Ocean. On the left, Helios rode out in a chariot; on the right, it was night—Nyux was hiding in the Ocean with her horse. With the birth of Athena, the sunny day began for the Hellenes and the night ended.

The central figures - Zeus on the throne, Athena flying out of his head, Hephaestus, the goddess Ilithyia helping at birth, Nike laying a wreath on the head of the born Athena - were not preserved due to later alterations of this part of the temple. The pediment sculptures showed how the world reacts to a great event. Iris 49 stormily rushes forward, reporting the news of the birth of wise Athena (ill. 74). She is greeted by the Mountains sitting in front of her - the daughters of Zeus, opening and closing the gates of heaven (ill. 75). Their heads have not been preserved, and it is impossible to judge from their faces how they perceive Iris’s message, but the plasticity of movement reveals their feelings and attitude to what they heard. The one located closer to Iris clasped her hands in joy and recoiled slightly, as if in amazement at this news. The other, sitting further, moved towards the messenger of the gods. It’s as if she hasn’t heard everything yet and wants to find out what Iris is saying.

By varying the degree of reaction of these characters sitting nearby, the master wants to emphasize that from the center of the pediment to its corners it is as far as from Olympus to the waters of the Ocean. Therefore, the young man sitting further from the Mountains, Cephalus 50, does not seem to hear the message of Iris (ill. 76). He turns his back to Olympus and looks at Helios leaving the Ocean. The harmony of forms in this statue is impeccable. In the interpretation of a strong, strong neck and compact volume of the head, in the modeling of muscles that well convey the movement of the body, there is no rigidity characteristic of early classical statues; a calm state of activity is expressed, strong man. The usual image of a youthful figure takes on a special sublimity. The ancient Greek master knows how to see and show a simple phenomenon of life as beautiful and significant, without resorting to spectacular poses and gestures in his compositions.

The statue of Cephalus captures attention with the complexity and at the same time clarity of the movement presented. Although the young man sits with his back to Olympus, the master managed to convey the desire to turn around in his seemingly calm body. The beginning of the slow movement is noticeable in the position of his left leg. The figure is plastic and three-dimensional; it rather lives independently in space rather than being connected to the flat background of the pediment. The statue of Cephalus, like other images of the Parthenon, is not as strongly subordinated to the plane of the pediment as the statues on earlier temples.

To the left is Helios riding out on a chariot. The quadriga would have cluttered the corner, and the sculptor limited himself to depicting two horse faces protruding from the waters of the Ocean. In the plasticity of marble sculptures, in beautiful lines the proud bend of the horses' necks, the majestic tilt of the horses' heads, as in a poetic metaphor, embodies the feelings of contemplating the solemnly and smoothly ascending luminary 51 (ill. 77). The head of Helios and his horses are matched on the right by the half-figure of the goddess of the night Nyux and the head of her horse, plunging into the waters of the Ocean. The horse's muzzle is shown with its lip hanging over the lower border of the pediment. She seemed to be snoring from fatigue and hurried to the cool water. Goethe admired her, saying that the horse is depicted as it came from the hands of nature itself (ill. 78).

Moira statues. The statues of the goddesses of fate - Moira are located on the right side of the pediment near the torso of Nux 52. Despite the damage, they captivate a person with their beauty. Parts of the statues preserve the feeling that once lived in the whole work, and are as expressive as excerpts from the majestic Greek epic or the tender lines of an ancient lyric poet (ill. 79, 80, 81). Moirai live in the complex organism of the pediment and are subordinate to its composition. Their connection with the triangular shape of the frame appears, in particular, in the fact that the figures are placed on benches that gradually rise towards the central part. The closer to the birthplace of Athena, the more mobile the sculptural masses of the statues, the more dynamic, restless the poses, and the more intense the forms. The excitement of the images increases from the calm figures in the extreme corners to the pathos of the central scene.

The consistent increase in emotionality is noticeable not in the facial expressions, because Moira’s heads have not been preserved, but in the plasticity of their expressive movements. Right Moira lay down on a low bed covered with folds of her wide clothes. The embodiment of peace and relaxation, she rested her elbow on her friend’s knees and pressed her shoulder to her chest. The middle one, sitting higher, is restrained in its movements.

Drawing her legs together, she leaned forward slightly towards the girl reclining at her knees. The left Moira, towering above them, seemed to have heard about the birth of Athena a moment ago and responded to it, rushing with her upper torso towards Olympus. Her whole being is permeated with trembling excitement. From the deep serene peace of the right Moira to the restrained and measured movements of the middle one, then to the excitement and impetuosity of the left one develops a dynamic, saturated rich inner life group composition.

The artistic power of most classical monuments of Greece is not lost, even if the subject or the names of those depicted are unknown. It is no coincidence that other goddesses are sometimes seen in Moira statues. The theme of such works is the consciousness felt and conveyed by the ancient master of the significance of man, the limitlessness of his capabilities, and deep admiration for his beauty. Moir's statues are not an illustration of what he imagined ancient Greek goddesses of fate. The sculptor embodied in them his idea of various human states - serene rest, calm activity, intense emotional impulse.

The statues of Moira are large and seem larger than human ones. They are majestic not in size, but in the solemnity of their poses and strict harmony. Everything small and ordinary is alien to their images. At the same time, their greatness is not abstractly ideal. It is deeply vital. Moiras are beautiful with purely human, feminine beauty. The smooth contours of their figures are perceived as extremely earthly. Clothes in other similar statues of classical times become, as it were, an echo human body. Delicate shapes are emphasized by folds of light chitons. These folds run like streams after a violent rain from picturesque beautiful hills, flowing around the heights of the chest, gathering near the waist, framing the roundness of the legs, and flowing out in light streams from under the knees. Everything is covered with a living network of folds, only tight knees, rounded shoulders and chest protrude above the moving flows, sometimes fractional, sometimes heavy and viscous.

The plastic reality of marble forms gives vitality to Moira’s images. In the statues of maidens huddled close to each other, the cold stone acquires the tenderness and warmth of the human body. In sculptures ancient goddesses The beauty of the perfect man that illuminated the Greek master found its expression. Moira miraculously combines complexity and simplicity. The universal and the personal, the sublime and the intimate, the general and the particular form an inextricable unity here. It is difficult to name another work in the history of world art in which these eternally conflicting qualities would be more holistically united.

The sculptural decoration of the eastern side of the Parthenon was carefully thought out. Above the metopes, depicting the battle of the Olympians with the giants, rose a pediment with the birth of Athena. Located deeper behind the outer colonnade, the frieze put a person in a solemn mood, as if preparing him to contemplate the statue of Athena Parthenos. The marble sculptures of the Parthenon are sublime and optimistic. They instill deep faith in human capabilities, in the beauty and harmony of the world 53 . Great ideas are embodied in the unity of architectural forms and sculptural decorations of the Parthenon great era so whole and bright that even after thousands of years, with traces of barbaric destruction, this work is able to radiate impulses of noble feelings experienced by its creators. Contemplation of the Parthenon gives a person great joy, elevates him and ennobles him.

Literature

Sokolov G.I. Acropolis in Athens. M., 1968Brunov N.I. Monuments of the Athens Acropolis. Parthenon and Erechtheion. M., 1973 Acropolis. Warsaw, 1983
History of foreign art.– M., “ art", 1984
Georgios Dontas. Acropolis and its museum.– Athens, “Clio”, 1996
Bodo Harenberg. Chronicle of humanity.– M., “Big Encyclopedia”, 1996
History of world art.– BMM JSC, M., 1998
Art Ancient world. Encyclopedia.– M., “OLMA-PRESS”, 2001
Pausanias . Description of Hellas, I-II, M., 1938-1940.
"Pliny on Art", trans. B.V. Warneke, Odessa, 1900.
Plutarch . Comparative biographies, vol. I-III, M., 1961 -1964.
Blavatsky V.D. Greek sculpture, M.-L., 1939.
Brunov N. I. Essays on the history of architecture, vol. II, Greece, M., 1935.
Waldgauer O. F. Antique sculpture, Ig., 1923.
Kobylina M. M. Attic sculpture, M., 1953.
Kolobova K. M. The ancient city of Athens and its monuments, Leningrad, 1961.
Kolpinsky Yu. D. Sculpture ancient Hellas(album), M., 1963.
Sokolov G.I. Antique sculpture, part I, Greece (album), M., 1961.
Farmakovsky B.V. The artistic ideal of democratic Athens, Pg., 1918.

On Athens Acropolis stands the temple of the Virgin Athena Parthenos, dedicated to the patroness of the city of Athens (daughter of the supreme god Zeus) during the reign of Pericles.

Work on its construction began in 447 BC and ended mainly in 438 BC. e., and finishing and sculptural work was carried out even before 434 BC. e.

The architect of the Parthenon is Ictinus, his assistant is Callicrates. The creator of the Parthenon is famous ancient greek sculptor Phidias, based on sketches and under whose general supervision, work was carried out to create sculptures: the Virgin Athena Parthenos, the marble frieze, metopes, dandies of the Parthenon by the best masters of the 5th century BC.

The Parthenon in Athens was built in honor of the victory of the Greeks over the Persians, which was expressed in the solemnity of the forms of the Doric columns of the temple, in its harmony and harmony, in its proportions.

The interior of the temple was given a majestic appearance by a two-story colonnade. At the same time, the Parthenon inside was divided into the eastern part (a larger room), where there was a statue of Athena Parthenos, made in the chrysoelephantine technique, and the western part, called, in fact, the Parthenon, in which the Athenian treasury was kept.

Architectural and structural solution of the Parthenon

The Parthenon in ancient Greece is a temple of the Doric order, the architecture of the Parthenon is such that in plan it has the shape of a rectangle, its height is 24 m. Its base is the flat top of a huge rock of the acropolis, which seems to serve as a natural pedestal.

The optimal dimensions of the Parthenon, which was supposed to stand on a rock, were determined according to the principle of the “golden ratio”, namely: the ratio of the mass of the temple and the rock should correspond to the proportions of the temple - this ratio, by the way, was considered harmonious in the times of ancient Greece.

The Parthenon in Athens is surrounded on all sides by columns: the architecture of the Parthenon included 8 columns on the short sides and 14 on the long sides. Parthenon columns were placed more often than in the earliest Doric temples.

The entablature is not so massive, so it seems that the columns easily support the ceiling. The columns of the Parthenon are not strictly vertical, but are slightly inclined into the building. And they are not all the same thickness. The corner ones are made thicker than the others, but against a light background they appear thinner.

By slightly tilting the columns, making them of different thicknesses, the creators of the temple corrected this optical distortion, disrupting the harmony and plasticity of the building, gave it harmony.

The Parthenon column is divided by vertical grooves - flutes, which make the horizontal seams between the parts of the column almost invisible and seem to eliminate its closedness.

Artistic and decorative design of the Parthenon

The structures that decorated the Parthenon are of significant value to us: a marble frieze, 92 metopes located on the four sides of the temple, two pediments.

Frieze of the Parthenon. On the upper part of the temple wall behind the outer colonnade you can see a frieze - zophorus. It is a continuous multi-figure 160-meter bas-relief marble ribbon, which depicts 350 people and 250 animals from various angles.

The Parthenon frieze was dedicated to the Great Panathenaia festival, which was held in Athens every 4 years in honor of the patroness of the city, the goddess Athena.

At the beginning of the frieze, a competition of horsemen is shown, then there are slaughtered animals, they are replaced by a procession of festively dressed people of Athens, carrying to the Parthenon the festive robe of Athena (peplos), woven by Athenian girls.

At the end of the procession, the end part of the frieze shows the feast of the 12 gods of Olympus. The frieze groups are small in size, but expressive, never repeating the many hundreds of figures of people and animals.

The architecture of the Parthenon involved the placement of metopes above the colonnade, on the outside of the temple, the plots of which were built on the mythological stories of Attica, depicting the minor exploits of Athena.

There were 92 metopes in total - 14 on the front sides and 32 on the side walls. They were carved in high relief - high relief. On the eastern pediment, a scene of a battle between gods and giants is depicted. On the western side there is a scene of the Greeks fighting the Amazons.

On the metopes on the northern side of the temple is the fall of Troy, on the southern side is the struggle between the Lapiths and the centaurs. But the pediment groups are dedicated to the main and most important events in the life of the goddess.

- eastern and western. The eastern pediment, which is better preserved, depicts the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus, according to ancient Greek myth.

In the right corner of the eastern pediment there are three female figures, perhaps these are three Moiras (goddesses of fate). The smooth softness and warmth of chiaroscuro in the folds of clothing of the female figures are interestingly conveyed.

The western pediment depicts a dispute between Athena and Poseidon over dominance over Attica.

Parthenon painting, cladding. The Parthenon was built entirely from squares of white Pentelic marble, laid dry. The properties of this marble are such that, due to the presence of iron in it, over time it acquired a golden patina, which gave the slabs a warm, yellowish tint.

However, some of the Parthenon slabs were painted when it was necessary to highlight some individual elements. Thus, the triglyphs, which were obscured by the cornice, were covered with blue paint. Blue paint was also used for the background of the metopes and pediments.

Gilding was used to paint the vertical slabs of the pediments. The upper parts of the temple were painted dark red, sometimes occasionally shaded with narrow strips of gilding.

The Parthenon in Athens in its original form existed for about two millennia. The following have survived to this day: on the territory of the acropolis - destroyed columns of the temple, a few fragments of metopes, friezes, pediments - are stored in various museums around the world.