Parthenon

The Parthenon is a fifth-century BCE temple on the Acropolis of Athens, dedicated to Athena. Its sculpted decoration and carefully adjusted architecture made it a defining monument of classical Greek art.

Doric order: The simplest of the three classical Greek architectural orders, recognized by sturdy columns and plain capitals. The Parthenon uses Doric columns while incorporating Ionic features in its interior and sculptural frieze.
Acropolis of Athens: A fortified rocky hill in Athens that became the city’s major sanctuary and monumental center. The Parthenon occupies the Acropolis’s highest and most prominent area.
Phidias: A fifth-century BCE Greek sculptor who directed major sculptural work for the Parthenon and made its Athena statue. Phidias supervised the temple’s sculptural program and created its monumental cult image.
Parthenonism: The nineteenth-century revival of Greek architectural forms inspired particularly by the Parthenon. Architects and designers adapted the temple’s proportions and details into later buildings.
Entasis: A slight convex swelling in a column shaft, used in some classical buildings to refine its visual appearance. The Parthenon’s columns swell subtly rather than tapering in perfectly straight lines.
Persian destruction of Athens: The burning and devastation of Athens by Persian forces during the invasion of Greece in 480 BCE. The destroyed Acropolis sanctuaries made rebuilding a visible response to Persian conquest.
Parthenon sculptures: The temple’s sculpted metopes, pediments, and frieze, now divided among several collections. These sculptures make the Parthenon a major surviving record of classical Greek monumental art.
British Museum: A public museum in London whose collections include sculptures removed from the Parthenon in the early nineteenth century. The museum’s Parthenon collection is central to the dispute over returning the sculptures to Greece.
Stylobate: The uppermost platform step on which the columns of a classical building stand. The Parthenon’s stylobate curves upward slightly instead of forming a level plane.
Delian League: An alliance of Greek city-states led by Athens, founded in 478 BCE to resist the Persian Empire. Athens’ control of league resources underpinned the building program that included the Parthenon.

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