Parthenon: The Construction Plan of Acropolis
When Pericles began his extensive construction plan in the Acropolis the place
where the Parthenon was built was empty. Many of the remaining sculptures
that dated back to the archaic era had been integrated into defensive walls and
in their place remained only the substructures of older temples.
The main construction of the Acropolis was the Parthenon. At first its
construction aimed at hosting a huge statue of the goddess Athena (it was made
of gold and ivory), made by the sculptor Pheidias. Even the goddess herself would
be impressed by the funds that were devoted to her and the statue would also
be able to cause awe to the visitors due to its magnificence. The price of the gold
only in the statue has been estimated in almost 15.000.000 “talanta” a price
surprisingly high.
Picture 1: Depiction of chryselephantine (gold and ivory) sculpture of the Greek
goddess Athena
Feidias may have also supervised the construction of Parthenon, despite the fact
that its construction has been attributed to the architect Iktinos. The temple
started to be constructed in 447 BC and the internal colonnade and the roof had
already been finished by 438 BC. It was at that time that the statue constructed
by Feidias was formally devoted to the goddess. The construction of Parthenon
was completed in 432 BC. It was made of the best marble from the mount Penteli.
22.000 tons of rocks were transported there being curried by oxcarts from the
marble quarries which were almost 16 kilometers away. Although the main
design of the temple was in Doric order, there were also Ionian elements in the
famous internal frieze and in the columns in the back room.
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