The Parthenon and Pergamon Altar: Ancient Greek Masterpieces
A) General Documentation: The Parthenon
1. Name:
Parthenon (Abode of the Virgin)
2. Architect:
Iktinos, with Callicrates as an assistant. Phidias oversaw the work and sculpted the reliefs.
3. Commissioner:
Pericles
4. Location:
Acropolis, Athens
5. Chronology:
447-438 BC
6. Dimensions:
31m x 69.5m x 13.72m (floor); Columns: 10.5m high, 1.8m diameter
7. Materials:
Pentelic marble
8. Wall Treatment:
Isodomic masonry
9. Construction System:
Post and lintel (arquitraved)
10. Beneficiary:
The city of Athens
B) Formal Analysis: The Parthenon
1. Supporting Elements:
Doric columns (base, shaft, capital)
2. Supported Elements:
Entablature (architrave, frieze, cornice), roof
3. Exterior Space:
Peripteral, octastyle, amphiprostyle, hexastyle porticos. Stylobate, stereobate. Columns with entasis, drums. Sculpted metopes, pediments.
4. Interior Space:
Pronaos, naos (divided into two areas), opisthodomos. Chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos.
5. Style:
Doric Order
6. Context:
Ancient Greece’s golden age. Democracy, philosophy, anthropocentric culture.
C) Interpretation: The Parthenon
1. Character:
Temple of worship, offering to the gods, symbol of Athenian power.
2. History:
Converted to a church, mosque, powder magazine. Suffered damage from lightning, explosions, and the removal of sculptures by Lord Elgin.
The Pergamon Altar
A) General Documentation
Name:
Pergamon Altar of Zeus
Location:
Pergamon Museum, Berlin (originally Pergamum, Turkey)
Architect:
Unknown (Pergamon School)
Date:
188 BC
Materials:
Marble
Construction:
Arched
Dimensions:
36.44m x 34.29m
Commissioner/Beneficiary:
Attalus I
B) Formal Analysis
Supporting Elements:
Podium, load-bearing walls, Ionic columns
Supported Elements:
Entablature, sculptures
Exterior Space:
Frieze depicting the Gigantomachy
Interior Space:
Courtyard, grand staircase. Frieze of Telephus’ life.
Style:
Hellenistic, Pergamon School
Sculpture: Pergamon Altar Frieze
Data:
2.30m high, 120m long, marble, high relief, Gigantomachy
Formal Analysis:
Lifelike figures, expressive, dynamic composition, curved lines, frontal view
Style:
Hellenistic Baroque, Pergamon School
Interpretation: Pergamon Altar
Character:
Religious and historical monument
Symbols:
Gigantomachy frieze
History:
Discovered in 1878-1883, moved to Berlin
Function:
Commemorate victories, worship Zeus