Module 3 Extra Credit II   Riddle: The Parthenon, and The Male Bee

Associate Professor Emeritus Bruce Schwabach

160 Module 3 Extra Credit II Riddle: The Parthenon, and The Male Bee

Class,

Look at everything here, you will learn a ton about architecture, Greek philosophy, the Parthenon, the Vietnam Memorial; and male bees.

Here is another extra credit assignment for the motivated few, or many.

IMPORTANT! Send the answer to the riddle to me in a Email. We will not be posting our answers to a forum. The idea being that each student can get a chance at gaining extra credit points.

Maya Lin’s Vietnam Memorial is essentially a sort of triangle bent in the middle like a wing. But it is also, like what in architecture is known as a pediment. The triangle at the end of Greek temples whose shape is created by the left, and right roof line.

In these pediments were sculptures, telling stories of Greek Gods, lots of horses, an occasional seer ( I see the future guy ); and importantly fallen soldiers.

There were a few rules in the competition for an architect to enter, to win the rights to build the Vietnam Memorial:

1. You had to include all of the names of service members who sacrificed their lives in the war.

2. Your design had to relate to other buildings in the area of the Washington Mall. In this area are buildings such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial; and of course the Washington Monument.

The Lincoln Memorial is a Greek Temple, but in place of the Goddess Athena, we have President Lincoln.

Now you can understand how Maya Lin fulfilled both of these rules, creating a Pediment shape, and as the Parthenon, includes warriors who have given their lives.

The following websites deal with the Parthenon, and the geometry that the Greeks found sacred.

Pythagoras founded the Pythagorians. These two sites deal with explaining math, and physics connected to the Pythagorians.

http://www.math.tamu.edu/~dallen/history/pythag/pythag.html

http://physics.ucr.edu/~wudka/Physics7/Notes_www/node32.html

Here are videos dealing with Parthenon sculptures:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip6hmC2KIug Parthenon Frieze

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWDflkBZC6U

Remember 8th grade geometry, and the Greek math guy, Pythagoras?

Remember the Theorem with his name:

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/science/math/pythagoras.htm#!

http://www.goldennumber.net/parthenon-phi-golden-ratio/

PBS Nova program “Secrets of the Parthenon”