Unlocking Mysteries of the Parthenon

[Primus Pilus]

During the past 2,500 years, the Parthenon

[G-Manicus]

You may find this of interest ... the PBS show "Nova" is running the following several times over the next couple of days or so:

 

Nova - "Secrets of the Parthenon" Scholars probe the planning and construction of the Parthenon, erected by the ancient Greeks as a temple to the goddess Athena.

[Gaius Octavius]

Evan Hadingham is senior science editor of PBS's NOVA series. The NOVA program "Secrets of the Parthenon" airs January 29, 2008.

 

'Nova' will probably re-air the program next week on WLIW. If anyone finds it on the internet, please advise.

 

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"Perhaps none of the Parthenon's mysteries stirs more debate than the gentle curves and inclinations engineered throughout much of its design. There is hardly a straight line to be found in the temple. Experts argue over whether these refinements were added to counter optical illusions. The eye can be tricked, for instance, into seeing an unsightly sag in flat floors built under a perched roof like the Parthenon's. Possibly to correct this effect, the Athenians laid out the Parthenon's base so that the 228-by-101-foot floor bulges slightly toward the middle, curving gradually upward between 4 and 4 1/2 inches on its left and right sides, and 2 1/2 inches on its front and back. One theory holds that this slight upward bulge was built simply to drain rainwater away from the temple's interior. But that fails to explain why the same curving profile is repeated not only in the floor but in the entablature above the columns and in the (invisible) buried foundations. This graceful curve was clearly fundamental to the overall appearance and planning of the Parthenon.

 

And then there are the columns, which the Athenians built so that they bulged slightly outward at the center. This swelling was termed entasis, or tension, by Greek writers, perhaps because it makes the columns seem as if they are clenching, like a human muscle, under the weight of their load. Again, some scholars have long speculated that this design might compensate for another trick of the eye, since a row of tall, perfectly straight-sided pillars can appear thinner at the middle than at the ends."

 

Taken from the above article.

 

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Then there are people who claim that the pyramids, and Incan, Aztec, and Mayan edifices were constructed by 'aliens'!

Edited January 30, 2008 by Gaius Octavius

[G-Manicus]

'Nova' will probably re-air the program next week on WLIW. If anyone finds it on the internet, please advise.

 

From WLIW's website:

 

Thu, Jan 31

8:00pm

Nova # 3503 Secrets of the Parthenon

 

Erected by the ancient Greeks as a temple to Athena, the Parthenon has served as a church, a fortress, an ammunition dump and the model for countless banks, courthouses and museums across the world. It has been shot at, exploded, set on fire, rocked by earthquakes, looted for its magnificent sculptures and subjected to restorations that have been termed "catastrophic." Despite so much abuse and renown as an icon of Western civilization, the question of how the Parthenon was built has been largely ignored until recently. Now, thanks to the Greek government's $10 billion restoration program, scholars are finally probing the enigmas of its planning and construction. With unprecedented access, NOVA presents the inside story of the official restoration, which reaches far beyond the challenges and controversies of conserving one of the world's best-known buildings.

 

Fri, Feb 01

12:00am

Nova # 3503 Secrets of the Parthenon

 

Mon, Feb 04

1:00am

Nova # 3503 Secrets of the Parthenon

 

Tue, Feb 05

1:00pm

Nova # 3503 Secrets of the Parthenon

[Gaius Octavius]

Thanks, G-Man. Here is a bit more (pics) about the restoration.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/parthenon/restore.html

Edited January 30, 2008 by Gaius Octavius

[Faustus]

Just recently I dropped by for a visit to America's Parthenon which might interest. It's not the original but it sure is impressive just the same.

Klingan also had some comments on that: link to Klingan's post

 

Faustus

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[Gaius Octavius]

If you haven't seen the Nova program - go out of your way to see it. You won't regret it. Check the G-Man's schedule.

[Ursus]

It does seem interesting. I'll have to see if PBS offers a DVD of the program for sale.

[Horatius]

It does seem interesting. I'll have to see if PBS offers a DVD of the program for sale.

It's online http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/programs/

[Northern Neil]

"We're not as good as they were," Lena Lambrinou, an architect on the restoration project, observes with a sigh....

The Smithsonian

However, is there not a wonderful replica of the Parthenon, at Nashville, shown in Faustus' excellent gallery pics? This appears to be a life size reconstruction, and seems to me to be as good as theoriginal would have been. Built as it was in about 1890, I assume there is no concrete in the structure.

Edited February 3, 2008 by Northern Neil

[Faustus]

"We're not as good as they were," Lena Lambrinou, an architect on the restoration project, observes with a sigh....

The Smithsonian

However, is there not a wonderful replica of the Parthenon, at Nashville, shown in Faustus' excellent gallery pics? This appears to be a life size reconstruction, and seems to me to be as good as theoriginal would have been. Built as it was in about 1890, I assume there is no concrete in the structure.

 

Actually NN the entire structure is of poured concrete. A stucco like surface was applied with an aggregate finish. The columns are also poured concrete, and the stucco finish resembles terrazzo. It was originally built in 1897 for the World's Fair of wood, but it was rebuilt on the same foundation during the 1920s.

 

I looked at it up close and I found the accuracy and the quality of the work amazing.

For instance this view below

I like to think I have a builder's eye for alignment, and of course I immediately started looking critically at "deformations" like this, thinking there might have been ways it wasn't done correctly. I wasn't well informed when I arrived there, so I didn't know to expect this. But the way the lower part of the foundation ran in perfectly parallel horizontal lines told me right away this was part of the design being faithfully duplicated. My next question was "how would this curvature be translated to the eaves of the roof. That was indeed flat so it had all been taken into account and accomodated for in the height of the columns.

edit ~ The steps seen are about 16" high each. The main stairs at each end subdivide these in half so they are about 8" in height.

 

(CLICK) for Klingan's post with an explanation of the "steps" visible.

 

Faustus

Edited February 4, 2008 by Faustus

[Northern Neil]

Built as it was in about 1890, I assume there is no concrete in the structure.

 

Actually NN the entire structure is of poured concrete.

 

Ah well - in my view poured concrete is fine as long as the ultimate result is desireable. I gather that the craftsmen at the real parthenon are using traditional materials, then? As a matter of interest, what are the splendid collection of neo - classical monuments at Washington built from?

[Klingan]

Wow I've gotta read the full article when I get time.

[Faustus]

Built as it was in about 1890, I assume there is no concrete in the structure.

Actually NN the entire structure is of poured concrete.

Ah well - in my view poured concrete is fine as long as the ultimate result is desireable. I gather that the craftsmen at the real parthenon are using traditional materials, then? As a matter of interest, what are the splendid collection of neo - classical monuments at Washington built from?

 

That's ok NN. After posting I went to the the N.P. site and made sure, being vulnerable to error.

But the concrete is hard to distinguish from stone. I looked up close at the structure's surface, and there was a faux joinery which serves as stress relief. Very authentic looking. Remember it is only a full scale copy. Actual stone work would've been prohibitive, perhaps.

 

Our own national "neo-classical monuments" are made from marble, granite, and limestone some of which is fabricated right here in our Counties Monroe and Owen (Bedford and Bloomington. ~ I built a home for the owner of the largest stone carving company in the region, and he used a lot of carved stone anywhere he could on that house. I might put some pictures in an album for interested parties.)

 

The Washington Monument, however, is (working from memory here) granite and marble, and work was stopped during the Civil war. When work re-started the availability of stone had changed and a different stone was used, which is obvious when standing before the monument.

 

The Jefferson Memorial (monument) included marble from Vermont for the exterior walls and columns, Tennessee pink marble for the interior floor, Georgian white marble for the interior wall panels, and Missouri gray marble for the pedestal. Indiana limestone was used in the construction of the ceiling panels. These stone surfaces followed the Roman innovation, of using

Edited February 4, 2008 by Faustus

[Klingan]

This suggests to me that our Federal Government monuments are intended to survive intact possibly for millennia after the European way.

 

Very ambitious.