Ictinus

Architect

Flourished: Fifth century b. c.e.; Athens Also known as: Iktinos Category: Art and architecture

Life Very little is known about the life of Ictinus (ihk-TI-nuhs), an architect who worked in Athens during the time of Pericles (c. 495-429 b. c.e.). Ancient sources attribute three buildings to him. The first is the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis (447-432 b. c.e.), which Ictinus designed together with the architect Callicrates, under the general direction of the sculptor Phidias. The second is the great Telesterion, or Hall of Mysteries, at Eleusis (c. 430 b. c.e.). Ictinus was one of a series of architects associated with this frequently modified building. The third is the temple of Apollo at Bassae in Arcadia, where Ictinus is the only recorded architect. Ictinus also wrote a treatise (now lost), with a certain Carpion, about the design of the Parthenon—a work that probably addressed the revolutionary mathematical concepts underlying its design.

Influence Because of its monumental scale and many refinements as well as the innovative use of the Doric and Ionic orders and the remarkable design of the interior space, the Parthenon of Ictinus and Callicrates has inspired architects, artists, poets, and travelers since Roman times.

Further Reading

Beard, Mary. The Parthenon. London: Profile, 2002.

Cooper, Frederick A. The Architecture. Vol. 1. in The Temple of Apollo Bassitas. Princeton, N. J.: American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1992.

Dinsmoor, Anastasia N. “Iktinos.” In The Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan, 1996.

Neils, Jenifer, ed. The Parthenon: From Antiquity to the Present. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Winter, Frederick E. “Tradition and Innovation in Doric Design III: The Work of Iktinos.” American Journal of Archaeology 84 (1980): 399416.

Ann M. Nicgorski

See also: Art and Architecture; Callicrates; Parthenon; Phidias.