Parthenon

From ArticleWorld

The Parthenon, perched atop the Acropolis of Athena, was built nearly 2500 years ago as a symbol of thanks to Athena, patron goddess of the city, for the salvation of Athens and Greece in the Persian Wars. The original name of this building was Temple of Athena the Virgin. Besides being a temple, the Parthenon was also used as a treasury of the Delian League, which later became the Athenian Empire.

Design and construction

The construction of the Parthenon began in 447 BC and it reached completion in 438 BC. Work continued on the decorations till about 433 BC. Built at the initiative of Pericles, a leading politician of 5th century BC, it was the sculptor Phidias who was the general supervisor of the construction process and sculptural decorations. The designers of this monument of ancient Greece were the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates. Decorations The original Parthenon was a splendid structure with exquisite marble sculptures. Only a few of these sculptures now remain but they give a fairly accurate idea of its rich splendour. Unlike other surviving Ancient Greek temples, the Parthenon was partly painted.

Later history

The Parthenon survived in all its glory till the 4th century BC. In the 5th century, the great statue of Athena was looted by one of the Emperors and taken to Constantinople. It is believed to have been destroyed during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The Parthenon became the Church of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) during the Byzantines reign and later on it became a Catholic Church of Our Lady during the Latin Empire. During this time, the internal columns and some of the walls of the cella were removed and some of the sculptures destroyed. In 1456, when the Ottomans conquered Athens, the Parthenon was converted to a mosque and a minaret added to it. In 1687, the Parthenon was partly destroyed when the Venetians attacked Athens. Thereafter, this building was gradually left unused.

Recent events

The Parthenon aroused public sympathy in the minds of the Europeans towards the later part of the eighteenth century. In 1801, the British ambassador at Constantinople, the Earl of Elgin, took it upon himself to collect the dispersed antiquities and he was largely successful in his attempts. At present, some of these sculptures are housed in the British Museum and the Louvre in Paris and in Copenhagen. The rest are in the Acropolis Museum, a few meters to the south-east of the Parthenon. A few still remain in the building itself. In 1832, the minaret was removed from the Parthenon and all the medieval and modern buildings on the Acropolis were demolished. The Greek government took control of the area and declared the Parthenon a historical monument.