Reading Comp. No. 2, quest. 4

the Parthenon as seen in Roth on page 238

the Temple of Amon-Ra as seen in Harwood on page 58

In IAR 222 we have discussed the idea that as humans we are always using past civilizations as prototypes in order to create and/or better new ones. By comparing temples from both Egypt and Greece this idea of Egypt being a prototype for Greek civilization, will appear while also making note of their differences. I chose to compare the Parthenon to the Temple of Amon-Ra. These two structures are similar in many ways. They are, first of all, both religious structures built in honor of a deity. The first honors the goddess of war, Athena, and the second honors the Egyptian sun god Ra.

These two buildings are also similar in layout, both making use of axial progression to enhance the sense of making a journey. It is at the end of this central axis that a statue of monumental size is placed honoring the deity for which it is built. The construction system used to build these temples is the post and lintel system. Although the Greeks made use of this system in a way that corrected optical illusions in order to achieve the look of perfection. Thus creating what was thought to be the most ideal building in the world. This can be seen in the way they spaced the columns closer together at the corners to create the illusion of perfect symmetry.

On the other hand, the columns in the hypostyle hall in Amon-Ra are spaced more closely together to filter out light because darkness was considered sacred (Harwood, pg.55). Columns also served as a permanent source for stories of kings past. In this same sense, the columns of the Parthenon also tell a story. They tell a story of ancient trees used in sacrifice rituals to the goddess. These two polytheistic cultures also differ in the way they portray their stories. They both make use of painted and carved figures. The figures in the Parthenon are sculpted and appear in realistic perfection, while the figures in the temple of Amon-Ra are more stylized, flat, and permanent. These stories in both structures are also arranged in horizontal bands. In Egypt the bands are wrapped around the columns, and in Greece they are found around the friezes, and on the tympanum.

As sacred spaces, access was only permitted to a select view. In Egypt only priests and pharaohs could enter the chamber of the god, but a chosen few could enter the hypostyle hall. In Greece only the priests could enter the temple. Between Greece and Egypt, Greece was the only one to plan out the arrangement of its building complexes. Egypt just kept adding as time went on.

So as you can see, the Greeks in their inventiveness and willingness to change have adapted Egyptian architecture in order to better suit their needs and culture.