Athena
Athena, 2020
Humanity Meets the Divine
Merle E.
The Parthenon at the Acropolis was a constant reminder to the ancient Athenians of things beyond the visible. The Parthenon was built at the highest point of Athens to be visible far and wide to represent greater forces ruling the world and the universe. The ideals of truth and beauty were sought on more than visual planes—visual forms of beauty had to have intellectual and philosophical depth to be considered valuable. It was not aesthetic pleasures that ancient Greeks were seeking but the essence of things they represented and pointed to. In their quest for beauty and harmony, the ancient Greeks understood that there are changeless principles and rules underlying the visible order of things. One of the greatest thinkers of the ancient Greece—Plato—introduced new ways of thinking about life, humanity, and the divine to guide the humanity in its search for truth, beauty, and goodness. Plato reasoned that ultimate reality is beyond the visible and unalterable but it takes reasoning and contemplation to come to understand the governing laws of the universe. Plato observed that there are different levels of knowledge that correspond with different levels of societal classes and each individual’s ability to control the three levels of the soul. Knowledge presents in different levels and can be cultivated by intellectual pursuits that ultimately lead to the One that governs the world through perfect Forms or the Blueprint for all that human beings can but imitate in various forms. The experience of this world is intertwined with illusions and perceptions of reality as illustrated by the Divided Line, which is a tool for analyzing different forms and their imitations.
Ancient Greeks’ pursuit to find and emanate perfect beauty and truth led to inventing more advanced ways to express harmonious aesthetics. Ancient mathematicians invented ratios that underlie perfect proportions. The Parthenon was built in mid 400s BCE in dedication to the goddess Athena—a goddess of reason, wisdom, and intellect. The Parthenon was designed by masterminds Phidias (sculptor), Iktinos (architect), and Kallikrates (architect). The golden ratio established perfect proportions between the elements of design to give the goddess of intellect a worthy earthly home. Optical illusions were employed to achieve perfect balance and harmony. The Parthenon housed a 40ft statue of Athena Parthenos, the Virgin Goddess. Athena Polias was another temple dedicated to Athena Polias (Goddess of the City aspect of Athena). Athena Nike was a temple dedicated to the Athena Nike (Victory) aspect of Athena. These three aspects of goddess Athena could be viewed as corresponding to different aspects of the soul as proposed by Plato. The rational part of the soul was considered the highest because of its intellectual virtues and the ability to harmonize other less advanced parts of the soul. Athena Parthenon and her house the Parthenon have the highest level of prominence to represent the highest reality—the One—and its purity. The Parthenon is a symbol of truth and the highest level of the soul which is able to reach the divine through intellect. Athena Polias corresponds with the spirited part of the soul that resides in the chest and heart where feelings can be found. The spirited part of the soul corresponds with practical and sound affairs of this life associated with honor, loyalty, ambition, pride, and happiness. Athena Nike is the opposite of the characteristics of the appetitive part of the soul that is located in the stomach or groin area associated with basic needs like a need for food, clothing, and shelter, however, to rise above being consumed by only pursuing fulfillment of the basic needs, victory over the carnal is needed. All parts of the soul have strengths and weaknesses. The strength of the rational part of the soul is wisdom, but on the other side of the coin are pride and slothfulness. The strength of the spirited part of the soul is courage, but imbalance in this area expresses as anger and envy. The appetitive part of the soul is capable of temperance, but it could be overpowered by gluttony and lust. All parts of the soul need to be in balance to lead a happy and peaceful life. Only the rational part of the mind where decision making takes place can harmonize all parts of the soul emphasizing the importance of the rational intelligent aspect of the soul. Athena was a visual reminder and inspiration to ancient Athenians to pursue virtues she embodied.
According to Plato, the society and its classes correspond with different aspects of the soul. The rational aspect of the soul corresponds with the quest for knowledge, is crowned with wisdom, and is represented by philosophers who seek beauty and truth (the Guardians). The Warriors are noble and courageous individuals (soldiers and security providers) who are mostly dominated by the spirit aspect of the soul. The Producers are dominated by the appetitive part of the soul and their pursuits are mostly aimed toward material possessions and successful familial affairs (the majority of the population). Plato did not have the highest opinion of arts because arts are imitations of imitations that lead to illusions and serious deviations from the Reality and Truth. Artists created distortions like shadows and reflections and were on the lowest spectrum of the Divided Line—the realm of ordinary reality. Architects, on the other hand, deal with mathematics and reasoning, which places them closer to a true nature of things, the Forms. Everything that is perceivable in this world is an imitation of its perfect form. The further we are from the Divided Line, the more distorted the imitation gets. Parthenon was viewed a less distorted representation of true Reality because it was designed based on unchangeable principles of higher mathematics.
To summarize, the Parthenon is a masterpiece created to imitate the divine with minimal distortion of the Reality. The Parthenon symbolized divine truths and beauty found in perfect geometrical forms. Besides harmonious proportions and aesthetic beauty, the Parthenon was also a symbol and inspiration of goodness and perfection of the invisible Reality. The Parthenon symbolizes the society that built it and its understanding of knowledge, the soul, and the society in its different expressions and forms, and how a representation of the highest values can inspire mere mortals to rise to higher levels of earthly existence through contemplation and training, how humanity can meet the divine.
Veritas Series, November 2024
Ravenna, 2017