Parthenon

The aim of this study is the creation of a multimedia totem with the use of video mapping techniques, representing a particular form of augmented reality, in order to provide new means - different from the existing ones- for museum enjoyment. The object of the totem was the creation of a documentary about the full scale reproduction of block NXLVI of the north frieze of the Parthenon. With the words “augmented reality” we mean the addition of more information than what the observer would normally perceive, mediated by the use of a computer. Thus the human sensory perception is enhanced by information generally manipulated and electronically channeled that would otherwise not be perceived by the five senses. Three main aspects define the multimedia totem: indoor use of augmented reality, it’s use for the enhancement of cultural heritage, and the digital anastylosis that makes it possible to reconstruct the missing part directly on the element or on a copy of it. These options provide the opportunity to engage different age groups with the expressive potential of augmented reality also in terms of performance, with the possible transformation of any surface into a dynamic display.

From the four lion heads of the Parthenon only these of the north side are in situ, while from those of the south side only fragments have been preserved. In the south-western corner the lion head had fallen before the mid 18th c., but three large fragments of it have been found and identified and are now kept in the storeroom of the Acropolis Museum (Akr.7741). The preservation percentage is about 50% and allows the full documentation, with great accuracy, of the lion’s mane, forehead and eyes. However, the mandible is missing.
The recent research has shown that the four lion heads are artistic expressions of a common form, with clear, however, differentiations in their sculptural treatment. The difference in the rendering of the form is more observable in the mane. The lion heads of the northern side are in higher relief, while those of the southern side are in lower relief. Moreover, the southern lion head differs regarding its size, since it is larger for about 10%.
Seizing the opportunity provided by the sima dismantling of the south-western corner in 2011, in the framework of the restoration programme of the south-western Parthenon corner (YSMA), a new approach to the issue of the destroyed lion head has been adopted. We have proceeded to the experimental reconstruction of its complete form. Doubtless, this methodology has largely contributed to our effort to acquire knowledge of the original form, while it has also provided tangible evidence for the technical solutions that should be applied to a possible attempt to restore the lion head on the monument. On the other hand, the experimental supplementation made clear the limitations in the particular case.
The lion heads are not only disciplined forms following a sculptural type, but also products of free artistic creation. Any supplementation is subject to the subjectivity of the new creator and, thus, can be considered arbitrary.
The accuracy of the supplementation of the form may be questioned by the valid texts of principles. The Chart of Venice states that the restoration takes place only when the form of the missing original is absolutely known. However, how such a rule may regulate details of centimetres or millimetres, especially in the case of architectural works?  In such a case can the critical decision overcome the strict teaching and the rule?
The lion head reconstruction is supported by the importance of the south-western corner in the architectural unity of the monument. A possible restoration of the lion head in its original position is a small supplementation in a large and very prominent area. Since a large percentage of original material is preserved, it is rather the concealment of the material and not its enhancement that requires justification. The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon is of special significance and imposes wider respect and avoidance of any further action of deprivation.
Feature of the restoration interventions is their dilemmatic character. Usually, through restoration some pieces of evidence are erased while some others are preserved and enhanced.  Monuments are maps of evidence and restoration, as a means of handling this evidence, leads us to evaluations.
The method of experimental supplementation is a rather good approach to the reconstruction of the original form and deters, or at least controls, subjective “artistic” solutions. In any case, most of the arguments regarding the success or not of a restoration have, according to my view, a common denominator: deepening into the documentation of the original form, explicit registration of the followed conventions and the quality of execution.

Literature review on the Parthenon Frieze.  Term paper for Dr. Hector Williams' CLST 501: Topography and Monuments of Ancient Athens, a graduate seminar held in the Department of Classical, Near Eastern, and Religious Studies (CNERS) at UBC.

The building project of the Parthenon started in 447/6 BC and it was completed within a short span of fifteen years, its „scale, complexity, and refinement“, both in terms of the organisational aspects and technicality, have been considered as miraculous achievements of men. How could appropriately interpret the „intellectual and cultural weight of this masterpiece“  is the central theme of this essay, we would scrutinise its architectural details and explore its relation to the eyes of the visitor achieved by the architectural attributes.

Ένα εντυπωσιακό βιβλίο. Ανοίγει μπροστά στα μάτια μας έναν άγνωστο κόσμο. Φέρνει μεθοδικά στην επιφάνεια στοιχεία που επίμονα αγνοήθηκαν και αφορούν την Παναγία την «Αθηνιώτισσα». Τον Παρθενώνα, δηλαδή, που είχε αφιερωθεί πιθανά ήδη τον 6 ο αιώνα στην Παναγία των Αθηνών. Καταδεικνύει πως η ιστορία του Παρθενώνα ως Ναού αφιερωμένου στην «Παναγία την Αθηνιώτισσα» είναι μεγαλύτερη σε χρονική έκταση απ' ότι ως ειδωλολατρικού ναού και με τεράστια ακτινοβολία σε ολόκληρη την αυτοκρατορία.

El 21 de junio de 2009, con una espectacular ceremonia de inauguración, abrió
sus puertas al público el Nuevo Museo de la Acrópolis, el gran sueño de la
recordada Melina Mercuri, materializado por su viudo y presidente de la
Fundación homónima, Jules Dassin, fallecido el 31 de marzo del año anterior. En
apenas dos meses el Nuevo ya había recibido más de medio millón de visitantes y
en octubre el millón1, lo que da prueba del interés suscitado y del éxito del
proyecto. No exento de polémica durante su desarrollo y ejecución, el Museo está
llamado, sin lugar a dudas, a ocupar un puesto de honor entre los grandes Museos
del mundo, y desde luego entre los de Grecia

This paper argues that the display of the iconic Caryatids in the New Acropolis Museum has been seriously compromised by the overriding desire amongst Greek politicians and heritage professionals to use the museum to reinforce their long-standing request for the return of the Parthenon Marbles. In designing a museum geared primarily to achieving the repatriation of the sculptures taken from the largest of the temples on the Athenian Acropolis, the museum’s architect has ensured that these marbles were presented within sight of their former monumental home, exhibited in a manner that imitates the architectural layout of the Parthenon, while the large windows of the museum allow vast amounts of natural light to illuminate the marbles. By contrast, the five Caryatids that remain in Athens have been treated with considerably less respect for such restitutionist sensibilities. Displayed within the concrete heart of the museum, lacking views of the outside world, let alone to the Acropolis, and with limited access to direct natural light, the marble women are positioned with no consideration for their original alignment. The important functional role of the Caryatids as integral structural elements within the architecture of the Erechtheum is also poorly represented in the manner of their current museological display in Athens.

http://www.jcms-journal.com/articles/10.5334/jcms.130/

Giovanni Battista Lusieri, an Italian painter born in Rome in 1755, followed the 7th Lord Elgin to Greece and remained in Athens until his death on 1 March 1821. During his 20-year stay in the city of Athens, he organized and completed the removal of the Parthenon Marbles and carried out extensive excavations, which were not widely known. Recent study of the Elgin archive has revealed part of his activity.

მოცემული თემის მიზანია მაღალი, ძველი კლასიკისა და ელინისტური ეპოქების პართენონის - კენტავრომახია, ჰალიკარნასოსის მავზოლეუმის - ამაზონომახია და პერგამონის საკურთხევლის - გიგანტომახიის შედარება.
ეს თემა ერთ-ერთი უმნიშვნელოვანესია ძველი ბერძნული ცივილიზაციის შესწავლისას, რადგან ქანდაკება, ისევე როგორც სახვითი ხელოვნება მთლიანად ასახავს იმ პერიოდის ისტორიას და ცხოვრებას. ამას გარდა ძველი ბერძნული ქანდაკებების შესწავლა, რაც შეიძლება უკეთ გვაძლევს საშუალებას მათი მსოფლმხედველობის, ფილოსოფიის, ესთეტიკური იდეალებისა და მისწრაფებების გაგებას. ქანდაკებაში, ისე, როგორც არსად სხვაგან, მჟღავნდება დამოკიდებულება ადამიანთან, რომელიც ძველ საბერძნეთში ყველაფრის საზომი იყო.

Egyptian blue was extensively used throughout the areas surrounding the Mediterranean from early dynastic Egypt until after the Roman Empire ended. A new, easily applied, technique to detect and map this pigment has been developed that takes advantage of its very strong photo-induced infrared luminescence. Using this method, single particles of pigment can be detected, even when concealed by layers of discoloured organic binding media, varnishes or inorganic patinas. A survey of sculptures, friezes, mosaics and wall paintings from the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean and the Middle East has revealed expected and unexpected occurrences of Egyptian blue and rediscovered lost decorative patterns. This technique not only offers information on the manufacture, decoration and condition of the object, but also provides an opportunity to map the use of Egyptian blue both geographically and temporally. These new perspectives on ancient polychromy can help to inform future preservation strategies and conservation treatments that take this new information into account. ÖZET Mısır mavisi özellikle Akdeniz çevresinde, Mısır'daki erken hanedanlık döneminden itibaren Roma İmparatorluğu yıkılana kadar kullanılmıştır. Bu boyanın kullanımını saptamak için geliştirilen ve radyoaktif ışıkla in-düklenen luminesans tekniği sayesinde, organik yapıştırıcılar, vernik veya inorganik patina tarafından örtülmelerine rağmen pigmentler taneciklerine kadar saptanabilmektedirler. Orta Doğu ve Akdeniz kültürlerine ait olan duvar resmi, mozaik, friz ve heykeller üzerinde yapılan bir çalışma, Mısır mavisinin kullanılmış olduğu eserleri ortaya çıkararak, kaybolmuş olan süsleme örneklerinin yeniden keşfedilmesini sağlamıştır. Eserlerin yapım teknikleri, üzerlerindeki betimlemeler ve korunma seviyeleri açısından bilgi veren bu teknik, aynı zamanda Mısır mavisinin kullanılmış olduğu coğrafyayı da aydınlığa çıkartır. Antik polikrami konusunda bu teknikle elde edilen yeni bilgi-lerin, geleceğe yönelik koruma stratejileri ve konservasyon çalışmaları açısından çok faydalı olacağı düşünülmektedir.

With empirical touchstones from Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, the authors argue that heritage and property represent different approaches to subject formation, produce distinct bodies of expertise, and belong to different rationalities of government in a global patrimonial field: that cultural property is a technology of sovereignty, part of the order of the modern liberal state, but cultural heritage is a technology of reformation that cultivates responsible subjects and entangles them in networks of expertise and management. While particular case trajectories may shift back and forth from rights-based claims and resolutions under the sign of cultural property to ethical claims and solutions under the sign of cultural heritage, the authors contend that there is significant analytical purchase to be gained from their distinction. Using a critical, comparative approach, they make the case for a historically grounded and theoretically informed understanding of the difference between the two terms.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/patrimonialities/CC234296DD9DB19C2C902CE31CDA0C4A

Since transcending architecture is fundamentally an action or event (not some esoteric, idealist construct deduced from dogma or philosophy), understanding what it really means to ‘transcend architecture’ demands a serious and detailed study of its experiential nature. And what better way to do this than by investigating one of the most well known yet less probed transcending experiences of architecture ever recorded: the extraordinary encounter of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (who was to become Le Corbusier a few years later) with the Parthenon in September 1911.

This chapter offers a thorough phenomenological examination of the event and delivers an array of new insights on the psychological, physical, and spiritual dimensions of the architectural numinous. It also demonstrates the power that such extraordinary moments may have in one’s life, not to mention the importance of this particular one in the architectural disciplines given the stature of Le Corbusier — arguably the most influential architect of 20th Century.

Form and function of light in architecture between Antiquity and the Fifteenth Century, through the analysis of the texts of Pausanias, Vitruvius, Pliny the Elder, Julian of Ascalon, Isidore of Seville, Pius II Piccolomini, Leon Battista Alberti and Antonio Manetti.

Το αρχαίο Ελληνικό πνεύμα, ακτινοβολώντας την υπεροχή της καλοκαγαθίας, δίδαξε τον τρόπο με τον οποίο ο ανθρώπινος νους μετατρέπει τη σύλληψη της ιδέας σε έργο απαράμιλλου κάλλους και τη διαδικασία κατά την οποία τα πάντα κατασκευάζονται με μέτρο την ανθρώπινη φύση και τις ανάγκες που διέπουν τη θνητή αλλά αξιοθαύμαστη υπόστασή μας. Οι προσωπικότητες εκείνες μελέτησαν τον άνθρωπο και τον τοποθέτησαν στο κέντρο, αναζητώντας την αλήθεια και την ομορφιά. Και στον τομέα της Τέχνης, ύψωσαν το ανάστημά τους για να αντιμετωπίσουν ζητήματα διαχρονικά και ψυχοφθόρα, δοκίμασαν να πλησιάσουν το θείο και να το δοξάσουν, εντοπίζοντας στο πρόσωπο της ανώτερης δύναμης το ανθρώπινο πρόσωπο και τα θνητά μα λαμπρά πάθη.
Ο Παρθενώνας της αθηναϊκής Ακροπόλεως είναι ένα αμάλγαμα λογικής, ελευθερίας, ομορφιάς, σοφίας και ευγενούς μεγαλείου, ό, τι ακριβώς και εξέπεμπε η αθηναϊκή δημοκρατία του 5ου αιώνα π. Χ. Είναι το επιστέγασμα της ελληνικής σκέψης, ο φορέας όλων εκείνων των γνωρισμάτων που επιβίωσαν μέχρι τις ημέρες μας και απετέλεσαν τα θεμέλια της δυτικής σκέψης. Μα πιο πολύ είναι μια ταπεινή κατά βάθος προσπάθεια να προσεγγίσει ο μικρός άνθρωπος τη θεία υπόσταση και να διερευνήσει την ίδια του την ψυχή, να κατανοήσει τις καταβολές και τις θαυμαστές του ικανότητες. Είναι η απόλυτη απόπειρα συγκερασμού κάθε καλλιτεχνικού στοιχείου σε ένα οικοδόμημα διόλου άψυχο, αλλά φορτωμένο με τα ιδανικά ενός ευγενούς ατόμου που έχει στόχο την αυτοπραγμάτωση και την εκπλήρωση της επίγειας αποστολής του.
Η ανέγερση του οικοδομήματος, στα πλαίσια του οικοδομικού προγράμματος της Ακροπόλεως υπήρξε κοπιώδης, με μεγάλη έμφαση στις λεπτομέρειες. Ωστόσο, το αποτέλεσμα δικαιώνει κάθε κόπο που καταβλήθηκε, μιας και ο ναός αυτός συνιστά το υπέρτατο και διαχρονικότερο σύμβολο της χώρας μας παγκοσμίως. Σε αυτή τη μικρή επιστημονική εργασία θα προσπαθήσουμε να διερευνήσουμε έναν από τα πολυάριθμα ζητήματα που αφορούν το σπουδαία ναό της Αθηνάς Παρθένου. Πρόκειται για τις οπτικές εκλεπτύνσεις (διορθώσεις-refinements) στις οποίες προέβησαν οι Ικτίνος και Καλλικράτης, αρχιτέκτονας και εργολάβος του Παρθενώνα αντιστοίχως, ώστε να διορθώσουν ορισμένες οπτικές πλάνες στις οποίες υποπίπτει αναπόφευκτα ο ανθρώπινος εγκέφαλος, υπό συγκεκριμένες συνθήκες. Αφού πρώτα εξετάσουμε μερικές βασικές πληροφορίες για το οικοδομικό πρόγραμμα και την ιστορία του ναού, θα περάσουμε σε μια πιο αναλυτική περιγραφή των αρχιτεκτονικών στοιχείων που το συνιστούν. Εν συνεχεία, θα μιλήσουμε για τις οπτικές πλάνες και θα διαμορφώσουμε ένα μικρό θεωρητικό υπόβαθρο για να κατανοήσουμε πώς το φαινόμενο εφαρμόζεται πάνω στο εξεταζόμενο αρχιτεκτονικό οικοδόμημα. Στο τέλος, θα μελετήσουμε τις πλάνες πάνω στον Παρθενώνα και θα παραθέσουμε δυνητικές ερμηνείες συμβολικού και μη χαρακτήρα για την εκούσια αντιστάθμισή τους.
Η εργασία αυτή εκπονήθηκε στα πλαίσια του προπτυχιακού μαθήματος Γνωστική Ψυχολογία Ι τον Ιούνιο του 2014.

The Elgin Marbles, nowadays known as the Parthenon Sculptures, are arguably the most controversial art collection in the world. It was exactly 200 years ago, in 1816, that the British Museum acquired the Elgin Marbles from lord Elgin, former ambassador to the Sublime Porte in Constantinople. The story behind Elgin's acquisition of the "Elgin Marbles" and the collection's path to England were paved with a series of (un)fortunate events. It vividly depicts the response from the contemporary public and the question of the legality of Elgin's actions. The Greek repatriation request for the Elgin Marbles is discussed within a larger context, as the author puts a spotlight on the so-called universal museums and the patronizing attempts of the large museums to avoid any sincere discussion about the repatriation requests.

An Ottoman Armenian dragoman (interpreter) active in Constantinople, Mouradgea d’Ohsson (1740–1807) traveled to Paris in 1784 to publish a historical overview of the Ottoman Empire. Writing in a fraught political context following the Russian defeat of the Ottomans, Ohsson forthrightly cast his publication as a defense of Islam and the Ottoman Empire. More than a textual apology, his illustrated book embodies a supreme act of cultural crossing. Written by an Ottoman, the book continues an Ottoman tradition of illustrated historiography, but it was published in French and produced by a large French team of artists and artisans of the book trade, who interpreted and transformed its Ottoman elements, creating a heterogeneous object. Borrowing the rhetorical concept of “markedness” from translation theory, I contend that, far from abandoning Ottoman conventions in order to embrace European idioms, Ohsson’s book bears signal traces of Ottoman culture, ones that were carefully preserved and even crafted by his French artist-translators.  Ohsson’s book bridges and blurs French and Ottoman cultures, suggesting their contingency and entanglement. Moreover, the process of making this book was itself a cultural encounter for those who were involved, an encounter whose traces remain visible in the final product for the viewer-reader to experience. The cumulative effect of these crossings is to see Ottoman and French forms as connected across a continuum of visual possibilities; the heterogeneity of Ohsson’s book served as an allegory of entanglement, interrelation, and alliance in the very moment when they were politically contested.

In this paper I will discuss recent observations on the structure of the Parthenon's Ionic frieze. As it will be shown, the study of the bonding system can shed light on the original form of the inner side of the cella walls and give us a new insight into the Parthenon's interior.

errata:  the word white in the captions of Figs. 7, 8, 10 be corrected as  light grey

Hellenomania, the second volume in the MANIA series, presents a wideranging, multidisciplinary exploration of the modern reception of ancient Greek material culture in cultural practices ranging from literature to architecture, stage and costume design, painting, sculpture, cinema, and the performing arts. It examines both canonical and less familiar responses to both real and imagined Greek antiquities from the seventeenth century to the present, across various national contexts. Encompassing examples from Inigo Jones to the contemporary art exhibition, documenta 14, and from Thessaloniki and Delphi to Nashville, the contributions examine att empted reconstructions of an 'authentic' ancient Greece alongside imaginative and utopian eff orts to revive the Greek spirit using modern technologies, new media, and experimental practices of the body. Also explored are the political resonances of Hellenomaniac fascinations, and tensions within them between the ideal and the real, the past, present and future. Part I examines the sources and derivations of Hellenomania from the Baroque and pre-Romantic periods, to the early twentieth century. While covering more canonical material than the following sections, it also casts spotlights on less familiar fi gures and sets the scene for the illustrations of successive waves of Hellenomania explored in subsequent chapters. Part II focuses on responses, uses, and appropriations of ancient Greek material culture in the built environment-mostly architecture-but also extends to painting and even gymnastics; it examines in particular how a certain idealisation of ancient Greek architecture aff ected its modern applications. Part III explores challenges to the idealisation of ancient Greece, through the transformative power of colour, movement, and of reliving the past in the present human body, especially female. Part IV looks at how the fascination with the material culture of ancient Greece can move beyond the obsession with Greece and Greekness.

This volume gathers together selected contributions which were originally presented at the conference 'Greek Art in Context' at the University of Edinburgh in 2014. Its aim is to introduce the reader to the broad and multifaceted notion of context in relation to Greek art and, more specifically, to its relevance for the study of Greek sculpture and pottery from the Archaic to the Late Classical periods. What do we mean by 'context'? In which ways and under what circumstances does context become relevant for the interpretation of Greek material culture? Which contexts should we look at-viewing context, political, social and religious discourse, artistic tradition. . .? What happens when there is no context? These are some of the questions that this volume aims to answer. The chapters included cover current approaches to the study of Greek sculpture and pottery in which the notion of 'context' plays a prominent role, offering new ways of looking at familiar issues. It gathers leading scholars and early career researchers from different backgrounds and research traditions with the aim of presenting new insights into archaeological and art historical research. Their chapters contribute to showcase the vitality of the discipline and will serve to stimulate new directions for the study of Greek art.

This article analyzes one of the most famous — and notorious — examples of iconoclasm in the classical world, the Persian sack of the Athenian Acropolis in 480 B.C.  It demonstrates that while the destruction of an enemy’s sanctuaries was commonplace in ancient warfare, the Acropolis sack took on paradigmatic significance as an example of ‘Oriental violence’ due to the manner in which it was commemorated.  To explore the evolution of this paradigm, I chart a series of Athenian responses to the Acropolis sack, beginning with the re-use of architectural fragments in the citadel walls and culminating in the sculptural program of the Periklean Parthenon.  I examine major Athenian monuments within a broader historical perspective and draw upon literary, archaeological, and artistic evidence to address questions of collective memory as well as the origins of Orientalism.