A Space of Amazing Proportions

A Space of Amazing Proportions

The basis of humanism can be summed up in the words of Protagoras, "Man is the measure of all things." Why were the Greek people so intrigued by the idea of ratios and proportions? What is the Golden Ratio and why is it so important? Their architecture and sculpture are examples of the ideas that were so dominant in the minds of the Greek people. What could be considered the most important piece of Greek architecture, the Parthenon, is one of these examples.

The Greek people of the fifth century BCE created a culture that was deeply rooted in philosophy and the arts. Their never-ending search for their place in the grand scheme of the universe, and in nature around them, influenced everything in their lives, especially their love of the arts.

"The Parthenon enjoys the reputation of being the most Doric temple ever built (Figure 1). Even in ancient times, its architectural refinements were legendary, especially the subtle connection between the curvature of the stylobate, the batter, or taper, of the naos walls and the entasis of the columns." This quote from John Julius Norwich's book, Great Architecture of The World, describes perfectly the reason for which the Parthenon has had an incredible influence on ancient and modern architecture. Even buildings today continue to borrow parts of the Doric order of which it is built. The Parthenon while deceptively simple in design is, in fact, an intricate and complex piece of architecture.

Greek temples were the first buildings that were not only functional but also intended to be seen as beautiful objects externally, though they still succeeded in creating a sacred internal space.3 The Parthenon, which many consider to be the culmination of classical Greek architecture, is a perfect example of this successful relationship between a public external space and a sacred internal space.

Situated on the Athenian Acropolis, the Parthenon was built to honor the goddess Athena, after she helped the Greek army in their defeat of the Persians. In the beginning, the Parthenon housed a forty foot tall statue of Athena, and was the focus of the annual Panathenaic Procession, where the Greeks would celebrate Athena's power and beauty.

The building itself reflects the Greek focus on ratios and proportions. For example, the building is seven columns wide by eleven columns long, a dimension regarded as aesthetically perfect by Greek artists. The buildings architect's were among the first to place importance on the visual effect created by the building when viewed from a distance. The temple is placed on an axis to allow it to be seen from several different vistas, all of which highlight the relation of ends to sides. The architects also addressed several problems associated with the buildings location.1 For example, when the straight lines of a building are seen from far away, such as the center of Athens, they appear to sag and distort. The architects compensated for this by raising the center of the temple roof slightly and bowing the centers of the exterior columns. The result is a three-dimensional object that can be observed with equal interest from all sides.

The customs and conditions that shape a society directly influence that civilization's art and architecture,