ticket in order to watch the theatrical play. Among the expenses, which wealthy Athenians covered, were for the service and equipment of the war ships, the training of athletes, the hosting of religious festivals and for sending a group of citizens in Pan-Hellenic festivals.
Assignment of artworks: sculptures and temples
During the classical era the state ordered works of arts form architects and sculptors. We also know form archeological findings that there were citizens that supervised the artists while they were working. Responsible for the reconstruction of the Acropolis were Ictinus, Kallikratis, Mnisikilis and coordinator was Fedias, who created the statue of Athena in The Parthenon and of Dias in Olympia.
Social conditions that led to the creation of artworks
Until the end of 5 th century BC art was a way of expressing the city’ s grandeur. At that time the city lacked both palaces and private buildings. The state was the only Maecenas( i. e. protector of arts). During the 6 th century BC the tyrant(“ tyrranos”) personalized the state, and this model was spread to the West, where tyrants played an important role. During the 5 th century BC, in Greece, and especially in Athens, the town( municipality) became the state. The orders weren’ t authorized by individuals, but by the community and her political bodies. Therefore art was very closely related with everyday life and expressed the city’ s commonwealth.
The grandeur of Athens was expressed through the construction plan of Acropolis. Although the Athenians promised not to rebuild the ruins that Persians caused during their invasion as a way of remembering the consequences of the war, their self-esteem and also their feeling of autarky and supremacy against“ barbarians”, forced them to create achievements in the field of politics, literature and arts during the classical era.
The monuments that decorated the city of Athens and also the political and soldiery achievements showed its grandeur. Thus, Athens dominated with its beauty but also with its power. Pericles said that the city should have spent its wealth for works of art that would make the legacy of the city immortal.
Fedias was charged with sacrilege, because he depicted two soldiers on the shield of the goddess Athena, that bore resemblance to Pericles and himself. Therefore, he was arrested and convictes. It is believed that he died in prison, but according to another version about his death he was exiled. Fedias went to Olympia, where he created the statue of olympian Zeus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
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