A Compare And Contrast Of The Parthenon And The Pantheon
Francis Kiefel
07/05/2006
A Compare and Contrast of the Parthenon and the Pantheon
Introduction :
Both the Parthenon and the Pantheon are temples to the Gods of the people who built them. The Parthenon was built by the ancient Greeks between 447-438 BCE and the Romans built the Pantheon between 118-128 CE. Although both structures served as places of worship, they do share many other common characteristics. However, both structures also have their differences. Because both structures remain standing today, they now serve as a testament to the skills of the architects, administrators and other artisans who gave their people pride and inspiration for future architectural works.
The Parthenon :
The Parthenon began as the Athena Parthenos in 490 BCE. Construction was halted during the Greek and Persian war. After the defeat of the Persians, the Athenian, Kimon, began construction again. Work was halted once more until Pericles commissioned architect Iktinos and Kallikrates to begin on a new and larger structure in 447 BCE.
As illustrated in Figure 5-39, the Parthenon was rectangular in shape utilizing the ratio of 4:9 in breadth to length. The columns surrounding the base is of the Doric order and the pediment was highly decorated with elaborate sculptures as shown in Figure 5-42 and Figure 5-43. The stone from which the structure was constructed of was the finest white marble of the day, including the roof which would have normally used terra cotta. Although the structure was simple post-and lintel in design, the Parthenon stands out shapes our ideas of the importance in architecture as a medium expressing human endeavor and perfection.
The Pantheon :
The Roman emperor, Hadrian, commissioned the building of the Pantheon. However, the administration of the project was managed by Marcus Agrippa. Like the Parthenon, it was to be a temple to all of the Roman Gods. The...
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