The Parthenon and the Temple of Artemis

       The Parthenon and the Temple of Artemis

Alan J Lerner

History 111 World Civilizations – FALL 2017

Prof. Deborah A. Gomez

Northern Virginia Community College-Alexandria

October 4, 2017

Architectural Analysis

In the ancient times, people built massive and impressive buildings and monuments to commemorate a given god or deity. There are very few remaining historical monuments from the ancient times. The few remaining ones have withstood the test of time some standing now for more than 2000 years, and some are part of the Seven Wonders of the World. Good examples of such monuments are the Parthenon and the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The Parthenon, built in dedication to the Greek goddess Athena, is found in Athens, Greece^[1]. The Temple of Artemis, on the other hand, is a temple that was dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis is found in Turkey. The two monuments were iconic and imperative to the community, and each had its impact regarding religion and architecture. Therefore, this paper will compare and contrast their impacts in the two named factors. 

The Parthenon

Construction of the Parthenon occurred between the 447 and 432 BCE. Kallikrates and Iktinos constructed it under the supervision of Phidias. It was being built to glorify Athens after succeeding in repelling the attack of the Persian ruler Xerxes and Darius. The main material used in building it was Pentelic marble which was found from the Mt. Pentelicus. Its fine grain and pure white appearance was the main reason why Pentelic was used in building the temple. Iron was also used in the architecture but due to oxidation over the years, caused the marble to have “soft honey color” that people can notice at sunrise and sunset. The temple was built using the newer Ionic and Doric styles making the temple  innovative in the architectural class of the timeperiod^[2].

Its original measurements are recorded as 30.88 meters by 69.5 meters which was reached by using the ratio of 4:9. The relations of the height to the width, inner cellar to its height and column diameters to spaces between them were all given the ration 4:9. This also resulted in making the temple having a lighter appearance than one would imagine due to the heavy materials that had been used for construction. As illustrated in figure 1.1, the columns at each end of the temple were wider than the rest of the columns. All these refinements led to the temple appearing seamlessly straight, equally proportioned in harmony, therefore, making the building have a one of a kind vibrancy. The Parthenon emphasized more space than mass^[3].

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Unlike the Parthenon, the Temple of Artemis is one of the Seven Wonders of the World^[4]. It is considered the greatest temple ever built by the Greeks. The sad thing about it is that it was destroyed centuries ago and all that remains are only pieces of architectural foundations, ruins and modern-day stories that have helped to reconstruct and bring back the temple to life^[5]. Its size is said to have been 115 by 55 meters meaning it was longer and wider than the Parthenon by at least 50%. There is proof also to show that its columns were 25% taller than those of the Parthenon. All these show that in the ancient Greek world, this was a massive temple. Unlike the Parthenon, the Temple of Artemis has its outer columns made of two rows^[6]. The Greeks created a center that was slightly wider to create an aisle that led to the sanctuary of the goddess. Its construction is recorded to have begun in 546 BC making it almost a hundred years older than the Parthenon. It was then destroyed in 356 BC but a larger temple was built and it survived for a long time to the 3rd century where the Goths pillaged it.    

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