Parthenon And Its Sculptures example essay topic

"In its incomparable proportions and reserved poise it remains one of the imperishable achievements of the human mind" (Fleming 32). In Arts & Trades William Fleming commends the Greeks on their genius masterpiece, the Parthenon. The Parthenon served as the glorious temple of Athena, the patroness of Athens, as well as the treasury of the Delian League. Fleming discusses the main ideas of the Greek's belief system and shows how they are exemplified in the Parthenon's structure, sculpture, and style. The three key elements of the Greek world view, humanism, rationalism, and idealism, are embodied in the Parthenon as it represents the epitome of Hellenic style. The Greeks saw man as "the measure of all things", and ranked themselves very close to their gods.

On the cella walls of the Parthenon the Panathenaic procession shows the Greeks placing themselves amongst the gods. This confirms the Greeks belief that man's self-worth is equal to that of the gods. The Greeks perceived their gods as immortal beings that personified human ideals. The sculptures of gods and men in the Parthenon are hardly distinguishable. "The Parthenon's success rests on its power to humanize the experience of space" (57).

By keeping it from being too luxurious or too complicated, the Greeks made the Parthenon a pleasing medium that is delightful to the eye as well as the mind. The Greeks believed in a world based on rational principles where nothing was left to chance. Each structural piece of the Parthenon fulfills its logical purpose. The strict repetition of the Doric order in the columns of the Parthenon signifies the logical system of the Greek world view. The exact proportions and ratios of the Parthenon were constructed to imitate the order of the cosmos. Greeks used rationalism to help create the idealistic idea of the Parthenon.

Another reconstruction of the Greeks' views of the cosmos exists in the east pediment of the Parthenon. It is carved in perfect harmonious symmetry as it depicts Athena's miraculous birth. The Greeks were always imitating the cosmos in their quest for perfection. Greek sculpture generalizes and idealized people rather than making them unique. The Greeks saw their world as perfect. The Parthenon was constructed. ".. as an idealized dwelling place for a perfect being" (58).

However, the Parthenon was actually constructed with deviations from perfection. Close columns at the corners, arching of the stylobate, and the entasis of the columns are all done so that the Parthenon appears to be more perfect from a distance. Because of this, .".. the Parthenon becomes more visual than logical... [and] is a work of art, far from being a cold abstraction" (31). In conclusion, the Parthenon is representative of the Hellenic period through the ideas of the Greek world view of that time period. The Parthenon displays humanism as it honors the Athenians as equals to their gods.

The logical system of temperance used on the Parthenon's structure expresses the rationalistic idea of the Hellenic period. The Parthenon and its sculptures illustrate idealism as people are idealized and the structure itself is made to appear perfect. The Greeks believed man to be wonderful, reason was the highest human aptitude, and perfection was obtainable. Work Cited Fleming, William.

Arts & Trades. 9th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1995.24-63.