NOVA | Optical Tricks of the Parthenon | PBS

Ancient Greek architects were on to something when they built the Parthenon with subtle curves and no right angles. While it remains debatable, some scholars argue that these features were intended to counter the brain's tendency to see optical illusions. http://www.pbs.org/nova/parthenon

Watch "Secrets of the Parthenon" Tuesday, January 29 at 8pm ET/PT on PBS (check local listings). Or join us online at http://www.pbs.org/nova/parthenon

"Secrets of the Parthenon" is a Providence Pictures production for NOVA and WGBH Boston in association with Studio International and ARTE France. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Additional funding for "Secrets of the Parthenon" is provided by The Solow Art and Architecture Foundation.

To learn more, visit http://www.pbs.org/nova/parthenon

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• nova
• pbs
• science
• parthenon
• acropolis
• greece
• greek
• optical
• illusion
• architecture
• ruins

[MAKEDANOS]

She meant "literally" in a figurative sense. ;P

[JimmyTheGreek2000]

The so called Elgin Marbles now in the British Museum belong to the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens.

[IMayBeADreamer5]

@MingyaX3 ya..i am not quite so sure either

[mozeus5]

I watched this episode, it was good. I love documentaries like this. I noticed that overhead cranes were used to move segments of the columns around, some pieces that weigh 10 tons. My question is how did the Greeks that built the Parthenon get such large pieces up high to build the columns.

[tbrinley54]

Could it have been to drain the floor as well during rain?

[MingyaX3]

wait, how did the optical ilusion work with the parthenon, i still dont get it...(13 year old girl, dutch and needs info about the secrets/trics of the parthenon (HOMEWORK T^T))

[BrandonANDBrantonTV]

@squawk25 it's a meme.

[ColourH3AR7]

lol everytime they say Parthenon I think that they are saying parking lot

[gualo21]

@MrSlayer250 go to ray's channel and stay there.

[paraponon]

Except, Jimmy, if the marbles were returned to Greece they would not be put back on the Parthenon on the Acropolis, but would be put in the museum. I don't think any archaeologist in Greece agrees with your suggestion of placing them in the open on a building that can no longer hold them.

[oppenheimer12]

@MrSlayer250 You must be under a misapprehension. What do you mean?

[squawk25]

@MrSlayer250 fake and gay?

by far the stupidest thing ive ever heard