A Greek scholar namedPythagoras , who lived in the 5th century B.C.E. , has often been credited with let on one of history ’s most enduring mathematical conception : the golden ratio . It ’s also been called the golden mean , the golden section or the inspired balance , depending on who is using the term .
The golden proportion is usually assault off to 1.618 ( the bit theoretically repeats into infinity , like private eye ) . This figure is represented by phi , the 21st letter of theGreek alphabet . Phi can only be found by dividing a line segment into two office so that – stay with me here – the longer part ( a ) , when split by the brusk part ( bacillus ) , touch the whole length of the line when part by the prospicient part . For representative , a phi equality would look like this : a / b = ( a+b)/a = 1.618 . The number is interesting mathematically , but it also has a chronicle – disputed by some – of being applied to architecture , artwork and more .
The Greeks purportedly thought that the prosperous proportion was special because it repeatedly appear in nature , and because it was pleasing to the oculus . The golden proportion was even said to have been applied to the building of theParthenon , a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena , in 447 B.C.E. The Grecian mathematician and sculptor Phidias used the gilded proportion when design the Parthenon , which still tolerate on the Athenian Acropolis in Greece [ generator : Horn ] .
For one C , it was widely believed the Parthenon , with its appearance of balanced , straight melodic line , was also built according to the golden proportion . Only it was n’t . A reconstruction project that began in the eighties , designed to save the crumbling marble structure , revealed something else . Each of the G of pieces of the Parthenon was different , and there was nary a straight line among them . It actually meet together like a complex puzzler , with each part fitting only in its fussy blank .
Another proportion , however , does appear throughout most of the Parthenon , and it would also have met the Grecian sensibilities for harmonized proportion . For example , the Parthenon is 30.8 meters all-embracing and 69.51 meters farsighted ( 101 and 228 human foot , respectively ) . This equals a 4:9 ratio . This 4:9 ratio also is found in other parts of the construction , including the width of the Parthenon ’s front columns , and in the superlative of the façade to its width .
design and constructing the Parthenon was the combining weight of orchestrate a symphony , using many different cat’s-paw in perfect harmony . Although the majestic Parthenon was n’t build on the favourable ratio , the issue was n’t so different : It remains aesthetically pleasing [ reference : Nova ] .
