World Wonder Architecture: Parthenon

The Parthenon (CNB 1978)

The Parthenon was built as a shrine by the Athenians for their patron goddess Athena. It serves as a reminder of the Golden Age of ancient Greece. The architecture of this largest temple in Greece is in the Doric style. It has eight columns (34 feet high, 74 inches in diameter) across the porch and 17 along each side. The temple stands on the Acropolis ('upper city'), Athens.

It was built of local white marble between 447 and 436 BC by architects Ictinus and Callicrates. Sculptures were by Phidias. In the 5th century AD, the temple was converted into a Christian church. The Ottoman Turks who occupied Greece from mid 15th century to 1821 used it as a mosque and weaponry store. The marble roof of the Parthenon was destroyed in 1687 in an explosion caused by Venetian bombardment. Friezes from the crumbling Parthenon were taken (stolen say the Greeks) by the then British ambassador Lord Elgin and sold to the British Museum in 1816.

M at the Parthenon (CNB 1978)

M and I were at the Parthenon in July 1978. We observed then that there was much reconstruction and conservation work being done at the Acropolis of Athens. There were not too many visitors at the time and it was possible to take pictures of the Parthenon sans people around.

Lately the Parthenon has been cordoned off to prevent further damage by the trampling feet of enthusiastic tourists.