Parthenon[edit]
The Parthenon is a temple dedicated the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis. It is contended that Phidias, the main Greek sculptor in charge of decorating the Parthenon, also knew about the golden ratio and its aesthetic properties. In fact, the Greek symbol for the Golden Ratio is named Phi (φ) because of Phidias.[12] The golden rectangle, a rectangle whose length to width ratio is the golden ratio and considered the most pleasing to the eye, is almost omnipresent in the façade and floor plans of the Parthenon. The entire façade may be enclosed within a golden rectangle.[13] The ratio of the length of a metope and triglyph to the height of the frieze, as well as the height of the columns and stylobate to the entire height of the temple is also the golden ratio. Phidias himself constructed many Parthenon statues that meticulously embody the golden ratio.[14] Phidias is also notable for his contributions to the Athena Parthenos and the Statue of Zeus. As with the Pyramids however, more recent historians challenge the purposeful inclusion of the golden ratio in Greek temples, such as the Parthenon, contending that earlier studies have purposefully fitted in measurements of the temple until it conformed to a golden rectangle.