10. The Parthenon

After all the focus spent on analysis and and deconstruction, the one remaining element of true learning is creative synthesis. Nothing represents this idea better than the Parthenon. Completed in 432 BC, the giant marble structure was built by the greatest Greek artists and architects of the Athenian empire. Built under the direction of Pericles, the construction towered over Athens, representing the empire's power, supreme devotion to the gods, and the evolution of Greek learning during the Golden Age. It truly displayed a synthesis of Greek ideas from the overall appearance, to the very blocks themselves. The building was constructed according to a mathematical equation of beauty possibly developed by Pythagoras, the Golden Ratio, creating a sense of visual balance. It included many forms of sculpture, from the giant statue of Athena it housed, to the friezes and pediment sculptures that adorned it. Interestingly, it was also designed so that, when viewed from a distance, it would appear perfectly straight and symmetrical, a feat that forced the engineers to create a series of optical illusions: “The peristyle columns are over ten meters tall, and incline slightly towards the center of the building at the top (about 7 cm), while the platform upon which they rest bows on a gentle arc which brings the corners about 12 cm closer to the ground that the middle” (“The Parthenon”). Similarly, the columns themselves are slightly wider toward the edges of the building, to compensate for the background light that would have caused them to appear narrower. This forced each marble block to be shaped and carved individually. The amount of engineering, care, and artistry that accompanied the production of a single stone was a monumental feat in and of itself. Then each piece was then carefully molded and joined to its neighbors without the use of mortar, creating a seamless structure, beautifully complete and timelessly whole. In the same manner, our learning must cease to be compartmentalized, each aspect joining together to create a single system of understanding that defines us as an apprentice of creativity. It is not enough to carefully craft a single idea or a single philosophy. It is only by learning to apply that piece to the entirety of our being, interweaving science, artistry, logic, craftsmanship, religion, and conviction, that we are truly able to learn and create.