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  • Essay / The Parthenon of Athens: shape, location, layout

    Shape The Parthenon of Athens was built in the style of the ancient Greek Doric order, while the Temple of Apollo at Didyma was built in the ionic order. This differentiation was due to location and time period: for example, the Parthenon was built in mainland Greece between 447 and 438 BC, while the Temple of Apollo was built in 300 BC in Asia Minor. This caused the two temples to exhibit differences in style and form. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay The Parthenon shows Doric properties, for example the columns are thick and short and few decorations or details are displayed on the capital . Due to the Temple of Apollo exhibiting Ionic properties, the columns are much thinner, they have volutes (spiral scroll on the capital) and the quantity of columns is much greater. The Parthenon columns also rest directly on the temple platform, this is due to their thickness and height. However, since the Temple of Apollo has tall, slender columns, they must rest on a rectangular base. Location/SiteThere is also variation in the foundations and location of the temples, the Parthenon was designed to be seen and admired from afar, therefore it is located on high ground, on the other hand the Temple of Apollo is located on a flat ground, this means that a higher base is necessary to give the same impression of grandeur. LayoutAs the Parthenon is a Doric temple, it features a rectangular floor plan with a series of steps surrounding the outer perimeter, columns are then located around the periphery of the space. The columns are used to support the roof of the structure, 6 columns are also positioned at the entrance to the temple. The interior consists of 2 central rooms, the larger room is used as an inner sanctuary while the smaller serves as a treasury (Reed.edu, nd). The Temple of Apollo has more steps to climb before reaching the temple, 7 in total, compared to the Parthenon's 3 (En.wikipedia.org, 2018). Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper from our expert now. writers.Get Custom Essay The Temple of Apollo also has more columns spread around the perimeter of the space and doubles the number of rows along the side of the temple. The interior of the Temple of Apollo has no roof, but there is a large open sanctuary which is accessed by two passages leading down into darkness, this opens onto the sunlit inner sanctuary (Penelope.uchicago.edu, n.d.). This shows that although both temples are used as a religious monument, the use of space is different, this is because the Parthenon provides internal space for religious activities while the Temple of Apollo provides space external..