The Parthenon www.misterconnor.org

What is it? A huge temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Construction began in 447 BCE, completed in 438, but decoration took until 432. There had been an earlier temple of Athena, now referred to as the Older Parthenon that was destroyed in 480 BC when the Persians invaded.

Where is it? On the Acropolis in the centre of Athens.

Dimensions and History The Parthenon is 45 feet tall, and its base is 228 feet by 101 feet. It sits on a hill called the Acropolis overlooking Athens. The Parthenon is an example of Doric style, which is a simple style with a plainer column than other styles of architecture. The designer of the Parthenon was Phidias, a famous scupltor, and the architects Callicrates and Ictinos supervised the construction work itself.

History The roof and the interior of the sanctuary were destroyed in the third century AD by fire. In the 4th century AD the roof was replaced. In 435 AD, after 1000 years as a temple dedicated to Athena, Theodosius II closed all the pagan temples. In the late 6th century AD the Parthenon was converted to a Christian Church. In 1456 the Turkish Ottoman Empire invaded and by the end of the century the Parthenon was converted to a mosque.

The “Elgin” Marbles The sculptures removed from the Parthenon by Thomas Bruce in the 1800s were sold to the British Museum. They are known as the Elgin Marbles and Greek government has been attempting to have them returned since the 1980s. The British government has refused to return them thus far. Some of the sculptures from the Parthenon are on display at the Louvre in Paris, France, and in Copenhagen, while the majority are in Athens’s Acropolis Museum.

What was it for? A temple of this size had the following functions: A symbolic statement of Athenian wealth. A symbol of the city’s devotion to Athena Parthenos. An honouring of Athena after the defeat of the Persians in 448. It housed a huge statue of Athena. It was also used as a state treasury during the Delian League. It was part of a complex of buildings, including temples, monumental gateways and a theatre of Dionysus.

Perfection The construction is based on Greek ideas of perfection, both in mathematics and aesthetics. This showed the Athenian drive to perfection.

“…the Parthenon hardly incorporated a single truly straight horizontal or vertical line. This bulging of the columns gave the building a more masculine look and it made the temple seem "perfect" to the naked eye. This perfection was important at the time because the Greeks saw themselves as rising to the level of the gods and nearing perfection. The Greeks had just defeated the Persians, and they were feeling very confident. They built the Parthenon to show their dominance and strength… A key purpose of the Parthenon was to show their gratitude to Athena for helping them conquer the Persians. The statue of the god Athena that was built was 26 ft. wide and 13 ft. deep. It was made of wood, which supported ivory pieces on the top of the statue.”

The Skinny Temple dedicated to Athena, built between 447 and 438 BCE on the Acropolis. An earlier temple of Athena was destroyed in 480 BC when the Persians invaded. Symbol of Athenian wealth/ city’s devotion to Athena/ honouring of Athena after the defeat of the Persians in 448. Later, a state treasury for the Delian League. Designed by Phidias. Damaged, rebuilt and its purpose changed many times. Sculptures removed by Lord Elgin in the 1830s. Ongoing controversy.