Parthenon, Akropolis, Athens, ca. 447-432 B.C.E.
East Facade
(Copyright A. Nicgorski, 1993)
This is a view of the front of the Parthenon. Unfortunately, today it no longer appears as it did in the fifth century B.C.E. The paint (red, blue, etc.) that adorned the column capitals, the architectural parts of the entablature, as well as the sculptures of the metopes, pediments, and akroteria (statues on the roof) has long since disappeared. Furthermore, the 14 metopes, which once carried high relief sculptures representing the Gigantomachy (battle of gods and giants) are in a sadly battered state having been chiseled down in the Early Christian era when the Parthenon was converted into a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The central figures of the pediment (representing a scene of the Birth of Athena) were also probably removed in Early Christian times in order to make way for the apse of the church. These figures have vanished as well. The remaining sculptures were severely damaged in 1687 when the Turkish powder magazine in the Parthenon exploded as the result of Venetian bombardment. What remained was removed by Giovanni Battista Lusieri (1802), agent of Lord Elgin, who shipped the marbles to London. Other fragments found in later excavations remain in the Akropolis Museum in Athens. Despite all these depredations, the East FaŤade still has a commanding presence and it once stood to the height of 24 meters (about 78 feet, 9 inches). Note also the use of the architectural refinement known as "corner contraction," in which the widths of metopes and intercolumniations are varied so that the Doric frieze can terminate with a triglyph on either end while keeping the impression that every other triglyph is centered over a column. This refinement also results in wider intercolumniations toward the center of the faŤade, inviting the visitor into the cella.
