Essay On The Parthenon

Cultures are often opaque due to its dense and rich nature as the collective foundation of a civilization. Due to the complexity of cultures, not every angle of ideologies of the society can possibly be clearly condensed into words, therefore visual representations are often times used to reflect the major sociocultural motifs. In Ancient Athens, the Parthenon was an architectural phenomenon built around mid 5th century that represented the integrity and cultural values of being an Athenian. Prior to the existence of the Parthenon, the Persians raided the acropolis and Pre-Parthenon in 480 BC, causing Athenians to pledge to defeat the Persians before rebuilding the fallen temple. The elevated acropolis continuously showcased the ruins of the

After peace was established, the promise to rebuild the Parthenon was accomplished by Pericles, an influential elite who ruled the “democratic” party. Pericles provoked the embezzlement of money from the Delian Treasury that was originally contributed by Athen’s allies for the war. Although the Parthenon was not honorably funded, it was the monumental symbol of the power and success of Athens while celebrating Athena and the gods, the victory of the Persian War, and Athenian democracy. The Parthenon served as a cultural foundation that anchored major Athenian sociocultural values on pediments, metopes, and friezes through the usage of the Pananthenaic procession and various

Mostly men were shown parading from the west to east towards the Olympian gods, who were sitting in a semicircle to make space for the peplos ceremony (1.h). Family ties and the essence of the gods’ power categorize the position where each god and goddess sits in the semicircle. For example, Poseidon is grouped with Aphrodite because they both relate to the sea, which subtly promotes Athenian navel power (1.h, 1.i). Other parts of the frieze include expensive horses extravagantly showcased in a democracy setting to flaunt the wealth and combat capabilities of Athens as a whole, not each individual’s (1.b). The dominant control over a horse is comparable to dominating the inferior Persians, Amazons, and other non-Athenians. Interestingly, males depicted carrying water hydriae were non-Athenian Greek residents that took part in the procession (1.e). The usage of men in place of slaves and women exhibits non-Athenian Greeks’ inferiority. It was as if the carrying of the hydriae above the men resembled the weight of the heavy taxes and prejudice from Athenians. On the other hand, Athenians expressed various honorable roles of men in society, differing from civilian-dressed, military-dressed, and heroic nudity (1.c). The alteration of poses shows the difference in personality and social characteristics of different roles, however the same expression unites the