Parthenon Vs Pantheon Essay

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I choose to compare and contrast the Greek Parthenon to the Roman Pantheon. First I would like to go into a little history of the who buildings. Starting with the Parthenon, built between 447 and 432 BCE dedicated to the deity Athena. “The acropolis itself measures some 300 by 150 metres and is 70 metres high at its maximum. The temple, which would sit on the highest part of the acropolis, was designed by the architects Iktinos and Kallikratis, and the project was overseen by the sculptor Pheidias. Pentelic marble from the nearby Mt. Pentelicus was used for the building, and never before had so much marble (22,000 tons) been used in a Greek temple.” (Cartwright, Mark. "Parthenon.") The Parthenon being the largest Greek temple mixing both Doric and new Ionic styles. The temple gives you an illusion of true straight lines with the columns leaning inwards giving the building a lifting effect appearing lighter than the material it 's built out of suggests. It has a beautiful frieze depicting Athena center stage. “The frieze ran around all four sides of the building (an Ionic feature). Beginning at the southwest corner, the narrative follows around the two sides, meeting again at the far end. It presents a …show more content…

“The purpose of the building is not known for certain but the name, porch and pediment decoration suggest a temple of some sort. However, no cult is known to all of the gods and so the Pantheon may have been designed as a place where the emperor could make public appearances in a setting which reminded onlookers of his divine status, equal with the other gods of the Roman pantheon and his deified emperor predecessors.” (Cartwright, Mark. "Pantheon.") This temple also has an illusion of space despite the building materials being made of heavy concrete walls. Inside the viewer is struck in awe and the amount of space rather than what is was made out