DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.796#0156
126
THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS
sculpture. These we shall discuss later on. That it was
the original intention of the builders to adorn the pediments
with statuary is shown by the presence of pieces of iron
bars and clamps fastened in the marble blocks of the gable
and intended to support and hold in place the larger pieces
of sculpture. Upon the apex of the gable stood on a marble
basis a large carved ornament in the form of an anthemion,
an akroterion as it is technically known, while the corners
Fig. 54.—Head of Lion on Cornice of Parthenon.
were embellished probably with golden or bronze jars or
tripods. The roof construction of the Parthenon cannot be
definitely determined in every detail, since few remains of
ancient Greek temples show any sure indications of the original
roof structure, and there is therefore every reason to believe
that its material was largely of a perishable nature. There
is every reason to believe that the roof was borne by
wooden beams and rafters on which rested the marble tiles.
The opinion held by some that these tiles were of Parian
rather than Pentelic marble, because the superior trans-
THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS
sculpture. These we shall discuss later on. That it was
the original intention of the builders to adorn the pediments
with statuary is shown by the presence of pieces of iron
bars and clamps fastened in the marble blocks of the gable
and intended to support and hold in place the larger pieces
of sculpture. Upon the apex of the gable stood on a marble
basis a large carved ornament in the form of an anthemion,
an akroterion as it is technically known, while the corners
Fig. 54.—Head of Lion on Cornice of Parthenon.
were embellished probably with golden or bronze jars or
tripods. The roof construction of the Parthenon cannot be
definitely determined in every detail, since few remains of
ancient Greek temples show any sure indications of the original
roof structure, and there is therefore every reason to believe
that its material was largely of a perishable nature. There
is every reason to believe that the roof was borne by
wooden beams and rafters on which rested the marble tiles.
The opinion held by some that these tiles were of Parian
rather than Pentelic marble, because the superior trans-