Acropolis

Acropolis

Gina Albitres

Art 3

Prof. O' Clarke

April 29, 2007

This paper will be discuss Acropolis and how it has been

considered a educational and spiritual monument. It will describe

how the Pantheon and other buildings were built with such

religious and culture beliefs. The term Acropolis is defined as a

upper city and many of the city states of ancient Greece that are

built around an acropolis where the inhabitants can go as a place

of refuge in times of invasion. The Pantheon and additional major

buildings on the Acropolis were constructed by Pericles in the

fifth century BC.

In the Mycenaean Age, the Acropolis was called "The Old

Temple," and was dedicated to Poseidon, the god of the spring,

and Athena, goddess of the olive-tree. The Acropolis was one of

many Mycenaean citadels that were built for the first time in

Neolithic age. The Acropolis rock is part of a Late Cretaceous

limestone edge that cuts all the way through the Attica plateau in

the northeast to the southwest alliance and includes the Pnyx,

the hill of the Nymphs, Likavitos hill, and the Philopappos hill.

The temple was designed by Greek architects Ictinus and

Callicrates. The Pantheon was built in the most powerful and

simple of form with Doric order, with eight columns along each

end and seventeen columns alongside each other. Through

careful modifications to the design and location of the

Pantheon's columns and floor platform, the architects

counteracted optical delusions that could have distorted the

building's exterior from a distance. Without such adjustments,

the platform might seem to sag in the middle, for example, and

the columns might appear to have a slight arch in profile. A

central structure with two chambers once housed a statue of

Athena made of ivory and gold that was perhaps 33 feet tall.

One of the finest sculptors named Phidias, supervised the

design and the execution of the sculpture on the Parthenon,

which was completed in 432 B.C. Designs were carved inside of

the pediments. They depicted legendary battles fought by the

Greeks, and Athena's birth.

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