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THE BUILDING OF THE PARTHENON

The building of the Parthenon was especially drafted to correct an optical illusion. As a matter of fact, our sight distorts the reality of the horizontal and vertical lines. To make up for this flaw, the columns are slightly biased towards the inside and their bases are a little convex. (the curve is, in fact, used to give the illusion of a straight line). For the same aesthetic reason, the columns at each angle, on account of their isolated position, possess diameters, slightly wider that the others.
Click on the left part of the frieze to visualize the detail of the west façade..