The Golden Ratio – A Sacred Number Linking the Past to the Present

There is one thing that ancient Greeks, Renaissance artists, a 17th century astronomer and 21st century architects all have in common – they all used the Golden Mean, otherwise known as the Golden Ratio, Divine Proportion, or Golden Section.

Precisely, this is the number 1.61803399, represented by the Greek letter Phi, and considered truly unique in its mathematical properties, prevalence throughout nature, and its ability to achieve a perfect aesthetic composition.

In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities.

When the Golden Mean is conceptualized in two dimensions it is typically presented as a regular spiral that is defined by a series of squares and arcs, each forming “Golden Rectangles”.

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The Golden Mean’s spiral shape resembles growth patterns observed in nature.

This symbolic potential arises because of the way the mean’s spiral shape resembles growth patterns observed in nature and its proportions are reminiscent of those in human bodies.

Thus, these simple spirals and rectangles, which served to suggest the presence of a universal order underlying the world, were thereby dubbed “golden” or “divine”.

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The first recorded definition of the golden ratio dates back to the period when Greek mathematician Euclid (c. 325–c. 265 BC) described what he called the "extreme and mean ratio"

Many artists and architects have proportioned their work to approximate the golden ratio, with the belief that the outcome will be more aesthetically pleasing.

Using any of these ratios, an architect can design a door handle that has a complementary relationship to its door, which in turn has a similar relationship to its enclosing wall, and so on.

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The Golden Ratio is present in the Sydney Opera House.

But more than this, the golden ratio has been used for the façade of great buildings - from the Parthenon to the Great Mosque of Kairouan, and all the way through to modern landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and the National Gallery in London.

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It can also be seen in the skeletons of animals and humans and the branching of their veins and nerves too.

It can even be seen in the proportions of chemical compounds and the geometry of crystals.

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