Greece's Great Parthenon

If you grew up reading Greek Mythology, loved watching movies about Greek gods and warriors or enjoyed the Greek theatrical classics, one monument that seems to make an appearance in plenty of story lines is the Parthenon. The Parthenon is perhaps the most popular Greek architectural landmark and while many buildings have taken design cues from it, the Parthenon is one of the world’s classic structures. Incredibly, this monumental achievement was created over two thousand years ago and miraculously has survived to this day. For those that are fascinated by the great Greek Parthenon, the Smithsonian Magazine offers a fantastic article regarding this structure at its website.

The Infamous Greek Parthenon
The Greek Parthenon is truly a one of kind structure and obviously considered to be an architectural masterpiece. After thousands of years, this magnificent edifice still stands and while some of the structure has decayed almost to the point of disrepair, a little over 30 years ago the nation of Greece put forth a comprehensive plan to completely restore this monument to its original grandeur and beauty. The goal of this restoration is to bring back the Parthenon to its original form as close as possible. Obviously, this type of restoration has taken decades and still continues. In addition, it also relies on a wide variety of skilled labor and artisans; however the payoff will be incredible.

In the Beginning
The Parthenon is one of the oldest monuments from ancient Greece and the ancient world. While it still stands at well over 2,000 years old, you can just imagine how impressive it was when it was first built. The Parthenon was actually constructed as a temple to worship the goddess of wisdom- Athena. It was built during the years 447 B.C. to 432 B.C. by two of the day’s foremost architects- Calicrates and Ictinus. While it took less than 2 decades to build, it amazingly still stands today.

The Incredible History of the Parthenon
The Parthenon has stood the test of time, however throughout its history it came close to being destroyed. At about 400 AD with the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Parthenon became a Christian Church. For about 1,000 years it stood as one of the most famous churches in Europe. As the Ottoman Empire grabbed hold of the region, the Parthenon became a mosque in 1400. Incredibly years later, during the war between Turkey and Venice, the Parthenon became a weapons depo and still has bullet holes on her façade. Today, the Parthenon is being fully restored into its past glory. For those interested in this masterpiece, you can read about the intricate restoration process in our magazine at the following link: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/

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