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Blockchain
for Teens
With Case Studies and Examples of
Blockchain Across Various Industries
—
Brian Wu
Bridget Wu
Blockchain for Teens
With Case Studies and
Examples of Blockchain Across
Various Industries
Brian Wu
Bridget Wu
Blockchain for Teens: With Case Studies and Examples of Blockchain
Across Various Industries
Brian Wu Bridget Wu
Livingston, NJ, USA Livingston, NJ, USA
iii
Table of Contents
Understanding Cryptocurrency���������������������������������������������������������������������������39
Cryptocurrency Market����������������������������������������������������������������������������������40
What Is Crypto Volatility?�������������������������������������������������������������������������������42
Difference Between Coin and Token��������������������������������������������������������������47
Summary������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������49
iv
Table of Contents
v
Table of Contents
vi
Table of Contents
Audio�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������238
Digital Real Estate���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������238
Trading Cards����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������239
Video Game Items����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������240
Fashion��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������241
3D Models����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������241
Text��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������241
Domain Names��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������242
Examples of NFTs���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������244
Selling Points of NFTs���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������246
Scarcity�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������246
Authenticity�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������246
Easy to Use with Cryptocurrency�����������������������������������������������������������������246
Ownership���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������247
Permanence������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������247
Efficiency�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������247
Royalties������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������247
Cheap to Create�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������248
Creating Your Own NFT�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������248
NFT Market Place����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������253
OpenSea.io��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������255
Rarible���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������256
SuperRare����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������257
Foundation���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������258
Nifty Gateway����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������259
Axie Marketplace�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������260
NBA Top Shot Marketplace��������������������������������������������������������������������������261
vii
Table of Contents
Mintable�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������262
Larva Labs/CryptoPunks������������������������������������������������������������������������������263
The Future of NFT���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������263
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������265
viii
Table of Contents
ix
Table of Contents
Decentralized Insurance�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������379
Popular DeFi Insurance Platform�����������������������������������������������������������������381
Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������383
Index�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������419
x
About the Authors
Brian Wu holds a master’s degree in computer
science and is an author and senior blockchain
architect. Brian has over 20 years of hands-
on experience across various technologies,
including blockchain, DeFi, big data, cloud, AI,
system, and infrastructure. He has worked on
more than 50 projects in his career.
He has written several books, published
by O’Reilly and Packt, on popular fields within
blockchain, including Learn Ethereum (first
edition), Hands-On Smart Contract Development with Hyperledger Fabric
V2, Hyperledger Cookbook, Blockchain Quick Start Guide, Security Tokens
and Stablecoins Quick Start Guide, Blockchain By Example, and Seven
NoSQL Databases in a Week.
xi
About the Technical Reviewer
Imran Bashir has an MSc in information
security from Royal Holloway, University of
London. He has a background in software
development, solution architecture,
infrastructure management, information
security, and IT service management. His
current focus is on the latest technologies, such
as blockchain, IoT, and quantum computing.
He is a member of the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the
British Computer Society (BCS). He loves to write. His book on blockchain
technology, Mastering Blockchain, is a widely accepted standard text on
the subject. He is also the author of Blockchain Consensus, the first formal
book on the subject introducing classical, blockchain, and quantum
consensus protocols. He has worked in various senior technical roles
for different organizations around the world. Currently, he is living and
working in London, UK.
xiii
Acknowledgments
We thank everyone who made this book possible, including family and
friends who supported us, colleagues who encouraged us, and reviewers
and editors who polished our work.
xv
Introduction
Blockchain for Teens is a beginner-friendly guide for young people looking
to build a basic foundation in blockchain technologies. Similar to the
Internet in the 1990s, blockchain now promises to revolutionize the world
by reforming current business models. In this new era, economies will
become decentralized—a concept where every individual contributes
to and benefits from the network. Blockchain’s wide appeal comes from
its ability to ensure transparent, secure, and tamper-proof transactions
without the need for a central authority. With clear explanations covering
essential topics, including blockchain, cryptocurrency, cryptography,
Dapps, smart contract, NFTs, decentralized finance (DeFi), and the
Metaverse, Blockchain for Teens will help the reader develop various skills
to get them started on their Blockchain journey.
Chapter 1, “Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology,” will talk
about the basics of blockchain. First, we will discuss how the current
monetary system works and how blockchain technology impacts
money, business, and the modern world. Then we look into how a
blockchain works by going over each step in the transaction process and
the PoW and PoS consensus algorithms that form the backbone of the
blockchain. We continue with the evolution of monetary systems, from
barter to cryptocurrency. At the end of this chapter, we briefly introduce
cryptocurrency and some basic concepts of the crypto market.
Chapter 2, “Cryptography: The Backbone of Blockchain Security,” gives
a more thorough understanding of cryptography. This chapter will help
enrich your knowledge of symmetric key cryptography and asymmetric
key cryptography. You will also learn how digital signatures work.
xvii
Introduction
The chapter covers the hash algorithm, and we walk through elliptic curve
cryptography to understand how it works. At the end of this chapter, you
will learn how to generate an Ethereum address.
The main purpose of Chapter 3, “Bitcoin: The Future of Money,” is to
present a basic concept of the Bitcoin network. The chapter starts with a
discussion on the history of Bitcoin. Then we learn about the Bitcoin wallet
and Bitcoin network. Next, we also cover Bitcoin transactions to familiarize
you with the key concepts behind the Bitcoin blockchain. Lastly, we briefly
introduce Lighting Network.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, is
considered a distributed Turing machine machine–you’ll learn more
about what this means in the book. In Chapter 4, “Ethereum: A Gateway
to Cryptocurrency,” you will learn about the history of Ethereum as well
as the key components behind Ethereum. The chapter also goes over
Ethereum nodes and Ethereum clients while providing examples. By
delving into the Ethereum architecture, you will understand how the
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) works, how smart contract Opcode
is executed within the EVM, and the structure of the block, state, and
transactions in EVM.
The best way to understand how the Ethereum smart contract works
is to practice writing a smart contract and Dapps. Chapter 5, “Smart
Contracts and Dapps: From Theory to Practice,” will familiarize you with
smart contracts and Dapps through a hands-on learning experience. You
will write your first smart contract and deploy it to the public Ethereum
network. We also demonstrate the basics of Dapp and web3.js and
how Dapp interacts with smart contracts by connecting with the
Metamask wallet.
NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, represent the future of collectibles and
the expanding digital resource economy. NFTs will change not only art
but also business, finance, and culture as mainstream interest in NFTs
continues to grow. Chapter 6, “NFT: Crypto As Collectibles,” gives you a
xviii
Introduction
general introduction to what NFTs are. Along the way, you will learn the
applications of NFTs, the difference between fungible and nonfungible
items, and the selling points of NFTs. We also provide examples of NFTs
and cover the current NFT marketplace. By the end of this chapter, you will
create your own NFT in the OpenSea market.
Although the Metaverse is still in its early stages, it is rapidly gaining
more attention in recent years. The Metaverse will be a 3D Internet that
is based on new technologies including virtual reality (VR), mixed reality
(MR), augmented reality (AR), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI),
and the Internet of Things (IoT). Chapter 7, “Metaverse: The World
Reimagined,” will help you understand the basics of the Metaverse. We
will also discuss immersive technology. By exploring the different layers
of the Metaverse, we will learn about different products or services in the
Metaverse landscape, including NFTs and cryptos. By entering a virtual
blockchain world, you will experience the current stage of virtual real
estate in the Metaverse. At the end of this chapter, we provide an overview
of the future of the Metaverse.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) represents an innovative way to reshape
the global financial industry. Chapter 8, “Decentralized Finance (DeFi):
Reinventing Financial Services,” will introduce you to DeFi’s core concepts
and structure, as well as provide an in-depth look at specific products in
DeFi. We will discuss the most popular decentralized stablecoin and deep
dive into the Maker stablecoin to understand how it works. Later, we also
explore the most popular DEX—Uniswap. Finally, we provide a complete
walkthrough on how to deploy your own ERC-20 token in the public
blockchain, create a liquidity pool, add liquidity, swap your custom token,
and get a staking reward in the Uniswap platform. In the decentralized
lending and borrowing platform, we demonstrate how to lend, withdraw,
swap, borrow, and repay crypto assets in the Aave platform. We also
discuss decentralized insurance.
xix
Introduction
xx
CHAPTER 1
Blockchain:
A Groundbreaking
Technology
In recent years, there has been a rising number of Americans who own
cryptocurrency. Even among those who don’t, most Americans have heard
of cryptocurrencies—does “Bitcoin” sound familiar? If you have heard
about blockchain, but you are unsure of how it works, then do not worry;
you are not alone! Although blockchain may seem like an intimidating
topic at first, we are here to help you become familiar with important
concepts of blockchain.
This chapter will begin with the basics of blockchain. Then, we will
discuss how the blockchain works and gain a solid understanding of
consensus algorithms. Next, we will learn about the evolution of the
monetary system and how blockchain technology impacts money,
business, and the modern world. Finally, at the end of the chapter, we will
provide an overview of cryptocurrency.
In this chapter, we cover the following specific topics on blockchain:
• What is blockchain?
• Consensus algorithms
• Understanding cryptocurrency
What Is Blockchain?
At the heart of all cryptocurrencies, we can find the revolutionary and
decentralized technology known as blockchain. It’s important to be clear
about what we mean by decentralization, as this concept is frequently used
in blockchain. Let’s start by looking at the opposite of decentralization:
centralization is when authority is held by a specific individual,
organization, or location.
Figure 1-1 shows an example of a centralized organization.
2
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
3
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
4
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
5
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
sequentially on the rock after the traders complete and prove the trade,
which makes the system verifiable. This rock is accessible to everyone, so
anyone on the island can view and verify these transactions, which means
the system is transparent. If any records are mismatched, the islanders can
vote to verify the record, which gives everyone equal participating power.
The islanders also do not need to trust each other for this system to work;
they only need to visit the rock to look at the records instead of relying on
the “middle man,” which makes the system trustless. The islanders agree to
follow these rules that the leaders proposed, and from then on, there was a
happy ending for everyone, where fair trade was possible for all.
Similar to the Shell Island trading system, blockchain is a decentralized
peer-to-peer network. In the blockchain network, participants can submit
and confirm transactions without a need for centralized authority. Once
the transaction data is saved in the network, it will be immutable, or
unable to be altered. Members or network nodes can directly interact with
one another on the network without a central authority or middleman to
interfere with the transaction process.
Blockchain is also called distributed ledger technology (DLT). DLT
allows all data to be shared across computer networks distributed across
multiple entities or locations, referred to as nodes. Each node keeps a copy
of the same data of the blockchain ledger.
Blockchain has the following key characteristics:
1. Decentralization
6
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
2. Consensus protocol
• And more…
4. Transparency
7
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
5. Security
8
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
9
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
Hello 185f8db32271fe25f561a6fc938b2e264306ec304eda518007
d1764826381969
hello 2cf24dba5fb0a30e26e83b2ac5b9e29e1b161e5c1fa7425e7
3043362938b9824
blockchain for teens ae398c6f1d78e76d472c26e091869b9913f7624abea82901
c00893a0015ccd50
Blockchain hash f067428fdeb5984a6eeff5dbbe39a60cdb9dbffecdb80f18830
eeb1e91d3dde5
You can see that the length of the input data does not affect output
length—the output will always be 64-character text. Because of this, it is
nearly impossible to guess the input from the output. Blockchain uses this
SHA-256 hash function to hash transaction data and ensure transactions
10
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
11
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
Block Header
The Block Header is made up of a few components of block version,
previous block hash, timestamp, nBits, nonce, and Merkle root:
Block version – The version number of the blockchain.
Previous block hash – The current block must refer to the previous
block hash, known as the parent block, to ensure the new block is added
to the chain in the correct order. It enables the user to know previous
transactions from the current block. By tracing back hashes that link each
block to its parent, we can traverse back to the first block, the genesis block.
Timestamp – The time and date when the block was added.
nBits – The difficulty of current consensus algorithm that was used to
create this block. (We will cover this in the next section.)
Nonce – Known as number used once, a random value that a block
creator is allowed to change in order to produce a block hash which is less
than the target hash.
Merkle root – A Merkle tree is a hash-based data structure, also known
as Binary hash tree. A Merkle root is the root node of a Merkle tree.
In computer science, a tree is a data structure with a collection
of nodes.
A tree has the following properties:
• Each node has only one parent.
• The tree has one node without a parent called the root
node (or root). The tree starts from the root node.
12
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
Since a Merkle tree is classified as a binary hash tree, it will share the
same tree structure. Each leaf node is a hash of a block of data. Each node
contains blockchain transactions data, meaning that the children’s hash is
contained in the parent node.
In our previous tree example, the leaf nodes will be E, F, G, and H since
these nodes don’t have children. B, C, and A are parent nodes, A is the
root node.
If we assume node E has a transaction value, the block data is hashed
using hash function HASH (E), which will be similar for other leaf nodes:
HASH (E), HASH (F), HASH (G), HASH (H). When we reach the parent
node, each pair of child nodes is rehashed recursively (repeatedly, based
on a rule) until we reach the root node.
Parent node B is the hash of their child nodes E, F – HASH (HASH (E) +
HASH (F)).
13
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
Parent node C is the hash of their child nodes G, H – HASH (HASH (G) +
HASH (H)).
And root node A is the Merkle root; it contains the hash of the tree
nodes following it: HASH (HASH(B) + HASH (C)).
Figure 1-7 illustrates how to calculate the Merkle root hash value from
the leaf-node hashes up to the root.
14
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
Root node hash represents the fingerprint for the entire node data. To
verify the node data’s integrity, you don’t need to download the data of the
entire block and transverse the entire Merkle tree; you just need to check
whether the data is consistent with the Merkle root hash. If a copy of the
block in the blockchain networks has the same hash value of Merkle root
to another, then the transactions in that block are the same. Through this
way, the transaction data can be proved very quickly.
In the blockchain, each block has a Merkle root stored in the block
header. The Merkle tree allows every node on the network to verify
individual transaction without having to download and validate the entire
block. If a copy of the block in the blockchain networks has the same
Merkle root as another, then the transactions in that block are the same.
Even a bit of incorrect data would lead to vastly different Merkle roots
because of the properties of the hash. Therefore, it is not necessary to
verify the amount of required information.
All blocks are connected through their previous block hash as a pointer
in the blockchain and form a block list. Since the block header contains the
Merkle root hash, we can verify whether the block header and transactions
data have been tampered with by executing the Hash operation. Any tiny
modification of transaction data will cause an entire chain change of all the
block hash pointers.
15
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
Figure 1-8. The sequence of blocks with Merkle tree and previous
block hash
Block Body
The block body consists of a transaction counter and transactions.
Transaction Counter
A transaction number represents the number of transactions that is stored
in the block. Transaction Counter is 1 to 9 bytes. It is typically used to
measure blockchain daily transaction count or “tps”—transactions per
second. The following diagram (from https://studio.glassnode.com/)
shows daily transaction counts for Bitcoin:
16
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
Transactions
A transaction refers to a single logical group of actions that need to
be treated as a single action. The transaction request can be executed
successfully or fail. The process will ensure data integrity in the system.
In a blockchain, a transaction is a fundamental element to build block.
Transaction data can include the asset, price, timestamp, and user account
address.
Now that we have learned the components in a block structure, let’s
take a look at how blockchain process a transaction request submitted
by a user. Alice wants to send Bob five Bitcoins (BTC) to the blockchain
network; in order to join this network, Alice and Bob both need to have
an account address. When Alice sends five BTC to Bob, the transaction
request will be processed on a blockchain:
1. Alice sends five Bitcoin from her address to
Bob’s Bitcoin address. A transaction request was
created and authenticated (signed by Alice wallet’s
private key).
17
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
18
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
Consensus Algorithms
Consensus algorithms form the backbone of blockchain by helping all the
nodes in the network reach the necessary agreement on the global state in
the chain. The consensus validates transactions or data, then broadcasts it
across the network. All the other nodes will receive a copy of the data and
add it to the new block by verifying using the same rule.
These are some important properties of the distributed consensus
protocol:
19
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
20
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
The concept was first published by Cynthia Dwork and Moni Naor in
1993. The term “Proof of Work” or POW was used by Markus Jakobsson
and Ari Juels in a 1999 paper. The first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was created
by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. It was the first time that proof of work
protocols were used as consensus in the blockchain.
Proof of work describes a mechanism where computers in the network,
called miners, race each other to be the first to solve complex math
puzzles. When miners solve this “puzzle,” they are allowed to add a new
block to the blockchain and receive rewards.
In “How the Blockchain Works” section, we discussed that all blocks
are connected through a previous block hash to form a block list. The
miner needs to solve exceptionally difficult math problems to add a new
block. To find a solution, miners have to guess a random number (aka
nonce) using the brute-force approach till they find the solution. The
nonce is a 32-bit (4-byte) field. Each block hash value was generated by
SHA-256 (previous block hash), Merkel root, timestamp, nonce and the
predefined value of the difficulty target. The difficulty target is shown by
the leading zeros before the hash. More leading zeros before the hash value
will make the whole process take more time and resources to compute.
With computers’ power growing, miners can solve these puzzles faster,
and so the difficulty target of the blockchain will increase accordingly.
Figure 1-10 describes how to calculate a block hash in the proof of work.
21
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
22
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
Energy Consumption
In 2008, you could easily mine one Bitcoin using your personal machine.
Today, you’d need around 149.2PH/s to mine a Bitcoin. PH is one
peta hash:
1 PH/s = 1,000,000,000,000,000 (one quadrillion) hashes per second
23
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
24
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
25
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
26
Chapter 1 Blockchain: A Groundbreaking Technology
1. ETH 2.0
2. Cardano
3. Avalanche
27
Other documents randomly have
different content
The east room is known as the Naos or temple proper. It is ninety-
eight feet long, sixty-three feet wide, and has a ceiling height of
forty-three feet. The most striking feature of the Naos is the double
row of Doric columns, twenty-three below and twenty-three above,
with an architrave between. These form a colonnade surrounding the
main floor on three sides. The lower units of the colonnade are three
and three-quarter feet in diameter at the base and twenty-one feet
high. Those of the upper tier are two and one-quarter feet in
diameter and sixteen feet high. The columns on the long side of the
colonnade form with the interior cella walls beautiful and impressive
corridors. Another interesting feature is that the floor of the corridors
is raised an inch and a half above the main floor of the Naos.
In the west end of the Naos, twenty feet from the end columns and
facing the eastern doors, stood the Chryselephantine Statue of
Athena, the beautiful shrine of the temple, if historians of that day
are to be believed. The statue was forty feet high and reached within
three feet of the ceiling. It was made, as its name indicates, of gold
and ivory. The fleshy parts were carved ivory and the remainder were
plates of gold suspended on a framework of cedarwood. It was the
masterpiece of Phidias and was worth a king’s ransom.
The Greeks entered the eastern doors at the hour of temple worship,
always in the early morning, bearing gifts of gold and silver and other
valuable articles. There they were met by the priests, who received
the gifts. While the worshipers paid their devotions to the goddess at
her shrine, the priests took the gifts through the great doors, thence
along the exterior corridors, through the western doors, and into the
west room where the gifts were deposited. This room is called the
Maiden’s Chamber or Treasury.
The west room is forty-four feet long and sixty-three feet wide. As in
the east room, its most striking feature is the columns. There are four
of these arranged in a rectangle sixteen by twenty-three feet in the
center of the room. The columns are Ionic in design and, unlike those
of the east room, are monoliths. They are forty-one feet high, six feet
in diameter at the base, and three and one-half feet in diameter at
the top. The decorations of the room are Ionic also, in contrast with
those of the east room.
The Greeks lighted the old temple almost wholly through the 8
great doors in each end of the building; at Nashville the lighting
comes from above, and this is one of the most prominent of the
modern innovations incorporated in the reproduction of the
Parthenon. The Greek ceiling was exactly like that at Nashville with
this exception: In the Greek temple, between the great cedar beams
that span the ceiling and support the roof was an open grillwork of
cedarwood, while at Nashville the open spaces have been filled with
frosted panes of glass, etched to resemble the rays of the sun. The
Greeks might have had glass, as the manufacture of plate glass by
the Phoenicians antedated the period of Pericles by some five
hundred years. As we have seen, however, they had no incentive to
use it, for they obtained their light from below. The incentive at
Nashville is to conceal the two hundred and seventy-two high-
powered electric lights which give to the interior its beautiful
simulation of sunlight, accentuating its beauty and, to a great extent,
eliminating the shadows.
The roof at Nashville is like the one at Athens except as to the
material used in its construction. The antefixes along the eaves
served the purpose of covering the joints between the marble slabs
and are of carved ornamental design. At each corner of the roof is a
lion’s head, thought to be intended originally as a waterspout. Also at
each corner of the roof is a stone block upon which is surmounted a
Gryphon monster, standing guard over the temple day and night. The
highest points on the Parthenon are the carved ornaments, known as
the Acroteria, at each end of the building above the pediments.
The age of Pericles has been known through the centuries as the
“Golden Age of Greece,” but the judgment of time has forced us to
the conclusion that it was also the golden age of the world as far as
the beauty of architecture and sculptural art is concerned.
It has been noted that the first sight of the Parthenon usually inspires
the visitor with a sense of its strength and stability. This effect is
produced by another of the subtleties of the Greeks in approaching
perfection in the Parthenon. Only one with technical knowledge
would ever suspect that its columns and walls are other than
perpendicular; yet, with the exception of the transverse wall which
divides the cella into its two rooms, all of them are inclined toward
the center. If all were projected on their axes, they would meet in a
cluster five thousand, eight hundred and fifty-six feet above the base
of the temple.
11
Floor of Treasury or West Room Showing Arrangement of
Ionic Columns and Figures from Elgin Marbles of Iris and
Heracles
The Sculptures of the Parthenon
While the origin of the Parthenon has the most of its roots firmly
fixed in Egypt, many of the sculptures were derived from the
Assyrians. Particularly is this true of the smaller figures, winged
mythical creatures, as well as lions and horses, typical of the Assyrian
bas-reliefs. The heavier figures, notably those of the pediments, are
essentially Greek.
In the life and times of Phidias, a love for the beautiful was so
general that it was comparable to the air which they breathed. It was
not difficult, therefore, for him to find men, almost as accomplished
as himself, upon whose shoulders he could lay the greater part of the
work.
12
Interior Corridor, South Side, Showing Elgin Marbles
In 1801, after the fragments of the sculptures had lain in the debris
around the temple for approximately one hundred and fifteen years,
Lord Elgin, Minister to Turkey from England, persuaded the Turks,
who had again conquered the Greeks, to let him go to Athens and dig
up all the sculptures that he could find around the ruins. He sold
these fragments to the British government, and they are now the
most highly prized possessions of the British Museum, known as the
Elgin Marbles.
In the east room of the Parthenon at the west end of the south
corridor is the head of one of Selene’s steeds, considered by many as
the finest example of a horse’s head in the world. Just beyond,
through the door at the end of the corridor, is seen in the west room
the figure of Heracles. It is interesting to note that in the report of
the artists who passed on the value of the Elgin marbles a statement
was incorporated to the effect that the back muscles of the Heracles
represented the finest example of physiological art known to the
world of that day. Another most interesting group of sculptures, the
three Fates, is seen near by in the west end of the east room. This
group, thought to be the work of Phidias, is generally regarded as
one of the most beautiful examples of sculptural art existing today.
In 1674, just thirteen years before the explosion which destroyed the
Parthenon, young Jacques Carrey, a French artist attached to the
French embassay to Turkey, on a voyage from Paris to Constantinople
with the ambassador stopped off at Athens and sketched the temple
sculptures. These sketches are preserved in the National Library at
Paris and were made available for the artists. From a study of the
Elgin marbles and the Carrey drawings, supplemented by further
study of Greek contemporary art and Greek history, the artists at
Nashville succeeded in making a wonderful reproduction of the
Parthenon’s sculptures.
13
Figures from the Ionic Frieze
The Ionic and Doric Friezes
The Ionic frieze was located along the outer walls of the Parthenon,
extending forty inches down from the top of the wall, and rested on a
blue fret running all around the building, a distance of five hundred
and twenty-four feet. It was a marvelous piece of sculptural art.
Although there were approximately six hundred figures in the frieze,
men, women, and animals, no two of them were alike—no two men,
no two women, and no two animals; yet all were graceful, dignified,
and beautiful.
Unfortunately, for lack of funds the Ionic frieze has been left off the
Parthenon at Nashville, which lacks that much of being completed. It
is available, however, as the greater part of it is in the British
Museum, some in the Louvre, and the remainder, twenty-four feet in
all, is still on the ruin at Athens. There is no doubt that the Ionic
frieze will eventually find its place on the temple at Nashville.
15
The figures of the west pediment were more easily reproduced than
those of the east pediment, as they were more completely
authenticated by the Elgin marbles and the Carrey drawings.
The sculptures of the west pediment tell the story of the struggle
between Poseidon, the powerful god of the sea, and his niece
Athena, the goddess of wisdom, for the possession of Attica, or
ancient Greece.
16
The story of the east pediment is very beautiful and tells of the birth
of Athena and of her reign. In the beginning Zeus, the father of the
gods, the king of the gods, had a very severe headache and could
find no relief. He had long wanted a child born of the intellect. It is
said that he was so disappointed at having a son, Hephaestus, born
maimed that he threw him out of Heaven and it took a whole day for
him to fall to the earth. Hephaestus was the god of fire, the god of
metals, the blacksmith of the gods, and he forged the thunderbolts
that Zeus used in his battles of Heaven. Hephaestus sent word to his
father that if he would restore him to his rightful position among the
gods, he would cure him of his headache. Thereupon Zeus assembled
the gods on Mount Olympus and from somewhere, in a thundercloud,
came Hephaestus. He struck his father in the back of the head with
an axe and from the wound, giving Zeus his wish, sprang Athena,
fully grown, clothed, and armed. She was announced and crowned
goddess of wisdom by Nike, goddess of victory. It is said that at this
event the earth groaned, Mount Olympus trembled, and the gods
stood in amazement at the miracle that had been performed. These
four figures form the highest pinnacle of the east pediment of the
Parthenon.
Heracles, the next figure on the pediment, is shown with his club on
his shoulder, nonchalantly looking at the horses, paying no attention
to what is taking place on Mount Olympus. He is looking at the sun
as it rises. Heracles was known as the favorite of the gods. In his
early manhood they had permitted him to choose between virtue on
the one hand, and vice on the other, both very attractively arrayed.
He chose virtue rather than vice, and thus became their 17
favorite. He did many heroic deeds in Grecian history, and was
the national hero of Greece. Heracles was himself made a god; Zeus
was his father, his mother was a mortal.
Next is seen on the pediment the figure of Poseidon, the god of the
sea; Neptune was his Roman name. Poseidon was the brother of
Zeus, one of the chief deities of the Greeks, and is represented on
the east pediment as sitting calmly by, looking on at what is taking
place.
Then comes the central group, Hephaestus, Zeus, Nike, and Athena,
or Minerva as the Romans called her, illustrating the story of the birth
of Athena.
The next figure is that of Artemis, the twin sister of Apollo. Artemis is
the goddess of the fields, the goddess of hunting; Diana is her
Roman name. She is represented on the pediment as shading her
eyes with her hand from the resplendent glory of the newborn
goddess.
The next figure is that of Hermes, the male messenger of the gods,
corresponding to Iris, the female messenger. Iris usually executed the
commands and carried the messages for Hera, while Hermes
performed a like office for Zeus. He is always represented with a
magic wand, or caduceus, in his hand, which was given to him by
Apollo. One day, when Hermes was a mere child, almost a baby, he
was playing in the fields and captured a tortoise. He placed strings
across the shell of the tortoise and made a musical instrument (we
call it the lyre), and presented it to his brother Apollo. Apollo, who
was the god of music, was so delighted with the precociousness of
his baby brother that he gave him the magic wand, which had the
power of putting gods and mortals to sleep at his will. Hermes is also
shown with wings on his ankles and wings on his cap. He was god of
business, and also the god of transportation. His figure adorns many
of the railway stations of the world. His Roman name is Mercury.
These were the chief deities of the Greeks. There were others which
they worshiped also. They were as sacred to the ancient Greek as
Jehovah is to us, and it is pertinent to say that they worshiped the
beautiful—and the beautiful is the spiritual.
We are not so much interested in the gods of the Greeks in this
twentieth century, however, as we are in human life; and the next
group of figures to Apollo and Ganymede, the three Fates, brings the
Whole matter closer to us, because it represents the Greek idea of
life. The first figure in the group is Clotho, who is represented as
spinning the thread of life; and as she spins, the second figure,
Lachesis, winds it on a spool, and the third figure, Atropos, clips it at
will, typifying the beginning, the span, and the end of life—the
destiny of us all.
The gods of the Greeks are no more. They have no single worshiper
left on all the face of the earth today to pay them homage, yet their
deeds are told in song and story, and their memory is green in the
hearts of those who love the beautiful.
19
Conclusion
The period of Pericles marked one of the high points in the history of
the world. A comparison of its characteristics serves to emphasize its
superiority over other epochs in many ways. The Parthenon at Athens
was not merely a wonderful building, but was an expression of Greek
mind and heart. It did not spring up in a day as did Athena from the
head of Zeus but found its roots in the prehistoric altars of their
goddess. It was not built to please individuals but to honor their
gods. It is no wonder, then, that when the Parthenon came into full
flower in the “Age of Pericles” it should have reached that state which
the judgment of succeeding generations has pronounced perfection.
This, then, may be said of the Parthenon: As in the earlier days, even
so now, young and old, rich and poor, alike are made happy by its
sheer beauty and inspired by its history to reach for a higher and
better life.
Transcriber’s Notes
Retained publication information from the printed edition: this
eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.
Corrected a few palpable typos.
In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.
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