What Is the Parthenon Frieze?

The Parthenon is one of the most celebrated and recognisable buildings in the world, but what did it mean to the Ancient Greeks? What role did it play in Greek society? And what did it look like in its heyday? Together, Mary and Charlotte decode the Parthenon. 

By happy coincidence, Mary is not just co-host of Instant Classics, but author of Charlotte’s favourite book on the subject: The Parthenon (Profile/Harvard University Press, 2002).

In this episode, Mary and Charlotte pick their way through the stones of Parthenon, beginning with its construction in the middle of the 5th century BCE. The building work only took fifteen years (significantly faster than medieval cathedrals), but demanded a huge amount of labour, both enslaved and free. 

Today, the Parthenon looks austere, pale and hardly decorated. A simple monument from a simpler age, perhaps. But what we see bears little relation to what the Greeks saw - and the building, its function and decoration retain many mysteries. For instance… 

It was built as a temple to the city’s patron goddess Athena, but who was Athena and what exactly went on in a ‘temple’? 

We know that it was painted and covered in sculptures - some of which survive - but whether the painting was subtle or gaudy is hard to say, while the significance of some of the sculptures continues to elude us – some of it was hardly even visible from the ground. 

Inside, there were two rooms: one housed a giant, golden statue of Athena; the other was a treasury filled with riches. But where did all this loot come from and how was it guarded?  

Finally, if you are lucky enough to visit, what is the best time of day to go and – is it really worth it – or are you better off going to the beach? 

Find out the answer - or possible answers - to these questions in Decoding the Parthenon. 

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Mary and Charlotte’s recommended reads:

Sorry to repeat the recommendation for Mary’s book, The Parthenon. But there’s more.

You can find Pausanias’ second-century CE description of the temple in his Description of Greece I, 24, 5 ff (online here: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160:book=1:chapter=24)

And various criticisms of the project are noted (again in the second century CE) by Plutarch in his Life of Pericles chap. 31 (online here: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0055%3Achapter%3D31)

Even introductions to Greek religion for general readers can get pretty technical. There is a reasonably accessible discussion of the idea of the temple, in Simon Price, Religions of the Ancient Greeks (Cambridge, 1999).

Instant Classics handmade by Vespucci

Producer: Jonty Claypole 

Executive Producer: Natalia Rodriguez Ford

Video Editor: Jak Ford

Theme music: Casey Gibson

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