The Number of Beauty φ = 1.618

Golden Ratio in Greek Art and Nature

There is a mathematical ratio found both in man-made design and in nature that can, when used properly  creates  aesthetically pleasing compositions .The Pyramids of Giza, the Parthenon and Da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper are all said to be designed and composed within the parameters of this ubiquitous and ancient equation.

It is often symbolized using phi, after the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In an equation form, it looks like this:

a/b = (a+b)/a = 1.6180339887498948420 …

Phidias (500 B.C. - 432 B.C.) was a Greek sculptor and mathematician who is thought to have applied phi to the design of sculptures for the Parthenon.

The Venus de Milo sculpture was carved by the Greek sculptor Alexandros. The statue adheres,  strictly to the Phi, Golden Ratio or Golden Proportion of 1.6180339887.

The Golden ratio also appears in all forms of nature and science. Some unexpected places include:

Tree branches: The way tree branches form or split is an example of the Fibonacci sequence. Root systems and algae exhibit this formation pattern.

Shells: Many shells, including snail shells and nautilus shells, are perfect examples of the Golden spiral.

Spiral galaxies: The Milky Way has a number of spiral arms, each of which has a logarithmic spiral of roughly 12 degrees. The shape of the spiral is identical to the Golden spiral, and the Golden rectangle can be drawn over any spiral galaxy.

Hurricanes: Much like shells, hurricanes often display the Golden spiral.

Fingers: The length of our fingers, each section from the tip of the base to the wrist is larger than the preceding one by roughly the ratio of phi.

Animal bodies: The measurement of the human navel to the floor and the top of the head to the navel is the Golden ratio. But we are not the only examples of the Golden ratio in the animal kingdom; dolphins, starfish, sand dollars, sea urchins, ants and honeybees also exhibit the proportion.

DNA molecules: A DNA molecule measures 34 angstroms by 21 angstroms at each full cycle of the double helix spiral. In the Fibonacci series, 34 and 21 are successive numbers.