Over spring break, I visited the Parthenon in Nashville, TN. This place was HUGE! I know I’m a little guy, but I felt tiny compared to the statue of Athena. Here are some facts that I gathered while on my trip.
• Nashville's Athena stands 41'10" tall, making her the largest piece of indoor sculpture in the Western World.
• The statue of Nike in Athena's right hand stands 6'4" tall.
• There are eleven snakes represented on Athena's breastplate, bracelets and belt.
• The Athena Parthenos in the ancient Parthenon was considered the greatest achievement of Pheidias, the most acclaimed sculptor of ancient Greece.
• The Parthenon in Athens was carved out of Pentelic marble and it took the Greeks approximately 10 years to construct the building, 447-438 B.C.
• Nashville's Parthenon was created from brick, stone, structural reinforced concrete, and cast concrete aggregate. It took the City of Nashville nearly 10 years to build their Parthenon, 1921-1931.
• All horizontal architectural elements arch slightly in the center. This means there are no true straight horizontal lines in the Parthenon. These architectural refinements made the Parthenon look alive and flawless to the human eye. This curvature is repeated in Nashville's Parthenon.
• The Parthenon is 65 feet high at its apex.
Historically, the ancient Greeks established many of the fundamental laws and theorems in math and science. Here are some fun facts about Greek Mathematicians.
Pythagoras (c.570-490 B.C.) Greek philosopher and founder of a prestigious school, he explored the relationship of mathematics and music, developed the “theory of means” connecting math with harmony, and advanced his famous “Pythagorean Theory.”
Euclid (3rd century B.C.) The most famous Greek mathematician and physicist, he was author of several books including The Elements.
Archimedes (287-212 B.C.) Developed the method of exhaustion by which he was able to compute areas and volumes to any desired accuracy. His many inventions included the screw and the catapult.
Erastosthenes (c. 276-195 B.C.)
Greek mathematician, astronomer, and geographer who developed the technique for computing the earth’s circumference and compiled a star catalog.
