Athena Parthenos: description, history and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

The heritage of mankind has preserved magnificent works of art. Many architectural masterpieces, paintings, works of literature and music still delight modern people. They can be seen at exhibitions, museums, private collections. Some of the nation's treasures are still underground or locked up in palaces and castles.

But it turns out that history knows works that you will never see again. Most often, people learn about them from other works. For example, Athena Parthenos became known only through copies and descriptions. At the moment, the original sculpture does not exist. But the beauty of the description still keeps this work of Phidias in the memory of modern people.

In honor of whom?

It's not hard to guess who Phidias meant. Athena Parthenos is the embodiment of the same ancient Greek goddess who at one time became famous for her intelligence and wisdom. Athena was the most revered goddess of ancient Greece. She was one of the greatest rulers of Olympus. In addition to being called the goddess of war, Athena is considered to be involved in knowledge, art, crafts, and is also called the patroness of cities and states.

What did you look like?

Before you know what you imagineda statue, Athena Parthenos should appear before us in her true form. Perhaps she remains for many the most expressive character of ancient Greece. It is she who is considered the most unusual and memorable. This is due to the fact that no matter who portrays Athena, she always has the attributes of a man with her: armor, weapons and a shield. Also, sacred animals could always be seen next to the goddess.

Most often, Athena is a fair-haired and gray-eyed woman. Homer considered her "owl-eyed" at all. Perhaps such a comparison is due to the fact that one could often see an owl nearby, a symbol of wisdom. It does not matter where we meet Athena, whether in poetry, or in prose, or on canvas, the creators always try to highlight her big eyes.

The main attributes of Pallas still remain the helmet, which had a high crest, and the aegis, or shield, adorned with the head of the Gorgon Medusa. Also nearby, in particular in the paintings, you can see the olive, which was considered a sacred tree, an owl and a snake - two symbols of wisdom. Nike, the winged goddess, also met Athena more than once.

Author

Many dreamed of preserving the statue of "Athena Parthenos" in the history of mankind. The sculptor Phidias forever in the minds of people remained the creator of the great goddess. The Creator lived in the 400s BC. He was a friend of Pericles and was considered the greatest artist of the great classic period.

During his short career, he created a huge number of works. Their main character was always Athena. In addition to the one that fit later in the Parthenon, there was a sculpture of the goddess onthe Athenian Acropolis. Phidias created it in honor of the victory over the Persians. It was huge and served as a kind of beacon for sailors.

Athena Lemnia also has not survived to the present day, but it is known thanks to copies. This statue was created specifically for the inhabitants of the island of Lemnos, hence the name. It is also known about two more sculptures depicting the goddess of war. One was in Plataea and the other in Achaia.

Phidias is also the author of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. We are talking about the sculpture of Zeus in Olympia. This statue was the only one that was located on the mainland of Europe. It was made of marble and was larger than any temple of that time.

Sculpture

As you know, the sculpture of Athena Parthenos was in the Parthenon. This temple was built as a home for the goddess between 447 and 432 BC. The statue was made of ivory and gold. It was created to celebrate success in the Persian wars.

Despite the fact that Athena Parthenos has long ceased to exist, to this day it remains an invisible symbol of the great city. Little is known about the disappearance of the sculpture. Historical facts lead us to Constantinople, where the statue may have been transported. It was here that it could be destroyed and plundered. Copies, sculptural details and descriptions of Plutarch and Pausanias allow to restore the original appearance.

All the most expensive

Now it is difficult to understand whether Athena was named after the Parthenon temple, or whether everything was fromexactly the opposite. Now we can say that Parthenos means "virgin" and Parthenon means "house of the virgin".

The temple itself was no less magnificent. But the statue of Athena Parthenos is still rightfully considered the main decoration of the building. Myths and legends say that the temple was originally built so that this sculpture could fit there. Perhaps, when the Parthenon was erected, they already understood that Phidias would place something similar to the sculpture of Athena Promachos there.

The most accurate description of the statue was given by Pliny. He claimed that the creation turned out to be about 12 meters high (26 cubits). For its manufacture, ivory and gold were taken. Phidias used the first to create parts of the body of the goddess, and the rest was all made of gold.

It was also discussed that gold could be easily removed in case of financial difficulties. For the rest of the jewelry, copper, glass, silver and precious stones were used. As a result, Phidias created a sculpture, the cost of which was many times higher than the cost of the entire Parthenon temple.

It is known that the statue occupied a huge pedestal 4-8 meters high. It was located closer to the eastern door and was surrounded by columns. In front of the sculpture was a large reservoir of water, which in modern terms can be called a pool. This was done so that the hall was always wet, and the ivory was preserved in these conditions.

Jewelry

Phidias made Athena Parthenos very majestic and militant. The description of the details makes it clear how unique this sculpture was.composition. From the copies, it became clear that in one hand the goddess was holding a statue of Nike, which, by the way, had a height of 2 meters, but against the backdrop of the grandeur of the main sculpture, it looked very miniature. In her other hand, Athena held a shield.

It is he who is the dispute of that time. It was most often tried to be copied by the creators of the whole world. Pliny claimed that Phidias depicted the battle between Theseus and the Amazons on the shield. Also here you could find a battle of giants with the gods. There was also an image of the Gorgon Medusa. Perhaps some other interesting characters.

The helmet of Athena Parthenos seemed no less attractive. He had a sphinx in the middle and two griffins with Pegasus wings. It is also known that there was a snake at the feet of the goddess. Some argue that Phidias also placed the reptile on the chest of the patroness. This snake was given to the goddess by Zeus. The shoes were decorated with centauromachia.

Invisible parts

Of course, what kind of invisible details of the sculpture can we talk about when none of the contemporaries saw the sculpture? Athena Parthenos is full of secrets and mysteries. There is a statement that Phidias placed his portrait and the image of his friend Pericles on the shield of the goddess. Presumably he veiled everything under Daedalus and Theseus.

Also, many contemporaries believe that Phidias was fond of boys. His lover was the young Pantark, who became the winner in wrestling at the Olympics. The young man was so dear to the sculptor that the inscription "Beautiful Pantark" was carved on one of the statues. Perhaps it was on the finger of Athena Parthenos that this recognition flaunted. Althoughthere is no reliable data on this. Perhaps the inscription was on the statue of Zeus, or on the sculpture of Aphrodite Urania.

Victims

As mentioned earlier, Phidias did a lot to make Athena fit perfectly into the Parthenon. If the statue of Zeus rested its head on the ceiling and it seemed that if the Thunderer got up, he would break through the building, then the goddess looked harmoniously in the architectural space.

The fact is that Phidias talked more than once with Iktin, the builder, so that he would deviate a little from the original plan and the general style of the Dorian temple. The sculptor demanded more space inside. As a result, we see not 6 classical columns, but eight. In addition, they are located not only on the sides of the statue, but also behind it. Athena seemed to fit into the architectural frame.

Chronology

It turned out to be difficult to determine the future fate of creation. It is also not known where the creation of Phidias Athena Parthenos perished. Its history begins around 447 BC. e., when the sculptor received an order and set to work. After 9 years, the statue was installed in the temple.

After a couple of years, the first conflict happens. Phidias is set up by enemies and envious people, after which he has to make excuses in the name of cleansing his conscience. For more than a century, nothing was known about the fate of the statue. But in 296 B. C. e. one warlord removed the gold from the sculpture to pay his debts. Then I had to replace the metal with bronze.

More than a century later, Athena Parthenos suffered fromfire. But they were able to restore it. The following information appears already in the 5th century AD. It is known that another fire in the temple again torments creation. In the 10th century A. D. e. the masterpiece was in Constantinople. What happened next is unknown.

Rock of Destiny

We have already briefly mentioned the conflicts that affected Phidias. It was Athena Parthenos who became for him a harbinger of death. The Creator was a good friend and adviser to Pericles. He helped him with the reconstruction of the Acropolis. He was also, of course, talented. Therefore, enemies and envious people could not pass by.

He first encountered them when he was accused of stealing gold from a goddess's cloak. Phidias had nothing to hide. It was ordered to remove the gold from the base and weigh it. No shortages found.

But the following accusations ended badly. Enemies have been looking for something to complain about for a long time. The last straw was the accusation of insulting a deity. Many knew that Phidias tried to depict himself and Pericles on the shield of Athena Parthenos. The sculptor was thrown into prison. It was here that his death came. The only thing that remains a mystery to historians: did he die of anguish or poison.

Glory

Among all the works of Phidias, Athena Parthenos is considered the most famous. The description and history of it are so vivid that we know about this creation after millennia. The glory of sculpture swept through the years. Contemporaries of Phidias, as well as later writers, wrote about her more than once. It is known that even Socrates referred to Athena to interpret the concept of beauty.

OhThe greatness of the work is also indicated by the number of copies that have survived to this day. The sculpture "Athena Varvakion" remains the most accurate and brightest. It is in the National Museum of Athens. The second similar copy was placed right there under the name "Athena Lenormand".

Gorgon Medusa, which was placed on the shield, was also copied more than once. The most famous is a copy of the head of Medusa Rondanini. Now this sculpture is in Munich, in the Glyptothek.

More than once artists have tried to copy the shield of the original. One of them is kept in the British Museum and is called the Strangford Shield. There is also a similar one in the Louvre.

House of Athena

Now almost nothing remains of the Parthenon. Although the temple keeps a long history, which, like sculpture, is full of secrets and contradictions. Greek archaeologists and builders tried to recreate the ancient style of the ruins as much as possible. But all the greatness and beauty, of course, can no longer be conveyed. Nevertheless, the feeling that historical events took place here many centuries ago enchants and fascinates. The stories of guides annually gather many tourists who are allowed to plunge into the atmosphere of ancient militancy.