September 3, 2023 - Nashville, TN
Parthenon
I looked on Trip Advisor's Things To Do for Nashville and one of the things that popped up was The Parthenon in Centennial Park, Nashville. It's the world's only full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens, Greece. So of course we had to check it out.
The Parthenon replica and built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. It was designed by architect William Crawford Smith.
Originally built of plaster, wood, and brick, none of the buildings created for the Exposition was meant to last longer than six months. But the cost of demolishing the Parthenon structure combined with its popularity with residents and visitors alike resulted in it being left standing after the Exposition. All of the other buildings and exhibits were dismantled.
Within the next 20 years, weather caused deterioration of the landmark. Starting in 1920 it was rebuilt on the same foundations, using concrete. The exterior was completed in 1925 and the interior in 1931
Construction of the Parthenon (447-438 BCE) involved extracting large pieces of marble— some weighing 11-15 tons— from nearby Mt. Pentelikon. Selection of pieces was based on a variety of criteria including the location and distance between fissures, which limit the size of extractable marble and recognition of the mason’s secret - the ability to detect the ease of difficulty of splitting the stone in a given direction.
Work began in 447 BC, and the building was substantially completed by 432 BC. Work on the decorations continued until at least 431 BC. The Parthenon was built primarily by men who knew how to work marble. These quarrymen had exceptional skills and were able to cut the blocks of marble to very specific measurements.
A sledge roller system was used to remove the selected pieces from the quarry where they were then loaded onto ox-drawn carts for the 10 mile trip from the Mt. Pentelikon quarry to the Acropolis. There, mule teams transported the marble along an incline to the construction site nearly 500 feet above the city.
The Nashville Parthenon's permanent collection includes 14 casts of the original Parthenon Marbles that were purchased in the 1920s from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The casts were molded from the remaining fragments of the Parthenon Marbles housed in London and represent some of the most celebrated sculptures in the history of classical art. They have been on display in Nashville since 1931.
The East pediment— above the ancient entrance to the temple— depicts the dramatic story of the birth of Athena who sprang as a fully grown warrior from the head of her father, Zeus. The pediment shows Nike, the goddess of Victory, flying to place the victor’s wreath on Athena’s helmet, thus commemorating Greece’s recent real-time defeat of the Persians and making the Parthenon a votive, or offering of thanks, to their patron goddess.
All the central figures between Iris on the left and Hestia on the right were removed during the conversion of the Parthenon to a Christian church after the 6th century CE. It is almost impossible to know exactly how many figures representing which gods and goddesses were in the original grouping, and scholars often propose new arrangements and identifications. This version is one of several acceptable interpretations of the 1920s.
The two outermost figures are Helios and Selene, the deities of the sun and the moon. They are shown with the horses that pulled their chariots across the sky, suggesting that the birth of Athena occurred at dawn: a time when both the sun and the moon are visible.
Below is a picture from Wikipedia showing The West pediment— the side most visible when ascending the Athenian Acropolis— depicts the contest between Athena and her uncle Poseidon to determine who would become the patron Greek god of Athens. Each deity offered the city a gift. Poseidon struck the rock with his trident and a saltwater spring arose, representing a powerful navy and prosperous sea trade. Athena struck the rock with her spear and an olive tree sprang up, representing olives, wood, and oil. The citizens felt that Athena’s gift was more valuable and voted to make her their patron goddess and protector of Athens.
Inside the Parthenon is the monumental statue of Athena Parthenos, sculpted by Phidias and dedicated in 439 or 438 BC. The appearance of this is known from other images.
In Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and the useful art, and the protector of cities. The statue of Athena Parthenos was the primary focus of the ancient Parthenon. Phidias' statue was hailed as a masterpiece, the crown jewel of all the ornamentation on the temple.
Pheidias, the greatest sculptor of classical antiquity, constructed the Athena Parthenos statue on a wooden framework with carved ivory for skin and a gold wardrobe. The statue was unveiled and dedicated in 438 or 437 BCE, according to the building accounts of the temple. Other sources are equally important. For example, there are ancient authors, such as Pausanias, who referred to the Athena statue in writings. Athena appears on Athenian coins of the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Later, Romans copied the statue in small-scale and different materials. Even today on the Acropolis, you can see the outline of Athena's base on the floor of the Parthenon. All this information was used in the making of the below replica.
The colossal statue of Athena from ancient times was not included in the 1920's Parthenon. In 1982, the City of Nashville commissioned a talented local artist named Alan LeQuire to build a full-scale replica of the statue of Athena Parthenos.
LeQuire, a Nashville native, began his journey by researching the Athena statue of antiquity. What we know about the Athena statue from the ancient Parthenon is somewhat limited. The gold and ivory statue was lost by 400 CE. Historical documentation is brief, but does exist. LeQuire also depended on modern classical scholars, including esteemed archaeologists Dr. Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway and Dr. Evelyn Bryd Harrison, for the most recent archaeological information.
After exhaustive research, Alan LeQuire created two small-scale versions of the statue out of clay. First, he created a 1:10 clay model. Later, he sculpted a 1:5 scale model. From this later model, LeQuire spent about three years enlarging and casting the full-size Athena Parthenos. Athena was cast out of gypsum cement in many molds and assembled inside the Parthenon. Each section was attached to a steel armature for support.
The Athena statue was constructed from 1982 to 1990. It stood in the Nashville Parthenon as a plain, white statue for 12 years. In 2002, the Parthenon gilded Athena with Alan LeQuire and master gilder Lou Reed in charge of the project. The gilding project took less than four months and makes Athena appear that much closer to the ancient Athena Parthenos. In addition to gilding, the project included painted details on her face, wardrobe, and shield.
LeQuire's statue is covered in 23.75 k of gold leaf and painted to resemble ivory.
At bottom right is Athena's sacred nake, thought to symbolize the people of Athens who, like this creature of the earth, arose "from the soil of Attica".
The armored breast plate Athena wears on her shoulders is said to have magical powers. Given to her by Zeus, the aegis makes her impervious to her enemies' weapons. In the center of the breastplate is the Medusa's head given by Persius in return for Athena's help in killing the Medusa.
At right is Athena's brighly painted shield, indicating her role in defending the people of Athens from harm.
Lynnette standing next to the Parthenon's Gryphon which has the head and wings of an eagle, and the body and tail of a lion. In legend, gryphon's were referred to as the hounds of Zeus.
Gryphon statues like this were on the four corners of the Parthenon's roof.
