Ictinus (also Iktious or Iktinos) was an architect active in the mid 5th century BC, who, together with Callicrates (Kallikrates), and Phidias, designed the Parthenon (447-–432 BC) in Athens, Greece. Little is known about the life of Ictinus, most contemporary information being based on the writings of Plutarch. The most complete surviving example of Ictinus's work is the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, which has been preserved almost intact as a result of having been a Christian Church. It is a Doric temple.
Ictinus is also believed to have
designed the temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae, near Phigalia, the first known use of a Corinthian column,
and also the Telesterion shrine of Eleusis, a gigantic hall used in the Eleusinian Mysteries.
The artist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painted a scene showing Ictinus together with the lyric poet Pindar - the painting is known as Pindar and Ictinus and is exhibited at the National Gallery, London.
