Acropolis of Athens
Ads
related to: athens parthenonParthenon Tours & Tickets are Selling Out Fast. Book Now to Avoid Disappointment. 5-Star Rated Parthenon Tickets, Trips and Activities! Book Top Tours on Viator
Quick & Easy Purchase with Flexibility to Cancel up to 24 Hours Before the Tour Starts! Browse & Book the Best Tours, Trips, Activities and Excursions on Tripadvisor.
Enjoy Skip the Line Entry at the Legendary Acropolis & Make Your Way to Parthenon Temple. Go Back in Time to Ancient Greece with Skip-the-Line Tickets & Audio Guides | by Headout
Book ahead & get your Acropolis of Athens tickets on your smartphone with Tiqets. Discover & book tickets to top museums & attractions in Athens.
Search results
The Parthenon (/ ˈ p ɑːr θ ə ˌ n ɒ n,-n ən /; Ancient Greek: Παρθενών, romanized: Parthenōn [par.tʰe.nɔ̌ːn]; Greek: Παρθενώνας, romanized: Parthenónas [parθeˈnonas]) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena.
- Parthenon
Architect and Confederate veteran William Crawford Smith,...
- Athena Parthenos
The Varvakeion Athena reflects the type of the restored...
- Temple of Athena (Disambiguation)
The Temple of Athena is the Parthenon on the Athenian...
- Pentelic Marble
Mount Pentelicus or Pentelikon (Greek: Πεντέλη, Πεντελικόν...
- Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis Museum (Greek: Μουσείο Ακρόπολης, Mouseio...
- Parthenon
- Overview
- The Acropolis
- The architecture
The purpose of the Parthenon has changed over its 2,500-year history, beginning as a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena Parthenos (“Athena the Virgin”). Some scholars, however, question the building’s religious function, partly because no altar from the 5th century BCE has been found. All experts agree that early on the Parthenon was used as a treasury. In subsequent centuries the building was transformed into a Byzantine church, a Roman Catholic cathedral, and later a mosque. The temple was then used to store the Ottomans’ ammunition during a war with the Venetians, which is how an explosion led to the building’s ruin in 1687. After serving as an army barracks at the end of Greece’s war for independence (1821–32), the Parthenon assumed its role as tourist destination during the late 19th century, just as restoration efforts began.
Athena
Learn about Athena, the Greek goddess to whom the Parthenon was dedicated.
Why is the Parthenon important?
The Parthenon is the centrepiece of a 5th-century-BCE building campaign on the Acropolis in Athens. Constructed during the High Classical period, it is generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order, the simplest of the three Classical Greek architectural orders. The temple’s harmonic proportions, precise construction, and lifelike sculptures have been celebrated and emulated for thousands of years. The Parthenon is often regarded as a monument to democracy, which was founded in Athens during this period, as well as a tribute to the Athenians’ victory in the Greco-Persian Wars (492–449 BCE).
Greco-Persian Wars
The Parthenon was part of a magnificent rebuilding program directed by the Athenian statesman Pericles, following the sack of the Acropolis during the Greco-Persian Wars (492–449 bce). The project was to include, among other things, the Propylaea, the gateway to the sacred precinct; the Erechtheum, a shrine to the agricultural deities, especially E...
Work on the Parthenon began in 447 bceunder the architects Ictinus and Callicrates with the supervision of the sculptor Phidias. The building was completed by 438, and that same year a great gold and ivory statue of Athena, made by Phidias for the interior, was dedicated. Work on the exterior decoration of the building continued until 432 bce.
Although the rectangular white marble Parthenon has suffered damage over the centuries, including the loss of most of its sculpture, its basic structure has remained intact. A colonnade of fluted baseless columns with square capitals stands on a three-stepped base and supports an entablature, or roof structure, consisting of a plain architrave, or band of stone; a frieze of alternating triglyphs (vertically grooved blocks) and metopes (plain blocks with relief sculpture, now partly removed); and, at the east and west ends, a low triangular pediment, also with relief sculpture (now mostly removed). The colonnade, consisting of 8 columns on the east and west and 17 on the north and south, encloses a walled interior rectangular chamber, or cella, originally divided into three aisles by two smaller Doric colonnades closed at the west end just behind the great cult statue. The only light came through the east doorway, except for some that might have filtered through the marble tiles in the roof and ceiling. Behind the cella, but not originally connected with it, is a smaller square chamber entered from the west. The east and west ends of the interior of the building are each faced by a portico of six columns. Measured by the top step of the base, the building is 101.34 feet (30.89 metres) wide and 228.14 feet (69.54 metres) long.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Parthenon is a resplendent marble temple built between 447 and 432 B.C. during the height of the ancient Greek Empire. Dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, the Parthenon sits high atop a...
Oct 28, 2012 · The Parthenon is an ancient Greek temple located in Athens. The temple was dedicated to Athena and contained a statue of the goddess. The Parthenon is important because it is one of the largest and best-preserved of all Greek temples and it includes many important sculptures.
- Mark Cartwright
- The Parthenon is the ancient Greek temple located on the Acropolis of Athens. Today, when people refer to the Acropolis, they often mean the hill a...
- The Parthenon of Athens was converted to a Christian church in the 5th century and then a mosque in 1458. In 1687, the building was partially destr...
One of the best-known historical sites in Athens, the Parthenon is a site you can’t miss. When was it built. Dedicated to the city’s patron, the goddess Athena, the temple was completed in 438 BCE and was one of the hosting grounds of the Panathenaia—a festival held every four years in various places around ancient Athens. What's the story.
The Acropolis Museum, one of the most important museums in the world, houses the findings of only one archaeological site, the Athenian Acropolis and its slopes.
The temple known as the Parthenon was built on the Acropolis of Athens between 447 and 438 B.CE. It was part of a vast building program masterminded by the Athenian statesman Perikles. Inside the temple stood a colossal statue representing Athena, patron goddess of the city.
