CL CV rough draft

Joy Marie Prior

Classical Civilization 201 H

Cecilia Peek

Dear Athena, You Have Been Replaced by Athens

Each pillar in the Parthenon is the color of smudged white; not eggshell white but the color of paper after a cheap eraser smudged entire paragraphs together. The statues no longer breathe life into the marble, like erased words on a page the statues are missing. Most of the story of the Parthenon is missing: gold, colors, the smell of incense. Now, it lies in Athens for tourists to read the skeleton of a story the Parthenon once told. The myths and legends written on the crumbled stones of the Parthenon were chiseled by Athenians who wanted to immortalize themselves. Athens’ acropolis was the altar and the Parthenon was the sacrifice. A sacrifice to the gods and goddess the Athenians believed themselves to be.

Like many Greek gods Athens rise to glory came through bravery, brilliance, and battle. Based on the historical account of Herodotos the Athens became the foremost city in Greece after the Battle at Marathon (Gomme 79). An estimated Persian fleet of 600 ships sailed into Marathon threatening the Greek Islands with death and slavery (Doenges 5). The Persian retreated to the sea, leaving Greece and thousands of their dead soldiers to be buried beside the hundred and seventy-two Athenians (Gomme 80). The Athenian victory unexpectedly severed the force and moral of the dominating Persian army. It was this battle that gained Athens glory.

Athens attributed their victory to their own brilliance. Athenians fought with admirable discipline and skill; their strategy crushed the Persian army (Gomme 80). It was a victory that proved wars could be won with something more divine than brutal strength and power- brilliance. An enormous pride swelled within each brilliant Athenian as Athens became a model for the rest of Greece (Forrest 2). Even the Spartans praised the Athenians for the victory (Doenges 16). It became a city of brilliance, a city of victory, a city to worship, a city for the Parthenon.

Construction of the Parthenon began in celebration of the Battle at Marathon. The Parthenon is historically recognized as a thanks offering to the goddess Athena (the goddess of war and wisdom) for the miraculous victory (Neils 16). Like many Greek temples the Parthenon illustrates a variety of myths and legends relevant to the god or goddess of the temple.

The narratives depicted in Greek temples are myths the people identified with and valued. While describing the myths depicted in Greek Architecture for the University of Oxford John Boardman said, “Where the subject matter is narrative it is generally chosen to demonstrate the god of the temple, possibly in action or simply epiphany, or there is a myth scene which is related to the cult or city (Boardman).” The narratives on Greek temples do not only describe the life of the gods but the myths embody the values of the people. A crude description of the culture of the city can be determined from the temple’s myths.

The legends and myths depicted in the Parthenon reveal much of the culture and values of the city of Athens. It would be unrealistic to critique each and every myth depicted in the Parthenon in this paper. Instead the focus will remain on elements found in the myths on the metopes that support the Parthenon as a temple to the Athenians themselves. The Athenians believed themselves equal to the goddess Athena in strategy, civilization, and.

The metope on each side of the Parthenon depicts a different myth or legend, there are four stories told across the entire metope. Along the eastern metopes is myth of the Olympian gods defeating the giants. The southern metopes depicts the Battle of Lapith and Centaurs (the Centaurmachy battle) in which the drunken Centaur guests violently attach the Lapithians during a wedding celebration. Across the western metopes are scenes from the legendary invasion of the Athens by the Amazons. Finally, the northern side is of the Trojan War. All of the stories are of battles.

A common theme within the metopes is that victory comes to the opposition with a strategy and not to the side attacking with brutal strength. The giants ferociously attacked mount Olympus with rocks while Athena and Zeus formed a strategy based on their wisdom of earth’s herbs and prophesies (Myth). In the Trojan War the goddess Athena constructed the idea of the Trojan horse, which, eventually lead to the victory (Athena). This theme of strategy overcoming brutal strength on the Parthenon parallels the Athenian view that the victory at the battle of Marathon was due to the Athenian’s brilliant military strategy.

The myths and legends are of battles between civilized and barbaric societies. In the Battle of the Lapith and Centaurs the Athenian hero Theseus leads the Lapithians against the centaurs typify of barbarian: a half-human and half-animal creature unable to control animal like passions and pleasures (Woodford). On the western wall the Amazon warriors contradicted all socially acceptable order: they were all women. The Amazon women appear all throughout Athenian myth and never triumph over Athens (ailiathena@yahoo.com). Although, Athens is not victorious in both battles the portrayal of civilization against barbarians is clear. In both stories Athens and the Athenian hero is clearly the model for a civilized society. The Athenians undoubtedly viewed themselves as a property structured society with the ability to control passions and uphold xenia, which, they express through the mythology on the Parthenon.

None of the battles on the metopes depict an individual’s victory, but an entire civilization’s triumph. There are undoubtedly heroes in the myths and legends on the Parthenon but the emphasis of the meteops is civilizations against civilizations. The battle of the Olympians and giants is traditionally told with Herculues as the hero, but on the identified statues of the Parthenon Zeus is the central figure and Helios is shown riding his chariot of fire to depicting the dawning of a new era (Metopes). Each of the battles on the metopes of the Parthenon is of heroic society. The images and stories in the meteopos of the Parthenon support the idea of an entire society being wiser and more civilized than another. The Athenians viewed themselves as a victorious society: wiser, and more civilized than their opponents.

The Parthenon was a temple to the Athenians themselves; it was constructed to worship their victories. After the Athenians strategically defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon Athens became the Greek model of a civilized society. The construction of the Parthenon began shortly after the Athenian victory. The myths and legends illustrated in the metopes of the Parthenon are of dramatic battles of strategy and civility prevailing barbarians. They are images of how the Athenians viewed themselves, a wise and civilized society. The Parthenon is more than ruble pillars scattered by war and mutated statues. It is a story of who the Athenians were. A story written on a page of smudged white pillars that not even time can erase.

Citation

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