Parthenon Research Paper

The Parthenon in Greece was built on the Acropolis high above the city for the goddess Athena. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and prudent warfare; she was also the protector of the Navy. The temple was built following the war between Greece and Persia and replaced another temple that was destroyed. It is not surprising that they would want to honor this particular goddess during that time. The Parthenon was designed so that the 40-foot interior statue of Athena would be illuminated by the sun on her birthday. The structure was not built to hold very many people and ceremonies took place outside. The rectangular temple was built using post and beam style construction with large columns. The designers of the Parthenon designed it to be balanced

proportionally and appear perfectly straight, which is representative of the mindset of Greek artists during that time period.
The Pantheon is a temple that was built in the city of Rome as a dedication to all of the gods during a time when public works were very important to the Roman people. The cylindrical shape and the dome roof were built using a semicircular arch, which makes the structure appear completely different from the rectangular Parthenon. One of the few similarities in the structures are the columns used in the construction of the Pantheon’s portico. The pantheon is very dark and its only light source is the 30-foot hole in the roof of the structure. Unlike the Parthenon the interior of the structure was just as important as the exterior and was built to hold more people. This was done so that people could view the statues and art inside the structure.
The Chartres Cathedral in Paris is a church that was built after Christianity became and an important part of community life.

The large Gothic structure with pointed arches was built to contain all of the people that were living in the city for religious services and other community events. The cathedral and its impressive statues is shaped completely different from the Parthenon and the Pantheon. One of the reason for the design was to allow religious pilgrims to follow along the side aisles to view religious relics that were on display. A big difference between the designs of the Pantheon and the Chartres Cathedral is the amount of light. The cathedral in Paris has large stained glass window that bathe the church in light and color, while the Pantheon is dark. Parthenon, on the other hand, was built so that one spot was bathed in light on one particular day. The Chartres Cathedral and the Pantheon both have architectural designs that point toward heaven in some way. The Chartres Cathedral has towers that are hundreds of feet tall reaching up and pointing towards heaven. While the tall domed ceiling of the Pantheon represents the dome of heaven and has a large eye-like hole in ceiling that opens toward the

heavens.