|
|
Secrets of the Parthenon
|
|
|
|
Classroom Activity
|
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.
|
|
