Acropolis of Athens. Greek Architecture and Sculpture - Knowledge Hypermarket. acropolis of greece
Greece. The cradle of antiquity, washed by the Ionian and Aegean seas. In these lands, the heroes of antiquity began their daring journeys, and in the shade of olive trees, the great minds of that era, who gave modern world philosophy, which laid the foundation of the exact sciences and sowed the seeds secret knowledge, which bore fruit in the Middle Ages in the form of alchemy, and later Freemasonry. In addition to high culture and legendary mythology, ancient Greece was also famous for its architecture. Five of the seven classic wonders of the world were built by the Greeks. But despite the grandiosity and grandeur, many of the works of ancient Greek sculptors and architects were not on this list. For example, the statue of Aphrodite of Knidos, the temple of the goddess Hera or brilliant creation Phidias - a statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon temple, the ruins of which are now located in the Athenian Acropolis. Many experts agree that the Acropolis itself can be considered one of the wonders of the Ancient World.
Ancient Athens became famous as the cradle of democracy and the birthplace of such great thinkers of antiquity as Socrates, Plato, Euclid. But Athens is also a unique architecture, the pearl of which is the Athenian Acropolis. Here the wisdom of the ancients found its embodiment in stone. The Acropolis is a hill, 156 meters high. Athens itself was built around the Acropolis, on which there was a fortified settlement back in the Mycenaean era, XVI - XIII centuries BC. e. The growth and strengthening of Athens, their political entry into one of the leading roles among the ancient Greek policies - all this contributed to an increase in material well-being and cultural development. During the reign of Pericles, in the middle of the 5th century BC. e., the legendary Parthenon was erected in the Acropolis, which became the pearl of the local architectural ensemble. Pericles personally supervised the construction of the temple on the sacred site.
"Proportions and classical lines" - such was the intention of Pericles. It was here that a new worldview was to be awakened. The Parthenon was destined to become the center of Athens, and Athens - the center of all Greece! The temple was built entirely of Pentelian marble. The masonry was dry, that is, it was carried out without any mortar or cement. The blocks were regular squares, carefully chiseled at the edges and fitted to each other in size. The statues and reliefs were made according to the sketches of Phidias, who is considered one of the greatest sculptors of antiquity. Among his works was famous statue Athens Parthenos. But today there is practically nothing left of them in the temple. In 1687, the Venetian army besieged the city, which at that time belonged to the Turks, who guessed to hide all the gunpowder in the Acropolis. A grenade that hit the temple destroyed most creations of Phidias. The destruction of the temple was completed by the British Lord Elgin, who around 1800, against the backdrop of the French approaching Athens, ordered the marble statues to be taken out of the temple to England. And those that did not have time to take out - dropped from a height of 150 meters. Today, the British Museum even has a special room for trophies from the Parthenon.
Returning to the Acropolis, there were other buildings on the hill: many shrines and altars, sacred sites of various deities, where the inhabitants could physically experience the transcendent feeling of the presence of the divine. Among other temples, the Hekatompedon, dedicated to the goddess Athena, is considered the oldest. It was the forerunner of the Parthenon, built on the site of an even older Mycenaean palace. Another monument of the Acropolis is the Erechtheion - a temple dedicated to Athena, Poseidon and the mythical Athenian king Erechtheus. Of the sculptures created by Phidias, two stood out in particular: the 13-meter-high Athena Parthenos, made of gold and ivory, which has survived to this day only in the form of modest copies, and the huge bronze Athena Promachos, whose helmet served as a beacon for passing ships. The theater of Dionysius is also a unique and inimitable place - its stones have witnessed the performances of many historical figures, among whom was the emperor Nero.
Today's Greece is a paradise for tourists. Many ancient monuments, legendary ruins and just glorified places can be found on its map. But the Acropolis of Athens attracts attention exactly as much as all the other historical sights of Greece combined. This is not surprising, because where else can a tourist find such a concentration of historical artifacts in one place? A place where it is fashionable to see with your own eyes ancient sculptures and other relics in the New Acropolis Museum, drink wine on the stones of the Dionysius Theater, feel the presence of pagan deities and simply absorb the spirit of a place that has seen pagan rites, Christian sermons, and Muslim duas. The modern Acropolis, which survived both wars and holidays, today is only ruins, but even these ruins are imbued with the spirit of the times and former grandeur.
History of the Acropolis
According to legend, the founder of Athens and Upper city became a half-man-half-serpent Kekrops. It was he who preferred the goddess of wisdom as the patroness and erected the first temples in honor of her. In subsequent centuries, more magnificent structures appeared on their ruins, until all the buildings of the Acropolis, with the exception of the fragmentary surviving temple of Hekatompedon, were destroyed by the Persians in the 5th century. During the time of Pericles and immediately after his death, the hill was decorated with the best works of ancient architecture - the Parthenon and the Erechtheion.
In the era of early Hellenism and the subordination of Greece to Rome, several theaters appeared at the foot of the hill. Christians turned pagan temples into Christian ones, not rebuilding them, but partially changing the interiors. The Turks who came to the Balkans in the 15th century used the buildings of the Acropolis of Athens as mosques. Significant changes did not occur on the hill until the Venetians bombarded the city with cannons in the 17th century. Many temples were destroyed, and their costly reconstruction has not yet been completed.
In the 19th century, some of the sculptures that adorned the facades of temples were taken to France and Great Britain, and the dispute about their ownership is still ongoing today.
Architectural features of the Athenian Acropolis
The territory of the hill was built up gradually, new buildings were erected on the ruins or unfinished foundations of the former ones. Work was frozen for decades due to lack of funds. In general, even in ancient times, the hill was almost always a construction site. The oldest surviving objects of the Athenian Acropolis, such as the Parthenon, were made at the end of dominance in the architecture of a strict Doric order with massive columns. In structures close to them in time, for example, in the Propylaea, elements of a more decorative Ionic style are already manifesting along with Doric ones. The later Erechtheion is an example of the Ionic architectural order.
Parthenon - the most important temple of Ancient Athens
The central, upper point of the panorama of the Acropolis is the Parthenon temple dedicated to Athena, the patroness of the city. This is the pinnacle of creativity of the architect Iktin, who acted, however, not alone, but with a team of like-minded people. The material for the temple was mined nearby white marble, V sunshine taking on a golden sheen. These features of the stone have become noticeable now, and in ancient times the temple and all the statues were painted in bright colors - red, blue, yellow.
All work, from the creation of the project to the decoration of the Parthenon, was carried out under Pericles, from 447 to 432. BC e. According to the plan of the architects, the temple on the Athenian Acropolis was supposed to surpass all that existed before. Formally, this building is rectangular in plan, resting on three marble steps and surrounded along the perimeter by a colonnade more than 10 m high. People got into the temple through western entrance with low steps. What tourists see today are steps with columns.
The merit of architects is that they put the laws of optics at the service of architecture. The columns widen in the center, the corner columns and the floor are at an angle - all this gives the observer a feeling of strict straightness. In addition, thanks to the tricks of the architects, the Parthenon looks strictly proportional from any point of view - both from the territory of the Lower City, and when approaching it.
Sculptures of Phidias
A giant, 13-meter statue of Athena, which has not survived to this day, was prepared for the temple by Phidias, the author of one of the wonders of the world - the statue of Olympian Zeus. The wooden figure of the armed warrior goddess, according to historians, was decorated with precious stones, ivory and gold. This is indirectly evidenced by the found records containing builders' reports on the purchased materials - in total, about a ton of metal was spent on the statue. Exemplary appearance warriors restored thanks to copies made in antiquity, one of which is stored in National Museum Athens. The goddess in a long robe and helmet leaned on a shield with her left hand, and in her right hand extended to the audience she held a figure of a winged Nike.
In addition to Athena Parthenos, the master, together with his students, made relief metope slabs for the Parthenon frieze. Some of them were taken to Great Britain by Lord Elgin in the 19th century and are now exhibited in the British Museum, in a huge separate room, decorating the marble walls at the level of the visitors' eyes. Quite recently there was a traveling exhibition of the collection in the St. Petersburg Hermitage - an unprecedented case, since the Parthenon sculptures have not yet been exported anywhere. Greece is suing Great Britain in the hope of returning the artifacts to their homeland, since permission to export them was given not by the Greeks themselves, but by the Turks, under whose yoke the country was. However, in Greece there is also something to see: more than 40 original plates have been preserved here. The sculptures of the pediment, unlike the reliefs, almost did not survive and have survived to this day only in fragments.
Further history of the Parthenon
The temple was partially damaged by fire in antiquity, then, in the VI century, after the final decline of Athens, it became a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. During the alteration for the needs of the cult, the statues and the interior of the Parthenon suffered, instead of the previous decor, wall paintings appeared. Under the Turks, starting from the 15th century, the building served as a mosque. All this time, the temple was in relative safety, until in 1687 the Venetians, in another conflict with the Turks, fired at it, provoking destruction. Decorative details were partially taken out of the country. At the end of the 19th century, restoration work began, which has not been completed to this day.
Erechtheion - the memory of the legendary king
Temples were erected not only in honor of the gods, but in memory of mortals. This honor was awarded to King Erechtheus, who, according to legend, was buried in these places. According to another opinion, it was at this point of the Athenian Acropolis, where in 421-406. BC e. Erechtheion appeared, Athena and Poseidon argued for supremacy in the region. Whitened, as you know, Athena, but just in case the temple was dedicated to both. Erechtheus, who ruled Athens, was also not a stranger to the gods: he died at the behest of the angry Poseidon. The picturesque multi-level ruins of the Erechtheion are located north of the Parthenon. The building is made of several varieties of marble - snow-white Parian, golden-white Pentelian and grayish Eleusinian.
In contrast to the outwardly straight majestic Parthenon, Erechtheion consists of parts of different heights. The reason lies in the unevenness of the soil - the architect had to overcome the features of the relief. Mnesicles took up the matter: earlier he had already justified the trust of Pericles by building the entrance gate to the Acropolis - the Propylaea. In order not to offend the gods, the architect wisely divided the space of the temple: Athena got the eastern part, Poseidon and Erechtheus - the western. The southern portico of the Erechtheion is supported by caryatids - figures of women who replaced the columns. Today, copies of the statues are installed at the place of work of ancient sculptors, the originals are stored in the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum.
The history of the Erechtheion follows the path of the Parthenon: the building survived Christianization and the invasion of the Turks, but was destroyed in the fight against the Venetians. Subsequently, the Italians tried to put together the details, like a designer, so that the general outlines of the temple were restored, but the impression of devastation still remained.
Propylaea - the main gate of the complex
Tourists get to the Acropolis of Athens through west gate, Propylaea. The six massive Doric columns in the central part of the entrance resemble the Parthenon, the main part of which was completed by the time of construction. Lateral Ionic columns, lighter and more decorative, relieve the feeling of tension. Once, an art gallery and a library adjoined the gate - archaeologists managed to find traces of them and recreate their outlines in three-dimensional models. Now general complex the gate was mostly restored, the destroyed columns were replaced with copies.
Temple of Nike Apteros
In front of the main gate, a small temple has been preserved with four Ionic columns with spirals-curls at the top, along the edges of the porticos. The sanctuary was called upon to guard the entrance to the Acropolis. Once there was a statue of Athena inside, whose usual companion is Nike, the goddess of victory. Usually she was depicted as winged, but this temple is an exception, it is no coincidence that its patroness received the name Apteros - “wingless”. The reason for this deviation from the canons, according to legend, is a small trick of the Athenians. They stripped Victory of her wings so that she would never leave the city.
The temple was erected during the Peloponnesian War, so the building was decorated with reliefs depicting the victories of the inhabitants of Attica over the Persians and Spartans for further inspiration. The Turks dismantled the temple for building materials in order to build fortifications from the Venetians. Today's temple was restored much later, the original sculptures were given to the New Museum. The active phase of work has not been completed, so the Temple of Nike is often closed to visitors.
Destroyed objects
A few more objects have been preserved in the Acropolis in the form of remnants of the foundation or shapeless ruins. In the eastern part of the complex is the sanctuary of Pandion, supposedly named after the legendary king of Attica. Between the Parthenon and the Erechtheion is the Hekatompedon, the oldest temple on the Acropolis of Athens. A hundred years before the appearance of the Parthenon, it was the main sanctuary of the patroness of the city of Athens. From it remained the base of the columns discovered during the excavations and limestone sculptures that retained the remnants of paint. To the right of the Propylaea are the modest ruins of the sanctuary of Artemis and the armory. Behind the Erechtheion was the sanctuary of Pandrosa with an altar to Zeus and an olive tree planted by Athena herself. Nearby was a tiny building in which noble girls worked, weaving peplos, women's outerwear, for the statue of Athena for the Panathenaic Games - the largest competition in Attica.
Tourist routes on the Acropolis
It is difficult for a tourist who is not experienced in archeology and architecture to understand the ancient Greek ruins: at first glance, all the ruins are similar to each other, periods and styles are mixed. In order not to get lost, you can choose simple landmarks. The main gate from the west is the Propylaea, a modest temple in front of them is the sanctuary of Nike. The largest rectangular cluster of columns visible in all directions is the Parthenon. A smaller building, harmoniously combining columns of different heights and porticoes decorated with female figures - the Erechtheion. You can also walk along the Acropolis of Athens at night - the objects are illuminated by powerful spotlights.
New Acropolis Museum
The Athens Acropolis Museum, which kept decorative fragments of the buildings of the Upper City, was opened in 1874. Over time, the collection grew so much that the existing halls and storerooms were not enough to store the objects. The new building, much larger than the old one, had to be located near the Acropolis. Misadventures with the project began in the 70s of the twentieth century and lasted until the end of the century: either the Greek authorities could not find suitable architects, or the land plot could not withstand any criticism. Finally, the builders began to dig the ground for the foundation and discovered new archaeological finds. Work in this place was frozen until the architects proposed a project that does not affect the ground layer.
The three-level complex was opened in 2009, 300 meters south of the complex, next to the Acropolis metro station. Its basement rests on a hundred columns, and the glass floor allows you to admire the excavations taking place under the feet of visitors. A fantastic view of the Acropolis opens up through the glass walls. There is a cafe on the ground floor, a souvenir shop and book Shop. IN tourist season the museum is waiting for guests from 8 am to 8 pm, on Friday - until 10 pm, on Monday - until 4 pm, in winter it works on a reduced schedule. The ticket price for adults is 5 euros.
Information for tourists
The largest number of tourists come to Athens from April to October, although the Acropolis welcomes guests all year round. Inspection of the complex will take about two hours, you need to plan it for the early morning, around 8, until the marble warms up under the rays of the sun. In the evening it is still hot until 6 o'clock, the main flow of organized tourists leaves until 15 o'clock. Be sure to take drinking water with you, choose non-slip shoes, without heels.
A ticket to see the Acropolis of Athens with the theaters lying on the slopes of the hill and the nearby Agora and the Temple of Zeus costs 12 euros. It is difficult to see all the attractions at once, so a ticket for one visit to each site is valid for 4 days. There is usually a queue near the ticket office of the Acropolis, you can avoid it if you buy a ticket near another historical monument from the list. During the May Night of Museums and the European Heritage Days in September, the complex can be entered free of charge.
How to get there
Near the Acropolis there are several public transport stops at once. It is most convenient to get off at the metro station of the same name on the M2 line, next to which there is a transfer hub for trams and buses. A little further to the south there is a tram stop 1, 5, 15. Bus number 230 passes from the south. An electric steam locomotive takes guests from the metro and from the Acropolis Museum to the ticket office.
Holidays and festivals in the Acropolis
A breathtaking summer and part of the autumn, the Athens Festival chose Herodes' Odeon, a well-preserved theater built in 165 AD, as one of the main venues. e. Permanent access to it is closed, visitors get inside only during concert events with tickets. The capacity of the theater is about 5000 spectators.
The same fate awaits the theater of Dionysus located on the eastern side of the southern slope of the Acropolis. In the heyday of Attica, competitions of comedians and authors of tragedies were held here; under the Romans, gladiators fought in it. In the process of reconstruction, it is planned to strengthen the remaining stone tiers and add a few more spectator rows to them.
Hotels near the Acropolis
Hotels in the Acropolis area are expensive, but you need to book rooms in them well in advance of the trip due to high demand. Next to the New Museum is the 4-star Herodium, from the southeast - The Athens Gate Hotel, which has earned excellent reviews from guests. A 4-star apart-hotel AVA Hotel and Suites to the east of the hill will cost tourists about one and a half times more than a hotel with rooms.
Restaurants and cafes near the Acropolis
In addition to the museum cafe, you can have a bite to eat in several restaurants along the perimeter of the hill. To the south-west of the Propylaea, at the foot of the semi-wild park "Hill of the Muses", next to bus stop 230, is the restaurant "Dionysos" with magnificent views of the Acropolis from the summer veranda. A little to the east is the Strofi restaurant of national cuisine. WITH north side hill - the tavern "Stamatopoulos", opened in 1882. The cramped cafe "Klepsydra" is located on a narrow street with graffiti on the walls. Not far from it - "Anafiotika" with live music.
Attractions around the Acropolis
The main historical sights of Athens are concentrated in the Acropolis area. In the east - the ruins of the temple of Olympian Zeus, or rather, one of its corners, the well-preserved temple of Hephaestus and the remains of the laying of the market square-agora - from the northwest. To the west is the Areopagus, a rocky hill where the authorities of Athens met.
Acropolis II millennium BC. e. The buildings, the ruins of which can now be seen on the Acropolis, were erected in the middle of the 5th century BC. BC e. However, even before the 5th c. the Athenian Acropolis was not a desert rock. Life has been going on here since the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. The Acropolis was already a refuge for the inhabitants of the surrounding plains during the attack of enemies. Powerful fortress walls up to 10 meters high and 6 meters wide protected the Acropolis, making it an impregnable stronghold. It was possible to penetrate the hill from the west and north. The entrance from the western, less reliable side was fortified especially carefully. On the north side, it was apparently hidden by thickets of bushes and the steps of a narrow staircase carved into the rock led to it. Subsequently, when only the sanctuaries of the gods remained on the Acropolis, the stairs on the northern slope became unnecessary and the northern entrance was laid. Only one main entrance to the Acropolis has been preserved - from the western side.
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8. Doric order: a - stylobate, b - column with a cantle (above), c - entablature, including (from bottom to top) architrave, frieze (consists of triglyphs and metope) and cornice.
In the XVI-XII centuries. BC e. Athens did not stand out from the rest of the cities of Greece. They were inferior to Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos and other powerful Hellenic centers. The advance of Athens began after the fall of the Cretan state. There is still a poetic legend about the ancient hero Theseus, who brought victory to Athens. The legend tells of the terrible tribute that the Athenians had to send annually to Crete. Seven boys and seven girls became the prey of a terrible monster, half-man, half-bull - the minotaur, who lived in a labyrinth in Crete. Once, the myth tells, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus, the brave and handsome Theseus, fell into the number of young men. With the help of the daughter of the Cretan king Ariadne, who fell in love with him, he defeated the monster and returned to Athens, bringing them freedom and glory.
The ancient Acropolis of Athens may have been similar to the acropolises of Mycenae and Tiryns. The buildings of this time were poorly preserved, since later on the Athenian Acropolis many Structures were erected in different eras.
Excavations have shown that in the II millennium BC. e. meetings of rulers, trials, and religious festivities took place here. In the northern part of the Acropolis, the archaeologists found a site, apparently, for the sacred ceremonies of the Athenians. West royal palace, at the northern gate, a well was discovered that gave good drinking water to people who found protection from enemies behind the walls. The data of archaeological excavations show that in these years the social, religious, cultural life Athenians was focused on the Acropolis.
Orders of Greek temples. By the VI century. BC e. in Greek architecture, the main types of temples were already fully developed, the most common of which was the peripter. It was most often a building rectangular in plan, surrounded on all sides by a colonnade and covered with a gable roof. In the Greek temple, the architectural elements of the building were brought into a certain system. There was an order of their location depending on
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depends on the nature of the structure. This order was called an order (ill. 8, 9, 10).
Some temples were built in the Doric order, others - in the Ionic order, others - later, starting from the 4th century. BC e., in Corinthian. Each order was expressive in its own way. The Doric order is the most strict in form; buildings built in it can give the impression of a strict, even sometimes severe. The Ionic order is distinguished by the elegance of forms and proportions, the lightness of the elements. It is noteworthy that the Roman architect Vitruvius saw in the Doric order an expression of masculine strength, the forms of the Ionic reminded him of a refined feminine beauty, complemented by ornaments. The Corinthian order differed from these two orders in its special elegance and luxury.
On the diagrams you can see the image of three orders and the names of their parts, lice parts of the order can be divided into groups: bearing elements - stylobate, columns and carried - entablature, roofing. The ratio of the main parts - the power or weakness of the carriers, the severity or lightness
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the bone of those carried - and gives the building a stern and tense character, or naturally harmonious, or light.
Buildings on the Acropolis in the VI century. BC e. In the VI century. BC e. on the Acropolis stood the temple of Athena, called Hekatomnedon. It was located directly opposite the Propylaea and struck with its beauty the person who entered the Acropolis. This effect was facilitated by the measured gradual ascent of the hillside and the passage through the small gates decorated with columns - the Propylaea.
The placement of the Propylaea and Hekatompedon on the ancient Acropolis was dominated by symmetry, which was often followed by archaic masters. The principle of symmetry was also considered important by sculptors, especially the creators of sculptures on the pediments of temples. Symmetry also underlay the statues that adorned the Acropolis at that time. The image from the front, strictly in front, which seemed especially expressive and beautiful, also appeared in the layout of the building of that time. That is why the architects placed the temple of Hekatompedon right in front of the Propylaea, so that a person who entered the Acropolis would see this main temple of the sacred hill not from the side, but from the front, from the richly decorated facade 2 .
From the buildings of the VI century. BC e. only foundations survived on the Acropolis, and even then not all of them. This is because most of the buildings were
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destroyed during the Greco-Persian wars, and by the fact that on the Acropolis in the 5th century. BC e. new buildings were erected. Archaic temples are better preserved where in subsequent epochs there was no such rapid construction and where, as on the Acropolis, every piece of land was not expensive. That is why the temples of the VI century. can be seen not on the Acropolis, but in other areas of Greece: the temple of Apollo in Corinth, Hera in Olympia, Demeter in Paestum (ill. 11). They, of course, were similar to the temples of the Acropolis in the VI century. BC e.
The architectural forms of archaic temples are heavy and severe. The columns seem to swell under the weight of the roof pressing on them. The severity was softened only by sculptural decorations. Some pedimental compositions of the archaic temples of the Acropolis have been preserved, although, unfortunately, it is not always precisely determined to which temple this or that sculptural group belonged, and their reconstructions are not always indisputable.
Pediment - the struggle of Hercules with the hydra. On the Acropolis, slabs with reliefs were found, which depict the feat of Hercules - the fight against the hydra 3 . The small size of the flat relief makes one think that it belonged to a small temple or treasury. The relief material is soft limestone (so-called poros). Sculptures made from it were brightly painted. The coloring covered the rough surface of the stone.
Unfortunately, only the torso and legs have survived from the figure of Hercules. The hydra was depicted with many heads on writhing serpentine bodies 4 . There is still no clarity in the composition, which will appear later: the main thing is not highlighted, the particulars are not relegated to the background. Struggle saturates both this and other monuments. The mobility of figures is typical for such compositions of archaic art. In them, everything is subordinated to the disclosure of the theme of the victory of a human hero over an evil force.
The pediments of the Hekatompedon. Other sculptures that adorned the temples were found on the Athenian Acropolis. In one of the groups, Hercules is shown fighting Triton, in the other - a fantastic monster with three bodies and three heads - Tritopator. There is reason to believe that they decorated the most ancient temple - Hekatompedon 5 . The statues are made of limestone and brightly painted. The master filled the low side parts of the pediments with flexible snake tails intertwining with each other, thinner and thinner towards the corners.
An ancient sculptor depicted Heracles defeating the sea monster Triton (ill. 12). Triton is shown as a man with a fish tail 6 . The hero pins the enemy to the ground 7 . Attention is drawn to the tense, more voluminous than in the previous pediment forms, the beauty of their outlines.
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Three human bodies of Tritopator - a kind ancient Attic deity (ill. 13) - pass at the waist into long tails that fill the lateral low part of the pediment. Tritopator's faces are peaceful and good-natured (ill. 14). In the hands of one is a wavy ribbon depicting water, the other has a tongue of flame, a sign of fire, the third has a bird, a symbol of air, and behind is something like a wing. Tritopator personified the elements of water, fire and air. In this sculptural group there is already more volume, juiciness. The statues are not as flat as in the relief of Hercules with the hydra. The composition is more difficult. Three faces are represented
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from different points of view: the first head is in front, the other two are in the Turn. The tritopator is shown emerging from the corner of the pediment. And although he moves to the side, his faces and torsos turn towards the viewer.
These sculptures were painted, and the paint is quite well preserved. The hair on the head and beard were blue, the eyes were green, the ears, lips and cheeks were red. The bodies are covered in pale pink paint. The snake tails are painted with red and blue stripes.
One of the heads of the Tritopator, kept in the Museum of the Acropolis of Athens, entered the history of art under the conditional name "Bluebeard" (ill. 15).
The bright color attracted ancient artists. The paint brought the images to life. Is she-
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shala a mythological horror scene, introduced an element of the game into it. In Greek art, evil creatures - sphinxes, gorgons, tritons - do not look terrible and omnipotent, the superiority of the human mind over them is always felt. This manifested the humanism of the Greeks - the great conquest of human culture.
Pediment - Athena with a giant. Around 530 BC e. Hecatomnedon was rebuilt. On one of the pediments of the new temple (it is called Hekatompedon II, in contrast to the old one), the battle of the Olympian gods with the giants was depicted (ill. 16). A statue of Athena fighting a giant has been preserved (ill. 17). In all likelihood, it was placed in the center of the pediment, and other figures were located on the sides. Athena the victorious is shown in impetuous movement, the giant is defeated at her feet. The master emphasizes the victory of the goddess, raising her figure above the losing strength of the giant. The triumph of the patroness of the city is already perceived from a distant approach to the temple. The theme of the struggle sounds here without a hint of cruelty, not like in the scene of the fight between Hercules and Triton, where the hero, in the heat of battle, strained all his strength and pressed the monster to the ground. The sculptor does not show Athena tense, he rather demonstrates the superiority of the noble goddess. This scene, presented in monumental forms, is worthy big temple Acropolis worthy of Athens.
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It is noteworthy that at the end of the VI century, BC. e. instead of limestone, marble is often used for sculptures. The Greeks were the first to use this beautiful stone to represent the human figure. Slightly translucent from the surface, it conveyed the tenderness of the skin well and, better than other breeds, met the desire of the Hellenic sculptors to show a person beautiful and perfect.
The meaning of pediment compositions. The plots of the pediment compositions of archaic temples were never accidental. Sculptors did not make them just for decoration. They always contained a deep meaning, a kind of metaphorical image of the being perceived by the artist. In the view of the Hellenes of the harsh archaic era, the world was in an unceasing fierce struggle. In Greek legends and myths, it took on the character of the victory of light, lofty forces over dark, lowly creatures. The giants fought the titans, the inhabitants of Olympus - the gods - with the giants, courageous people-heroes entered into an unequal battle with terrible monsters - tritons, hydras, gorgons.
In the images of architecture, in sculptures, in drawings on vases, the physical strength of a person was glorified, his victories were shown. In art, the universal idea of the triumph of the perfect both physically and spiritually hero-man found expression.
Potters of the 6th century BC e. liked to emphasize the massiveness of the forms and the wide bodies of the vases, the architects created powerful, swelling in the middle
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and narrow at the top of the columns of temples, the sculptors showed broad shoulders and narrow waists in the statues of young men - winners in competitions. The great spiritual tension of man found expression in archaic monuments. Such an interpretation of artistic forms and narrative depictions of the struggle and victory of light forces over dark ones appear during a period of decisive breaking of the old worldview. In these centuries, a new, Hellenic culture was born, which opposed the dogmas of Eastern civilization with new principles. The significance of the turning point was enormous for the further fate of the European peoples.
Statues cor. In 1886, fourteen marble statues of Athenian girls were discovered on the Athenian Acropolis between the Erechtheion and the northern wall of the hill. Subsequently, several more of the same statues were found. At the time when Athens was ruled by the sons of the tyrant Peisistratus, there were many sculptures on the Acropolis, including statues of girls, or, in Greek, cor (ill. 7). These statues had high pedestals of various types - round, square, some in the form of columns with Doric or Ionic capitals 8 . They were mostly made of marble brought from the islands of the Aegean Sea. Only a few are made of local Attic Pentellian marble.
Greek sculptors showed the kor in long, festive clothes. The girls do not look alike, although they stand in the same position - strictly frontally, holding straight, maintaining solemnity. It is still not known exactly who these statues represent. Some want to see goddesses in them, others -
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priestesses, the third - noble girls with gifts to the goddess. The statues of the kor convince of the love of the late archaic society of the end of the 6th century. BC e. for ornaments and patterns. Especially beautiful and varied are complex hair styling, carefully curled curls of the hairstyle. Sculptors depict them with great skill.
The proximity of the countries of the East makes itself felt in the details of these monuments of archaic art. Dressy clothes cor. Most of them are wearing chiton shirts. Some kora hold them with the left hand at the hip, and the fabric folds beautifully. A cloak is thrown over the top - a himation. often luxurious, flowing in picturesque folds (ill. 18).
The faces reveal little of the mood of the core. Only the corners of the mouth are slightly raised and the lips are folded into a restrained, still far from living
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feelings of joy smile (ill. 19). Their clothes speak more about the character of the girls. For some, the folds of chitons form complex patterns, cheerfully interrupt each other, for others they calmly flow down, for others they are shown as restrained, rare. The clothes, as it were, correspond to the different characters and moods of the girls - sometimes cheerful and lively, sometimes calm, sometimes strict and concentrated. This shows the ability of ancient sculpture of the archaic period to convey feelings not by facial expressions, but by the plasticity of forms and expressiveness of lines.
Before the discovery of the Acropolis corals, ancient sculpture was presented as white marble, colorless. Koras surprised the world by the fact that they retained paint, while most other Greek statues had lost it. The paint lies in a dense layer on the marble, in some places even covering it. But the statues do not lose from this in their artistic expressiveness. The ultimate generalization is combined in them with concreteness, emphasized coloring of the pupils, scarlet lips, dark hair. The paint, bringing the image closer to reality, with even greater force asserts the character and idea of the work - the glorification of beauty.
Much later, the images of Roman sculptors III-IV centuries. n. uh, individual, concrete - would no longer withstand such a coloring. It would make them too close to reality, naturalistic, and the work would lose the ability to express the general idea. later monumental sculpture therefore also refuses coloring. The Greeks, however, in the statues of the cores and in their other works were not afraid of this, the character of generalization was so strong in their plastic forms.
The statues of the girls are beautiful. Contemplating them, a person receives great pleasure. Before him, the feelings of ancient sculptors who managed to convey the serene beauty of youth seem to come to life. During the Greco-Persian wars, these beautiful statues were smashed and lay in a pile of so-called Persian rubbish until they were used as simple stones during the construction of new temples. Possibly archaic statues from the 6th c. BC e. lost for the Greeks of the 5th century. BC e. the charm that their fathers and grandfathers felt. It is also possible that the badly damaged statues have already lost their religious significance. After all, it is known that the Hellenes often treated the statues as living beings: sometimes they dressed them, smeared them with fragrant oils, brought food, once they even tied the legs and hands of some statues, as they were afraid that they might leave.
The archaic buildings and sculptures of the Acropolis are full of great peculiar beauty. They will not be replaced by any stories about the feelings and moods of the people of this time. The works of the Greek archaic do not lose their value, even when placed next to the creations of the masters of the classical era. So, often a person experiences deeply the feelings of the characters.
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books written many decades or centuries ago. The music of the past centuries also excites no less than the works of modern composers. So the archaic monuments of the Athenian Acropolis, pediment compositions and sculptures, imbued with a special charm that will never be repeated later on, stop a person’s gaze, although they are inferior in perfection to the works created on the Acropolis in the middle of the 5th century BC. BC e.
The victory of democracy in the Greek cities. At the end of the VI century. BC e. in Athens, the aristocracy lost many of the advantages it used to enjoy. The social structure was now based on democratic principles. Row Life Forms Greek cities become more progressive; the democratic system promoted the development of sciences and arts.
At the end of the VI century. BC e. The free Greek cities were opposed by the huge Persian power of the Achaemenids, which experienced a constant sharp struggle between various dynasties. The unlimited power of the king, the complex bureaucracy characteristic of the ancient Eastern states with a mass of disenfranchised subjects seemed to the Hellenes a manifestation of barbarism.
Rise of Miletus. Greek cities, located in Asia Minor on the coast of the Aegean Sea, for a long time were under the rule of the Persians. Exorbitantly high taxes, the arbitrariness of the Persian rulers - satraps, their constant interference in the economic affairs of the Greeks placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the inhabitants of Asia Minor cities. The large city of Miletus revolted and overthrew the Persian protege. The Miletians were supported by other cities of Asia Minor, and the uprising flared up. The Persians suppressed it, but realized that the cities of the Balkan Peninsula set an example of love of freedom for the Greeks of Asia Minor, and decided to destroy the foundations of the democratic system in the cities of mainland Greece.
Beginning of the Greco-Persian Wars. In 492 BC. e. The son-in-law of the Persian king Darius I Mardonius went on a campaign against Greece. However, after the death of three hundred ships during a storm, he ingloriously returned back. The second campaign of the Persians in 490 BC. e. was also unsuccessful. In the historic battle of Marathon, the Greeks utterly defeated the Persian army. A more difficult test fell on the Hellenes in 480 BC. e., when the army of the Persians led new king- Xerxes. The hordes of barbarians moved from the north and stopped at the Thermopylae Gorge. Greek warriors showed an example of courage and stamina. Only with the help of a traitor, the Persian troops managed to win. 300 valiant Spartans, who covered the withdrawal of the main troops, fell along with their leader, King Leonidas. At the place of their death, a monument was erected - a marble statue of a lion with the inscription: “Traveler! Go raise our
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citizens in Lacedaemon, that, keeping their covenants, here we perished with bones! The Persian army, breaking through the gorge of Thermopylae, moved towards Athens and captured them.
Destruction of the monuments of the Acropolis. Athens was destroyed. The Acropolis was especially hard hit. The temples were destroyed and lay in ruins, their treasures were plundered, the sanctuaries were desecrated. Numerous sculptures, including statues of kors, were thrown from their pedestals and smashed. Here is what the famous Greek historian Herodotus writes about the capture of the Acropolis by the Persians:
“The Persians settled on that hill opposite the Acropolis, which the Athenians call the Areopagus, and began to besiege the Acropolis in the following way: arrows were wrapped in tow, lit and then fired from bows into the fortification. The besieged Athenians, although they were brought to the last extreme and the fortification collapsed, continued, however, to resist. The proposal of the Peisistratids 9 for surrender was rejected by the Athenians; for the purpose of protection, they used various means, among other things, they threw huge stones at the barbarians every time they approached the gates. As a result of this, Xerxes, not being able to take the Athenians, for a long time did not know what to do.
Finally, after such difficulties, access to the Acropolis was opened to the barbarians: the fact is that, according to the saying of the oracle, all of Attica was destined to fall under the power of the Persians. So, in front of the Acropolis, but behind the gate and the ascent, where there were no guards and where, as it seemed to everyone, no one could ascend, in the same place with a steep yodele descent of the sanctuary of Kekron's daughter Aglavra, several people ascended. When the Athenians saw these barbarians entering the Acropolis, some of them threw themselves from the wall and died, while others fled into the sanctuary; The barbarians who entered the wall rushed first of all to the gates, opened them and killed those who prayed for protection; after killing all of them, the barbarians robbed the temple and set the whole Acropolis on fire.
Greek victory. The Hellenes, despite the capture of Athens by the Persians, with honor came out of the ordeal. In the battle of Salamis, the resistance of the Persian fleet was broken; in the battle of Plataea, the enemy's land army was defeated. Having defeated their enemies, the Greeks showed the superiority of the democratic system over the obsolete social system of the Persians. The Greek cities won a victory, the significance of which was extremely great. Not only the well-being of the Greek state proper depended on the outcome of the Greco-Persian wars. It is difficult to imagine what the Hellenic culture would have been like if the Persians had won. It is unlikely that the Acropolis would then be crowned with the majestic Parthenon. Probably, there would be no genius Phidias, Scopas, Lysippus. And without classical Greek culture, the character of Roman civilization, and at the same time of further European civilization, would have been completely different.
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The victory of the Greeks over the Persians meant the triumph of the new, progressive principles of democracy and freedom in the political and social order. The victory led to the emergence of new fruitful impulses in Greek art. The system of archaic artistic thinking, which had some common features with the ancient eastern one, turned out to be untenable. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the transition from archaic art to classical art coincides with the favorable outcome of this war for the Greeks.
Ministry of Railways of the Russian Federation
ROSTOV STATE UNIVERSITY OF TRANSPORT
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
COURSE WORK
Subject: “world culture”
Topic: “Ancient Greece. Acropolis. Sculpture: Phidias, Polykleitos, Myron”
Completed by: student of the 2nd year of the correspondence department, group
GTS-2-
Kolabina Tatyana Alexandrovna
Rostov-on-Don 2002
1.1. History of creation
1.2. Propylaea and Temple of Nike Apteros
1.3. Erechtheion
1.4. Parthenon
1.5. Ensemble of the Acropolis
1.6. Acropolis in later eras
2.2. Parthenon
2.3. Propylaea.
2.4. Temple of Athena Nike.
2.5. Monuments on the Acropolis.
Conclusion.
1. athenian acropolis- a pearl of ancient culture.
Acropolis-(Greek akropolis, from akros - upper and polis - city), elevated and fortified part ancient Greek city, fortress, shelter in case of war. On the Acropolis, temples were usually built in honor of the patron deities this city. The most famous is the Acrepolis in Athens.
His buildings are exquisite in proportion and harmoniously connected with the landscape. This ensemble, created under the general direction of Phidias, consists of the main entrance of the Propylaea (437–432 BC, architect Mnesicles), the temple of Athena Nike (449–420 BC, architect Callicrates), the main temple of the Acropolis and Athens the Parthenon (447–438 BC, architects Iktin and Kallikrates), the Erechtheion Temple (421–406 BC).
ACROPOLIS in Athens, the fortified part of ancient Athens, where the main shrines of the city were located, is famous for its religious buildings of the classical period.
1.1. History of creation
The Acropolis of Athens, which is a 156-meter rocky hill with a gentle top (approx. 300 m long and 170 m wide), the site of the oldest settlement in Attica. In the Mycenaean period (15-13 centuries BC) it was a fortified royal residence. In the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. There was a lot of construction going on on the Acropolis. Under the tyrant Pisistarates (560-527), a temple of the goddess Athena Hekatompedon was built on the site of the royal palace (that is, a temple a hundred steps long; fragments of sculptures of pediments have been preserved, the foundation has been revealed). In 480, during the Greco-Persian wars, the temples of the Acropolis were destroyed by the Persians. The inhabitants of Athens took an oath to restore the shrines only after the expulsion of enemies from Hellas.
In 447, on the initiative of Pericles, new construction began on the Acropolis; the management of all the works was entrusted to the famous sculptor Phidias, who, apparently, was the author of the artistic program that formed the basis of the entire complex, its architectural and sculptural appearance.
1.2. Propylaea and Temple of Nike Apteros.
The sacred road along which the procession of the Athenians moved from the agora to the temple of the patron goddess during the main holiday of the Great Panathenaic, leads to the Propylaea, which has 5 passages and was flanked in antiquity by two equestrian statues of the Dioscuri. In the left wing, protruding from them, there was the Pinakothek (a collection of pinak paintings brought as a gift to the goddess Athena), in the right there was a repository of manuscripts and a room for the gatekeeper and watchmen. To the right of the Propylaea on the pyrgos (a ledge of a fortified rock) stands a small, light and graceful temple of the Ionic order, consecrated to Athena Nike, known as the temple of Nike Apteros (Wingless Victory; 443-420, architect Kallikrates).
1.3. Erechtheion
After the participants of the procession passed the Propylaea and entered the sacred territory, a panorama of the central part of the complex opened before them. In the foreground, slightly to the left of the road, stood a colossal bronze statue of Athena Promachos (Warrior), cast by Phidias. Behind it in the distance was the Erechtheion (architect unknown), the temple of Athena and Poseidon at the site of the dispute between these gods for the possession of Attica. The temple has an asymmetric plan, unique in Greek architecture; its three porticos are located at different levels: on the western side, a portico leading to the temple of Athena Poliada (City), on the northern side, the entrance to the sanctuary of Poseidon-Erechtheus, near the southern wall of the temple is the famous portico of caryatids; the whole building was surrounded by a frieze with overlaid white figures (not preserved). In the Erechtheion, the oldest sanctuary of Athens, there was the sacred xoan of Athena (a wooden statue), according to legend, which fell from the sky, the altars of Hephaestus and the hero Booth, the tomb of the legendary Athenian king Kekrop, from the west adjoined the sanctuary of the Attic dew goddess Pandrosa. In the courtyard of the Erechtheion, a sacred olive tree grew, donated to the city by Athena, a salty spring beat, which Poseidon carved with his trident.
1.4. Parthenon
The lightness of forms, the special sophistication of decorative finishes and the complexity of the composition of the small Erechtheion contrasts with the strict and majestic, emphatically monumental Parthenon (Temple of Athena the Virgin; 69.5 m long and 30.9 m wide, the height of the columns is 10.5 m; 447 consecrated in 438; architect Iktin with the participation of Callicrates), which is a Doric peripter. The building is perceived from the Propylaea in three quarters, the viewers saw not one of its facades, but the entire volume of the structure, got an idea of its appearance as a whole, and before seeing the main, eastern facade, they had to go around the temple from the outside.
In the temple itself, in the naos, there was a chrysoelephantine statue of Athena Parthenos (Virgin) by Phidias, the sacred money of the goddess and the treasury of the Athenian Maritime Union were kept in the opisthodom. In the pediments there were sculptural groups depicting the most significant events in the cult of Athena, her birth and the dispute with the sea god Poseidon for the possession of Attica. The metope reliefs around the perimeter of the building depicted scenes of mythological battles. Architectural details, sculpture and reliefs were brightly painted. The plan and order decision of the Parthenon also differ from the traditional ones in a number of features: in front of the naos there was a hall of the maiden's chamber (the Parthenon, which gave the name to the whole temple), along the wall of the naos there was an Ionic frieze depicting the Panathenaic procession.
In front of the Parthenon, on the right side of the Propylaea, there were also the sanctuaries of Artemis Brauronia and Athena Ergana (Handicraft), the repository of weapons and sacred armor of Halkothek (450). Open area The acropolis was occupied by numerous altars and gifts to the gods, statues and steles.
The temple and theater of Dionysus (6th century BC rebuilt in 326), the Odeon of Pericles (a covered round building for musical competitions) (2nd half of the 5th century BC) adjoined the northwestern slope of the Acropolis. , the theater of Herodes Atticus (2nd century AD), the sanctuary of Asclepius, Stoya (Portico) of Eumenes.
1.5. Ensemble of the Acropolis
The Acropolis rises above all of Athens, its silhouette forms the skyline of the city. In ancient times, the Parthenon rising above the hill could be seen from any part of Attica and even from the islands of Salamis and Aegina; sailors approaching the shore could already see from afar the brilliance of the spear and helmet of Athena the Warrior. In ancient times, the sanctuary was known not only as a famous cult center, but also as a monument of great art, confirming the glory of Athens as the “school of Hellas” and the most beautiful city. The thoughtful composition of the entire ensemble, perfectly found general proportions, a flexible combination of various orders, the finest modeling of architectural details and their unusually accurate drawing, the close relationship between architecture and sculptural decoration make the Acropolis buildings the highest achievement of ancient Greek architecture and one of the most outstanding monuments of world art.
1.6. Acropolis in subsequent eras.
In the 5th c. The Parthenon became the Church of Our Lady, the statue of Athena Parthenos was moved to Constantinople. After the conquest of Greece by the Turks (in the 15th century), the temple was turned into a mosque, to which minarets were attached, then into an arsenal; The Erechtheion became the harem of the Turkish pasha, the temple of Nike Apteros was dismantled, and the wall of the bastion was built from its blocks. In 1687, after being hit by a cannonball from a Venetian ship, an explosion destroyed almost all central part temple of Athena the Virgin, during an unsuccessful attempt by the Venetians to remove the sculptures of the Parthenon, several statues were broken. At the beginning of the 19th century the Englishman Lord Elgin broke out a number of metopes, tens of meters of a frieze and almost all the surviving sculptures of the pediments of the Parthenon, a caryatid from the portico of the Erechtheion.
After the declaration of independence of Greece, during the restoration work (mainly in the late 19th century), the ancient appearance of the Acropolis was restored as far as possible: all late buildings on its territory were liquidated, the temple of Nike Apteros was re-laid, etc. The reliefs and sculptures of the temples of the Acropolis are in the British Museum (London), the Louvre (Paris) and the Acropolis Museum. Remaining under open sky the sculptures have now been replaced by copies.
2. The Acropolis of Athens in ancient times.
2.1. Foundation and construction of the Acropolis.
In the late Helladic period, the territory of Athens coincided mainly with the territory of the Acropolis; neighboring hills, including the Areopagus hill, served as burial places. The area of the future agora also served as a necropolis for local population Attica, and at that time was not yet united.
In the II millennium, the Acropolis was a powerful fortification. Its upper winding platform was surrounded by a wall 10 m high and 6 m thick. The wall consisted of two parallel walls several meters apart, built dry of large limestone blocks, and the gaps between the blocks were carefully filled with small stones and rubble. The gap between the walls was filled with broken stone. All this created such a powerful fortification that seemed impenetrable.
For centuries, this wall served as a reliable protection for the population of ancient Athens. Only after the Persian invasion of Attica twice in 480 and 479. it was partially destroyed, its northern side was especially badly damaged.
The statue of Athena Parthenos, located in the Parthenon (in the Acropolis, in the very center of Athens, Greece), reaches about 10 meters in height. The statue is an image of a warlike woman, a real goddess. Athena Parthenos, translated from ancient Greek, sounds like Athena the Virgin.
The Parthenon crowning the Acropolis is not only the property of the Greek cultural heritage, but also the pride of the entire modern world.
The clarity and logic of the architectural forms of this temple are opposed to the natural slopes of the mountain, but such a background seems inseparable from the created architectural solution.
A distinctive manner of creation of the architects of ancient Greece was the principle of the so-called "golden section", which gave harmony to buildings.
The purpose of the Parthenon was to hold festive celebrations. At the same time, he acted as a real repository, saving not only material values, but also works of art.
Just as the statue of Zeus was revered in Olympia, in the Parthenon it was Athena Parthenos.
The famous Athena Parthenos, translated from ancient Greek as Athena the Virgin, can be safely called a symbol of Ancient Hellas.
In the middle of the 5th century BC, this masterpiece was created by the greatest master of sculptural art Phidias. In those distant times, the depicted goddess Athena, the patroness of the ancient Greek capital, was located in the center of the policy in the Parthenon.
The history of the statue of Athena Parthenos - the patroness of civilians
Athena Parthenos, located in the Acropolis, reaches about 10 meters in height. The statue is an image of a warlike woman, a real goddess, from which another sculpture came - a statue of the wingless goddess of Victory Nike.
It is worth noting that the work had a wooden frame, despite the fact that the main part of the composition is made of ivory.
There are also elements of chased gold on the sculpture, in particular, Athena's clothes and helmet are made of this material.
About a ton of precious metal and ivory covered the entire wooden frame of the 13-meter sculpture. By the way, the gold used in the process of creation by the author Phidias was on the account of the national reserves of the state.
Often, scientists call this statue chrysoelephantine because of the combination of ivory and gold. The statue of Zeus is also made in this technique, using similar materials.
At times Byzantine period the grandiose statue almost disappeared without a trace.
However, today scientists have managed to establish some information about the monument, thanks to the information of Greek authors and the famous traveler and thinker of those years, Pausanias.
The geographer and navigator has repeatedly described the masterpiece in a detailed detailed manner. He wrote that dressed in a tunic, the Greek goddess was created in full growth.
Pausanias also confirmed the material from which the commemorative sculpture was made.
Describing the goddess Nike, the thinker emphasized that her size was equal to four cubits of the goddess Athena.
Additional elements in this sculptural composition there was the head of Medusa and a snake writhing around a spear.
Varvakios Athena, found during excavations, is a real copy of the goddess, the creator of which is Phidias. By the way, speaking about the author, we should briefly dwell on his work.
The creative path of the author of the statue of Athena Parthenos
The work of Phidias and the creators of his era plays a huge role in contemporary culture Greek state.
Like Homer and Hesiod, he set the boundaries for mythological deities.
The figures of that time created a real basis for ancient Greek concepts in belief.
The ideals of the gods - Zeus, Athena, Hermes, Apollo - determined by their works, became the starting point in the creation of masterpieces of subsequent generations.
The Greek creators of the beautiful looked up to the examples of the art of the classics of the ancient Greek world.
The gods were portrayed as restrained, calm and unshakable: no passions, emotions or experiences.
Dignity, morality and balance - such they were recognized by representatives of our modernity.
The statue of Zeus, created by Phidias, became a predetermining element in creating the image of the king of all the Olympian gods.
In this work, he managed to successfully combine mercy and omnipotence.
The sculpture of Zeus caused a lot of admiration among the influential political and cultural figures of ancient Greece.
Two created sculptures of Pallas Athena gave glory to the author. Here he combined images of greatness, masculinity and light. The virgin was considered a deity patronizing crafts, protection from conquerors.
Athena Parthenos was preceded by a grandiose statue made of bronze. His work was the image of the goddess - the protector from all enemies.
This creation - a statue of Athena Promachos - was in the Acropolis, next to the Parthenon.
In the temple itself there were other amazing statues of Phidias.
By the way, most of them are the property of the world
public and preserved among the exhibits of the British Museum.
The eastern pediment of the Parthenon was decorated with a composition that tells of the birth of Pallas.
In the western part, a dispute between the goddess and Poseidon was depicted - the gods could not distribute dominion over Hellas.
Many other characteristic ideas of Phidias were able to combine the stylistic consistency of architectural rules with naturalness and genuineness of images.
Simultaneous severity and frivolity put the work of the master on a sublime level.
If we analyze the work of the predecessors, then in comparison with the works of the author Athena Parthenos, one can easily detect their tightness and unnatural poses.
Really lively images, unconstrained, natural, they were parallel to the free movements of ordinary people.
Thanks to the plasticity and gracefulness of the poses, they distinguished the figures with special liveliness to the smallest detail.
In comparison with the old sculptures, in which static symmetry and rigid established antiquity were the main principles, the work of Phidias became that golden mean, reflecting some elements of the established style and the individuality of the future.
Description of the sculpture of Athena Parthenos
From the image of Varvakios, also related to the list of works of this master, scientists have emphasized the main features that Athena Parthenos supposedly possessed.
Describing some of the nuances of her warlike image, the helmet of the goddess is singled out. He possessed three peculiar crests.
Identical images of griffins were located on the sides, while in front there was a sphinx.
The shield of Athena Parthenos also had some illustrations, in particular, the battle of the deities with the giants, the battle with the Amazons was engraved on its surface.
There are speculations that the creator included his own image among the statues on the shield of Athena. Presumably, Daedalus and Theseus present here are the prototypes of Phidias and Pericles. It was this act that became fatal for the great sculptor.
He was accused of insulting the gods, as a result of which he was imprisoned. In conclusion, the creator committed suicide. By the way, there is evidence that it was the statue of Zeus from Olympia that was his dying work.
Athena, standing at full height, left a free space between the top of the helmet and the ceiling of the Parthenon. Wanting to increase the width of the inside of the building, the author of the sculpture persuaded the builders not to follow the classical form of the Dorian style temples.
As planned by Phidias, the facade had to accommodate more than six columns, so exactly eight huge columns surrounded the statue behind and on the sides. This made it possible to create the effect of an architectural frame in which the statue of Athena Parthenos was inscribed.
Ancient Greek figures often glorified the goddess Athena in their writings. Plato, Socrates and other philosophers considered the sculpture of Athena identically equal to the concept of beauty.
