Pioneering Research Reveals How Darkness And Light Made The Parthenon Appear Divine

So, this raises a fascinating question that has occupied classical researchers for a long time: what was it like to stand in the Parthenon before the statue and how was it illuminated? Now a researcher from the University of Oxford has offered an answer to this mystery, using a multidisciplinary approach to reconstruct the ancient space along with its lighting. The outcome not only demonstrates how the interior was lit but also shows how light played a role in the spiritual experience of the temple.

The Parthenon was built between 447 and 432 BCE, and has long been considered “the refinement of refinement” in classical architecture. For centuries, historians have wondered how this incredible space was illuminated. For instance, Antoine Chrysostome Quatremère de Quincy, a French architect born in the 18th century believed that a building as large as the Parthenon had to rely on an opening in the roof to let in sufficient light. But not that long after, the architect James Fergusson argued that light entered the building through a set of windows on the roof level.

We now know that temples were dark, eerie spaces, filled with incense, with occasional singing, laden with treasures.

Dr Juan de Lara

The issue has mystified scholars to this day, but now Dr Juan de Lara, of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford, has shone new light on the problem (pun absolutely intended).

In his latest study, de Lara combined archaeology, 3D technology and optics – with support from University College London and The London Arts and Humanities Partnership – to simulate the lighting conditions in the temple. The 3D reconstructions and calculations were based on physical simulations of light and how it reflects off different surfaces. This has allowed him to precisely recreate how both natural and artificial lighting would have interacted with features of the Parthenon, especially the massive ivory and gold statue of Athena that was created by the Ancient Greek sculptor, Phidias, in 438 BCE.

De Lara’s reconstruction shows that light was a complex aspect that contributed to the sense of the divine being present in the space. The light that entered the Parthenon from roof openings and strategically positioned windows would have reflected and refracted off the finely polished marble and interior water basins to provide an effect that made the statue of Athena, bedecked in her golden attire, appear as though she were emerging from the darkness.

They were working with special FX in a sense.

Dr Juan de Lara

“If you look at most 3D visualisations or illustrations of the Parthenon interior around, you will see that they are often treated as highly illuminated, highly rational, pristine spaces, with unbroken daylight – the canonical structures of Western civilisation and European Enlightenment”, de Lara told IFLScience.

“Now this research shows this is not the case, in fact, such an image is a trope of past eras, projected onto ancient Greek realities. They are [a] remnant from a time in Europe, the 18th century, when architects and archaeologists thought that temples were white and had no colour. We now know that temples were dark, eerie spaces, filled with incense, with occasional singing, laden with treasures. And if you looked carefully, you would notice that emerging from that darkness, was the deity that resided therein.”

To achieve this incredible reconstruction, de Lara used state-of-the-art digital tools to recreate the temple’s structure, which also included a model of the statue of Athena, complete with surfaces that had precise material properties. This included light reflection indices.

de Lara was also able to calculate the sun’s position at various times of the day and year, based on values from the fifth century BCE. This allowed him to pretty much confirm that the interior was dark, a design intended to evoke and communicate reverence in a toned-down atmosphere.

But in addition to this, he also discovered that the temple’s position would have played an important role at the time of specific events. In particular, for several mornings at the time of the Panathenaic Festival, an elaborate religious festival to Athena that took place every four years, the rising sun would cast its rays through the door to the Parthenon and illuminate the statue which would have shimmered with its ivory and gold surface.  

“Imagine entering the Parthenon – your eyes, still weary from the bright sun outside, slowly adjusting to the gradual darkness within. As sunlight filters through the temple’s doorway, it strikes the gold of the goddesses’ robes with a luminous vertical beam. This was the effect the architects and Phidias intended to create. It must have been magical!” de Lara expressed in a press release emailed to IFLScience.

De Lara’s work clearly demonstrates that new rigorous methodologies that also utilize high-integrity computer-based 3D models, can provide answers to questions concerning “architecture, aesthetics, sensorial, and functional aspects of a building,” as he told IFLScience.

“Reconstructions and visualisations of buildings in the form of illustrations, elevations, maquettes or 3D models have all been used for decades to convey specific images of the past. In most cases these images are a side-support that accompany the written text. On other occasions they are used to disseminate basic concepts to large audiences. However, these replica models are hardly ever used for analytical purposes. So, in this sense we are some of the first to conduct experimental analyses of this type in a 3D space within the field of archaeology.”

Importantly, this work shows that a better understanding of the Parthenon’s interior layout can also provide new insights into the spiritual dimensions of ancient Greek religion and how architecture was used to elicit fear or awe.

“They were working with special FX in a sense,” de Lara added.

In contrast to what many of us might expect from a Classical temple, the experience appears to have been far more intimate and dark than previously believed, where visitors would have stood in an enclosed space that inspired reverence.

“Given that the Acropolis and the Parthenon are among the most visited monuments in the world, with over 3 million visitors per year, it becomes even more relevant to offer [people] a more complete image of the site. If visitors can carry a richer, more accurate vision in their minds, the encounter with the monument becomes far more meaningful,” de Lara explained.

Ultimately, this work demonstrates how humans are able to modify the spaces around them to create auras of sacredness and how light can essentially serve as a special effect. de Lara hopes his work and the images and videos created as part of this project will help inspire future generations.

“They might even spark the curiosity of the next archaeologist and lead to an exciting new discoveries,” he said.

More information on the project can be accessed here.

The paper is published in the Annual of the British School at Athens.