THE PARTHENON AND CLASSICAL ATHENS: TEMPLES OF GODS, CITIES OF MEN (Tuesday class, Oct. 3, Wednesday class, Oct. 11)
Summary:
In this class, we will examine fifth-century temples and their decoration in the context of the Athenian city-state, the larger Hellenic community, and the relationships between the Greeks and their neighbors. The Temple of Zeus at Olympia - the site of the Olympic Games - will introduce us to a “sculptural program”, a group of thematically interrelated sculptural reliefs, like the myths and legends cited in the choruses of Greek tragedies. Then, we will consider the architecture, sculpture, and urban setting of the Parthenon and other monuments on the Acropolis as an expression of the ideals, aspirations, and anxieties of the Athenians in the fifth century B.C., as they were shaped by political developments and expressed in works like Pericles’ Funeral Oration and the Greek tragedies.

FIFTH-CENTURY ATHENS: CHRONOLOGY, KEY TERMS AND EVENTS

1.  ATHENS AFTER THE PERSIAN WARS

-the creation of the DELIAN LEAGUE (478/77 B.C.): Athens’ imperial ambitions
-political changes in Athens 2.  the PELOPONNESIAN WAR: 431-404 B.C. (described in THUCYDIDES’ HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR), a coalition of Greek states led by Sparta defeated Athens and her allies, and an oligarchic regime (THE THIRTY TYRANTS) was briefly installed in Athens in 404 B.C.; in the early years of the war, a devastating PLAGUE struck Athens and its consequences were described and analyzed by THUCYDIDES

3. The TEMPLE OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA and its sculpture (470-57 B.C.)

4.  Distinctive features of the architecture of the PARTHENON (447-432 B.C.) ( IMAGE: OVERVIEW ) 5.  The sculptural program of the PARTHENON SCULPTURE OF THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA



PARTHENON SCULPTURE: IMAGE GALLERY

The following  thumbnails of the Parthenon metopes are based on http://www.greece.org/parthenon/marbles/picgal2.htm  The images they link to are Copyright Ian Swindale.

parthmt1.jpg (81357 bytes) parthmt2.jpg (84937 bytes)parthmt3.jpg (81461 bytes)parthmt4.jpg (82011 bytes)parthmt5.jpg (65436 bytes)parthmt6.jpg (72554 bytes)parthmt7.jpg (65756 bytes)parthmt8.jpg (61950 bytes)parthmt9.jpg (76967 bytes)parthmt10.jpg (61993 bytes)parthmt11.jpg (58867 bytes)parthmt12.jpg (63601 bytes)parthmt13.jpg (68632 bytes)parthmt14.jpg (77824 bytes)parthmt15.jpg (71493 bytes)


The following  thumbnails of the Parthenon frieze are based on http://www.greece.org/parthenon/marbles/picgal2.htm  The images they link to are Copyright Ian Swindale.

parthfz03.jpg (109408 bytes)   parthfz07.jpg (81472 bytes)   parthfz08.jpg (89878 bytes)   parthfz09.jpg (94320 bytes)   parthfz10.jpg (86945 bytes)  

parthfz12.jpg (149445 bytes)    

               

KEY TERMS: ARCHITECTURE IN CLASSICAL ATHENS
sites: agora, stoa, Acropolis, statue of Athena Promachos, Propylaia, Erechtheion
architects: Kallikrates, Iktinos, Mnesikles
sculptor: Pheidias

IMAGES OF ANCIENT ATHENS AND ITS MONUMENTS
http://www.greece.org/parthenon/marbles/index.htm
http://www.stoa.org/athens/

NEXT CLASS (Tuesday night): OCTOBER 10 (GREEK TRAGEDY)
NEXT CLASS (M/W): OCTOBER 16 (ATHENS DEFEATED, SOCRATES CONDEMNED)
SCHEDULE OF READINGS (M/W)
SCHEDULE OF READINGS (Tuesday night)
RETURN TO HUM 2211