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Secrets of the Parthenon
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Classroom Activity
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Activity Summary
Students
use a viewing guide while watching a program about the reconstruction of the
Parthenon and discuss answers to questions related to the monument after
watching.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
recount the Parthenon's history. describe methods being used by architects and masons to restore the Parthenon. report how the original Athenian builders were able to complete the job so
precisely and efficiently.
- copy of the "A Monumental Puzzle" student handout
(PDF or
HTML)
Background
Built as a temple for the goddess Athena, the
Parthenon was constructed during the Classical Period (circa 490-323 bce), which began upon the defeat of the
reigning Persian Empire. This period encompassed the golden age of Greece, a
time when literature, art, theater, and philosophy flourished.
With its many iconic features, the Parthenon—designed to symbolize the ideals
of art, science, and democracy—was the first building ever to be constructed entirely
of marble. The Parthenon includes subtle architectural refinements that together make it
appear visually perfect, although there has been much debate about just why the builders
incorporated these refinements. A year after the Parthenon was completed in 432 BCE,
however, Pericles went to the citizens for funds to equip an army against the threat of
Sparta. He suggested that, if necessary, the statue of Athena could be stripped of gold
to provide the funds. The Spartans later turned the Parthenon into an army barracks. For
the next two millennia, the iconic building was taken over by Romans, barbarians, Christians,
Muslims, and Turks. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Europeans plundered its sculptures.
Efforts made to restore the building during the late 19th and early 20th centuries resulted in the catastrophic installation of iron clamps that would later rust. Rather than rebuild the structure to its original state, the current restoration team chose to preserve what has survived of the building. This has so far taken three decades and continues.
For more information on the Parthenon's history, see "The Parthenon's Many Lives," at
www.pbs.org/nova/parthenon/timeline.html
Organize students into five teams. Assign each team a set of four questions.
The questions generally follow the sequence of the film. You can assign the
questions in their current sequence, choose a mix of simple and more
complicated questions for each team, or allocate them by themes (i.e., history
of the Parthenon, tools and techniques used by the original builders, steps
taken to restore the structure). Distribute a copy of the student handout to
each team before viewing. Discuss appropriate background information with
students. Show the program and have students individually
take notes on the questions their team has been assigned. After watching the program, have students meet
in their teams to discuss their notes. Beginning with the first question
assigned, ask teams to come to a consensus on an answer and record their
response. Have each team continue this process until all of its assigned questions
are answered. Have teams share the questions and answers that
came out of their teamwork. (See Activity Answer for possible answers. Accept all
reasonable answers.) Ask the rest of the students in class if they agree with
what the team has presented. If students don't agree, ask them to explain
why and provide evidence from the program that will support their opinions.
When possible, expand upon a question or provide additional historical
background for students. To conclude, discuss with students how the restoration team determined how the Parthenon was
built. Discuss the nature of science and how team members recreated or
discovered how the ancient Greeks were able to build the Parthenon so
quickly, achieve such precision, and construct the Parthenon without overall
architectural plans. As an extension, organize students into groups
to research other temples of the Acropolis. Have students create posters that
include a photo or drawing of each temple, when it was originally built, what
its purpose was, and what happened to it. Find a map and description of all the
temples at
plato-dialogues.org/tools/acropol.htm
Suggested
answers to the questions listed on the student handout:
What was the name of the team assigned to restore the Parthenon? the
Acropolis Restoration Project How long did it take the ancient builders to construct the original Parthenon?
less than nine years What was the goal of the restoration team? To create the most accurate
restoration by correcting damage inflicted by previous restorations and
restoring, where possible, the thousands of fragments from the structure that
have been found scattered on the Acropolis. How many pieces did the restoration team have to work with? more than 70,000 What is architecturally unique about each of the 46 columns? Each one has a
unique curve. What did the restoration team do to determine which blocks belonged where in
the structure? Team members first catalogued and put in a database a number
of variables for more than 5,000 pieces of the Parthenon and then executed a
computer program to determine what went where. When that failed, an architect
hand-drew each stone and used trial and error to place them in the correct
order. Who was the leader who directed the effort to rebuild the temples of the
Acropolis? Pericles During what period of Greece's history was the Parthenon built? the
golden age What role did democracy play in the reconstruction of the temples of the
Acropolis? The rebuilding of the temples was put to a vote of the people,
who chose to rebuild the structures. In what way did the ancient builders use red clay to ensure that their pieces
would fit together precisely? They applied red clay to the inside surface of
one of the blocks to ensure there was a perfect match between pieces. How many different stonemasons were identified from the chisel marks? about
200 How did the original builders make sure that the diverse workforce all used
common measurements? Scientists propose that early builders may have had a
way to convert measurements, as shown on a stone found on the island of Salamis
depicting all the competing Greek measurements of the time. What role might the human body have played in Greek architecture? The
ancient Greeks viewed the proportions of the ideal human body as inspiration
for architectural proportions. What ratio was found to be prevalent in the Parthenon? 4:9 How were the ancient builders able to sand their marble pieces so precisely?
The builders used a metal plate and sand to grind surfaces to within 1/20th
millimeter accuracy. What device did the ancient builders use to precisely align the
Parthenon's marble pieces? The builders fitted together a block of
wood that was placed in each half of the center of two column pieces being
joined. How were the builders able to construct the curved columns without overall
architectural plans? They may have used a scaled-down version of the entasis
curve as a template for the entire column. What year was the Parthenon completed? 432 BCE What happened just one year after the Parthenon was completed? Pericles
went to the citizens of Athens for funds to equip an army against the threat
of Sparta, and suggested that—if necessary—gold could be stripped
from the statue of Athena to provide the funds. Name the groups that took over the Parthenon for the next 2,000 years. The
Romans, the barbarians, the Christians, the Muslims, and the Turks. In the 18th
and 19th centuries, Europeans plundered the icon for its sculptures.
Web Sites
NOVA—Secrets of the Parthenon
www.pbs.org/nova/parthenon
Provides articles, interviews, interactive activities, and
resources in a companion Web site to the program.
Ancient Greece
www.ancientgreece.com/s/Main_Page
Features
information about the history of the ancient Greek world from the Neolithic to
the Classical Period, including art and architecture, mythology, wars,
Olympics, philosophy, and kings and rulers.
Ancient Greek Architecture
www.greatbuildings.com/types/styles/greek.html
Provides
locations, building types, construction systems, styles, and more for a number
of ancient Greek structures.
Greece: Secrets of the Past
www.civilization.ca/civil/greece/gr1080e.html
Reviews
contributions by Greek scholars to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and
the natural sciences.
Book
The Complete Greek Temples
by
Tony Spawforth. Thames
& Hudson, 2006.
Includes
a map showing the location of Greek temples, photos and diagrams of temple
architecture, and descriptions of each site.
Parthenon
by
Lynn Curlee. Atheneum,
2004.
Provides an introduction to Athenian history and discusses the Parthenon's
purpose, proportions, construction, and slow destruction.
The "A Monumental Puzzle" activity aligns with the following National
Science Education Standards (see
books.nap.edu/html/nses).
Grades 5-8
History and Nature of Science
• Science as a human endeavor
• Nature of science
Grades 9-12
History and Nature of Science
• Science as a human endeavor
• Nature of scientific knowledge
Classroom Activity Author
Developed by WGBH Educational Outreach staff.
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