Athenian Acropolis' impressive Arithmetic & ancient Leagues · 10:57am Jan 7th, 2019
The non-profit organization Khan Academy (a 501c3) uploaded the enclosed video examining the Parthenon of the Athenian Acropolis for its Smarthistory series:
How that structure's architects compensated for imperfect human eyesight via mathematics for both aesthetic purposes & function impressed me: through the awesome power of arithmetic, they adjusted the columns' spacing for visual density, the columns' width to demonstrate weight (entasis), the spacing of the triglyphs & metopes to maintain a Doric Order, the building's foundation to curve & allow rain-runoff, etc.
Furthermore, the Greek Delian League in the Mediterranean (which the narrators assert probably funded the Athenian Acropolis) reminded me of the European Hanseatic League in Northwestern & Central Europe; I learned of the latter whilst editing Metro 2033's wiki & reading about Hansa, the alliance of stations named after the Hanseatic League.
The Parthenon's longevity also intrigued me: it lasted over 2000 years (into the 17th Century/1600s), first as an ancient Greek temple to Athena temple before becoming an Greek Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, & (finally) an Ottoman mosque; then, it exploded after the Muslim Ottomans stored munitions in it as a gunpowder-magazine (against advisement since they previously damaged the Propylaea in the same way) & a Venetian mortor triggered the gunpowder's detonation.
