Chief architect of the Parthenon, the summit of Greek architecture
An architect of Athens in its Golden Age, chief designer of the Parthenon. This Doric temple to Athena is acknowledged as the perfect model of classical architecture. It looks all straight lines and right angles, yet hides countless subtle "optical corrections": the columns lean slightly inward, swell gently at the middle, and the base rises slightly at its center — all to correct the illusions of the eye, so the whole building appears to the viewer absolutely straight and harmonious. Ictinus built mathematics, proportion, and a deep understanding of human vision into every block of marble, setting the highest standard of "classical beauty" for Western architecture.
The Parthenon looks everywhere straight, horizontal and vertical, yet in fact it has almost no true straight line: the base arches slightly at the center, the columns lean inward and swell at the middle. These adjustments, barely perceptible to the eye, exist precisely to fool the eye’s illusions, making the building look "straighter than truly straight." Two thousand years ago, the Greeks already knew how to design for "how a person sees."
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.