The Athena Parthenos - Essay Example

Running Head: THE ATHENA PARTHENOS The Athena Parthenos [The of the will appear here] [The of the id will appear here] [The name of the course will appear here] [The name of the course number will appear here] Introduction Greek Art, throughout history and even today, holds a special reference as sculptures and artists of that time showed genius in their work in most of the artworks created during that time period. Each artwork is special in its own sense owing to the artist who created the sculpture with reference to the social, cultural and political reasons. The artwork without its background is incomplete and blends in with all the other artworks. In order to truly appreciate an artwork, one must analyze the artwork with reference to its background. The purpose of this paper is to analyze one such artwork by the Greece in the light of their social, political and historical context. The artwork selected for this particular paper is the massive sculpture of Athena Parthenos created by Phidas. Athena Parthenos Athena Parthenos was a sculpture created by Phidas. This sculpture was made of chryselephantine, a combination of gold and ivory, to depict Athena, the Greek Goddess. This massive sculpture was placed within the Parthenon in Athens and was the source of great pride for the Greeks. Phidas constructed this sculpture outside his usual mode of material, which was bronze. He constructed the arms, feet and face from ivory while the clothing that the sculpture wore was made of gold. Phidas also incorporated gems within the sculpture in the eyes of Athena to give her a look of power. Power in the sculpture is also evident as it stands a towering height of thirty-three feet and commanding a feeling of religious awe. The height of the sculpture was such that the walls of the Parthenos had to be raised to accommodate the statue. The statue stands at a slightly inclined head as she puts the weight of her entire body on her right side. The statue wears a helmet adorned with two griffins and a Sphinx like creature. Her tunic reaches her feet, and at her waist, the tunic is cinched by two serpents. One of Athena’s hands is outstretched as she holds a Nike with that hand and the other hand holds the tail of her tunic (Kleiner, 2010). The statue stands on a base that is a testimony to the creation of Pandora. The Egyptian like figures carved at the base of the shadow thus also focus on the mythology too. Thus, the sculptor, Phidas, incorporated both religion and mythology within the statue. The statue of Athena Parthenos was very much similar to another statue of Athena that Phidas created during the same time period. This statue known as the Athena Polis had many of the same elements of Athena Parthenos. Athena Polis was also made from ivory and gold and was constructed in large proportions similar to those of Athena Parthenos (Herington, 1955). Phidas later also constructed a statue of the god, Zeus Olympios. This statue was later included in ancient seven wonder. The statue of Zeus Olympios was also made of ivory and gold; ivory being for the skin while gold meant for the clothes. This statue held a similar Nike in one outstretched. However, the other hand did not contain the spear as Athena but rather scepter. Similarly, Phidas did not adorn the head of Zeus with the crown of Athena but rather used a gold crown made of olive leaves (Mikalson, 2011) . The statue of Athena Parthenos was later robbed off its gold as it was needed by Lachares to pay off his soldiers. He replaced the gold with bronze. The statue, however, did not retain its previous glory and became a victim of fire. It was later robbed and the original is still not recovered. Numerous copies of the statues were later made but none was able to capture the glory and respect of the statue that Phidas was able to create through the use of gold and ivory (Dinsmoor, 1955). Social Context The sculpture of Athena, created by Phidas, was meant for the temple of Parthenos. People came to the temple for praying and for religious reasons. The sculpture of Athena was therefore meant for the same reason. The sculpture was meant to create a feeling of religious awe within the people. For this reason, the sculpture, Phidas kept the size of the sculpture in such large proportions (Kleiner, 2010). Furthermore, the use of gold and ivory in the sculpture further strengthened this feeling. The idea of not using bronze and focusing on expensive materials was to create this feeling of reference for the sculpture and also for the temple that housed the sculpture. Cultural Context Since the statue of Athena was dedication to the goddess Athena, it was quite natural that the sculpture was primarily used for religious purposes. While the main statue was dedicated to the Goddess of war, Phidas also incorporated the story of Pandora to cover Greek Mythology. In the way, the sculptor served the purpose of protecting the city of Athens and its people. Therefore, Athenians offered food and other valuables to the goddess as a means of pleasing her to shift the balance of the war in their favor. The statue of Athena, even though housed within the temple of Partheon, was not meant for religious purposes only. It was also meant as a symbol of security for the people of Athens while Athens was under war with the Persian. Since Athena is the goddess of war, the massive statue within the temple inspired confidence and courage among the people of Athens. This particular statue of Athena is also referred to as a cult statue. A cult statue is a statue that represents a particular deity which in this case was the Goddess of war. This cult statue becomes the prime worship image of the people of that era. In this case, the statue of Athena Parthenos became a statue that was placed in the most strategic point within the Parthenon; that is; when the believers entered the gates of the Parthenon, the first image that they saw was that of Athena Parthenos. This statue thus inspired the greatest amount of respect within the people and since she was a Goddess of war placed among a war stricken country, it was no surprise that she became a cult statue. Political Context The statue of Athena meant for the Partheon was commissioned by Pericles. Pericles, in the history of Greek culture, was perhaps the most awe inspiring leader. He was able to shift the treasury of the Delian League Funds to Athens. He further used these funds to construct the Partheon temple and the statue of Athena. While the statue of Athena was being constructed, Perlices was at war with the Persians. While this war was peacefully resolved on account of Pericles but the statue of Athena was meant to show off the power to Athens to the rest of the world. The statue of Athena Partheon along with the reconstruction of the Partheon was done for the express purpose of showing off the power and wealth of the Athenian power to the rest of the world. The work was commissioned by the Pericles. Pericles ensured that the statue was created within a short span of time to further show off his power, particularly to the Persians. Since the Persian at the time of the construction of the statue was in war against the Athenians, they wanted the statue to exhibit their power and money. The height of the statue is testimony to the fact. Historical Context The statue of Athena Partheon was constructed in the golden age of the Athenian civilization. It was housed in the Partheon, whose foundations had to be revised to house the massive statue. The statue was dedicated to the goddess of war, Athena. This statue was constructed in the time when the Greek states were against a war with the Persians. Thus, it was not surprising that the Athenians constructed a statue made of ivory and gold to please the very goddess of war. They wanted to please the goddess to that the war would turn in their favor. It was probably for this reason that Phidas, the sculptor, gave Nike (a sign of victory) in the outstretched hands of Athena. The money to fund the statue and the temple was provided by the Delian League Funds; a group formed for the purpose of strengthening the Greek states against the Persians. The statue is furthermore adorned with numerous symbols of ‘the victory of order over disorder in the human and divine spheres’ (Morford and Lenardon, 1999, pp. 109). These symbols are strategically placed on the shield, sandals and other artifacts that the statue is bearing. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that the statue of Athena Parthenos was one of the most revered and celebrated statue at its time. It was housed in the prime religious temple of Athens and Pericles, the ruler, intended it so in order to make it the center of the religious ceremonies. When the statue was being constructed and placed within the temple, the city of Athens and other Greek states were at war with the Persians. Thus Pericles commissioned Phidas to create a statue of the Goddess of War, Athena in order to protect the city from the wrath of the god and to tilt the balance of the war in the favor of Athens. The statue, made of gold and ivory, was also meant for another purpose. It was meant to show off the power and wealth of the Greek states and specially Athens. Pericles, with this statue, aimed to intimidate the Persians. He wanted to show to them and to the rest of the world, the power of Athens. References Herington, C. J., Athena Parthenos and Athena Polias: A Study in the Religion of Periclean Athens, (USA: Manchester University Press, 1955) Kleiner, F., Gardners Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective, (Ohio: Cengage Learning, 2010) Mikalson, J., Ancient Greek Religion, (USA: John Wiley & Sons, 2011)  Morford, M. and Lenardon, R. Classical Mythology (UK: Oxford University Press, 1999) Dinsmoor, W. B., The repair of the Athena Parthenos" American Journal of Archaeology 38 (1934) pp 93-106. Read More