THE PARTHENON AND CLASSICAL ATHENS:
TEMPLES OF GODS, CITIES OF MEN (Tuesday class, Oct. 3, Wednesday class,
Oct. 11)
Summary: In this class, we will examine fifth-century temples and
their decoration in the context of the Athenian city-state, the larger
Hellenic community, and the relationships between the Greeks and their
neighbors. The Temple of Zeus at Olympia
- the site of the Olympic Games - will introduce us to a “sculptural
program”, a group of thematically interrelated sculptural reliefs, like
the myths and legends cited in the choruses of Greek tragedies. Then,
we will consider the architecture, sculpture,
and urban setting of the Parthenon and other monuments on the Acropolis
as an expression of the ideals, aspirations, and anxieties of the
Athenians in the fifth century B.C., as they were shaped by political
developments and expressed in works like Pericles’ Funeral Oration and
the Greek tragedies.
FIFTH-CENTURY ATHENS: CHRONOLOGY, KEY
TERMS AND
EVENTS
1. ATHENS AFTER THE PERSIAN WARS
-the creation of the DELIAN LEAGUE (478/77 B.C.):
Athens’ imperial ambitions
-political changes in Athens
- the reforms of EPHIALTES, the ostracism of KIMON
and the murder of EPHIALTES (c. 460 B.C.)
- the restriction of the powers of the areopagos and the expansion
of the powers of the COUNCIL OF 500 and the ASSEMBLY
- wider access to public offices and broader concessions of pay
for public service
- the rise of PERICLES
2. the PELOPONNESIAN WAR: 431-404 B.C. (described in
THUCYDIDES’ HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR), a coalition of Greek
states led by Sparta defeated Athens and her allies, and an oligarchic
regime (THE THIRTY TYRANTS) was briefly installed in Athens in
404 B.C.; in the early years of the war, a devastating PLAGUE
struck Athens and its consequences were described and analyzed by
THUCYDIDES
3. The TEMPLE OF ZEUS AT
OLYMPIA
and its sculpture (470-57 B.C.)
4. Distinctive features of the architecture of the
PARTHENON
(447-432 B.C.) (
IMAGE: OVERVIEW )
- the
refinements
- the blending of the Doric and Ionic orders
- the relationship of sculpture to architecture
5. The sculptural program of the PARTHENON
SCULPTURE OF THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA
PARTHENON SCULPTURE: IMAGE GALLERY
The following thumbnails of
the Parthenon metopes are based on
http://www.greece.org/parthenon/marbles/picgal2.htm
The images they link to are Copyright Ian Swindale.
The following thumbnails of the Parthenon frieze are based on
http://www.greece.org/parthenon/marbles/picgal2.htm
The images they link to are Copyright Ian Swindale.
KEY TERMS: ARCHITECTURE IN CLASSICAL
ATHENS
sites: agora, stoa, Acropolis, statue of Athena Promachos, Propylaia,
Erechtheion
architects: Kallikrates, Iktinos, Mnesikles
sculptor: Pheidias
IMAGES OF ANCIENT ATHENS AND ITS
MONUMENTS
http://www.greece.org/parthenon/marbles/index.htm
http://www.stoa.org/athens/
