The Parthenon has long been regarded as one of the great architectural

Question

The Parthenon has long been regarded as one of the great architectural and artistic products of the High Classical Period. Yet, scholars have struggled to reach a consensus interpretation for the meaning of the Parthenon frieze. The study of this particular sculptural element of the Parthenon, a continuous band of sculpture that ran round the top of the building’s temple-chamber, has proven quite difficult.

Today only 423 feet of the original 524 survive, and of those, 247 feet are housed in the British Museum in London. Another large section is now in the Acropolis Museum in Athens, and still other pieces reside in exhibits throughout Europe, making it a difficult task to discuss, let alone experience the unified whole the designers wished the audience to witness—a key element in deciphering any work of art.

Denied the opportunity to study the frieze as it existed in antiquity, scholars are faced with the burden of reconstructing the visual experience of the monument before they can even begin interpreting it. To do so, an inventory is taken of characters and figure-types represented on the frieze and their arrangement. Then this inventory is compared to historical precedents and placed in its contemporary context in the hopes of using prior examples to decipher its meaning. Considering the various fragments of the Parthenon frieze as a whole and comparing it to other Greek artworks, two aspects of the arrangement immediately strike the  informed  viewer.

First, it is clear that the frieze is meant to be thought of as a continuous whole. This is particularly interesting because it is completely unprecedented in Greek art. Continuous friezes on the faces of Greek temples generally depicted single subjects, but if continued over all four sides of a building, the four stretches of the frieze would generally be thematically separate.

The second unique aspect of the Parthenon frieze has to do with the fundamental nature of Greek art: namely that all works of art prior to the Parthenon frieze depicted only scenes from myth and legend. Yet, in this relief, for the first time in the history of Greek art, we find mortals, leading some scholars to the conclusion that what is depicted is a specific event that actually took place at a particular time and place.    1 
 1. In the context in which it appears, the word “informed” ( Highlighted ) most nearly means

(A) assiduous
(B) artistic
(C) unique
(D) erudite
(E) scientific

2  
 2. Which of the following would be the best title for the above passage?

(A) The Parthenon Frieze: An Insoluble Sculptural Mystery
(B) The Parthenon Frieze and Methods of Artistic Interpretation
(C) The Parthenon Frieze: Idiosyncratic Stonework
(D) Mortals in Greek Art
(E) The Parthenon Frieze: Continuity of Character

3  
 3. According to the passage, each of the following is true about the Parthenon EXCEPT:

(A) It was constructed in the High Classical Period.
(B) It has been seen as a great work of art.
(C) It was featured on a temple-chamber.
(D) It is not known how it looked at the time of its construction.
(E) It contained a one-of-a-kind sculptural element.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

1. In the context in which it appears, the word “informed” (     Highlighted     ) most nearly means

Choice (A)  is wrong because  “assiduous”  means diligent, which is irrelevant here.

Choice (B)  is wrong because the people studying art do not have to be  “artistic.”

Choice (C)  is a trap built on the uniqueness of the Parthenon, but  “informed”  is not describing the Parthenon.

Choice (D)  is correct because  “erudite”  means knowledgeable, and knowledge would allow someone viewing the frieze to recognize its unique qualities.

Choice (E)  is wrong because this is a question of knowledge, not applying technical, or  “scientific,”  skills.

Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

2. Which of the following would be the best title for the above passage?

Choice (A)  is wrong because many of its characteristics have in fact been worked out.

Choice (B)  is wrong because the passage is not primarily about artistic interpretation.

Choice (C)  is correct because “idiosyncratic” is a synonym for unique, and the frieze is said to be unique in two ways.

Choice (D)  is incorrect because only one paragraph discusses the existence of mortals in the frieze and because this title is much too broad.

Choice (E)  is a trap: all sides of the frieze are continuous, not the individual characters. 
  
  Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

OE

3. According to the passage, each of the following is true about the Parthenon EXCEPT:

Choice (A)  is incorrect because the first sentence indicates that the Parthenon was constructed in the  “High Classical Period.”

Choice (B)  is incorrect because the same sentence says that the Parthenon was  “regarded as a great architectural and artistic product.”

Choice (C)  is incorrect because the frieze is said to have come from the  “temple-chamber”  of the Parthenon.

Choice (D)  is correct because the passage says only that it is  “difficult to study”  the frieze because not all of it survives  “today”  and the surviving parts are in different locations. This doesn’t necessarily mean that today’s scholars don’t know what the missing portions looked like at the time of construction (perhaps drawings of the Parthenon survive, for example).

Choice (E)  is incorrect because the frieze is described as  “unique”  and defined as a  “structural element”  of the Parthenon. 
  
  Answer: D

The Parthenon has long been regarded as one of the great architectural

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