Introduction
The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron deity. Constructed between 447 and 432 BC during the height of the Athenian Empire, it is widely considered the most important surviving building of Classical Greece and the culmination of the Doric order of architecture. Its decorative sculptures are regarded as some of the high points of ancient Greek art.
Designed by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates under the supervision of the sculptor Phidias, the Parthenon was built to house a massive chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue of Athena Parthenos by Phidias himself. Over its 2,500-year history, it has served as a temple, a church, a mosque, and an ammunition magazine, and it has been damaged by war, explosion, looting, and pollution. Despite these assaults, its ruined columns and pediments remain the most potent symbol of Western civilization.
Architecture & Design
- Architects: Ictinus and Callicrates
- Style: Doric order (with Ionic elements)
- Dimensions: 69.5 m × 30.9 m
- Columns: 46 outer columns, each 10.4 m tall
The Parthenon is a peripteral octastyle Doric temple, meaning it is surrounded by a colonnade of columns on all sides, with eight columns across the front and back (most Doric temples had six) and seventeen along each side. The columns are 10.4 meters tall with a diameter of 1.9 meters at the base, and they are made from Pentelic marble quarried from Mount Pentelicus, 16 kilometers northeast of Athens.
The building incorporates numerous optical refinements that give it its extraordinary visual harmony. The columns lean slightly inward, the stylobate (platform) curves upward in the center by approximately 6 centimeters, and the corner columns are slightly thicker and more closely spaced than the others. These adjustments, invisible to the casual observer, correct for optical illusions that would otherwise make the building appear distorted. This attention to visual perfection is one of the reasons the Parthenon has been the model for classical architecture worldwide.
Location & Setting
- Location: Acropolis of Athens, Greece
- Elevation: Approximately 150 meters above the city
- UNESCO Status: Part of the Acropolis of Athens World Heritage Site (1987)
The Parthenon stands at the highest point of the Acropolis, a flat-topped limestone hill that rises approximately 150 meters above the city of Athens. The Acropolis was the religious and ceremonial center of ancient Athens, and the Parthenon was its crowning glory — visible from virtually everywhere in the ancient city and designed to be the first thing travelers saw as they approached Athens.
The Acropolis also contains several other significant ancient buildings, including the Erechtheion (with its famous Porch of the Caryatids), the Temple of Athena Nike, and the Propylaea (monumental gateway). The New Acropolis Museum, opened in 2009 at the base of the hill, houses the original sculptures and artifacts from the Acropolis monuments, including portions of the Parthenon's sculptural decoration that remain in Greece.
History & Construction
- Built: 447–432 BC
- Commissioned by: Pericles, during the Golden Age of Athens
- Cost: Estimated 469 silver talents (enormous sum)
- Explosion: 1687 (Venetian bombardment detonated stored Ottoman gunpowder)
The Parthenon was built during the rule of Pericles, the statesman who led Athens during the height of its power and cultural achievement. The project was part of a massive building program on the Acropolis intended to celebrate Athens' victories in the Persian Wars and to display the city's wealth and cultural supremacy. The construction employed thousands of skilled craftsmen and laborers and consumed vast quantities of Pentelic marble.
The most devastating event in the Parthenon's history occurred on September 26, 1687, when a Venetian army besieging the Ottoman-held Acropolis fired a mortar shell that hit the temple, which the Ottomans were using as an ammunition magazine. The resulting explosion blew out the central section of the building, destroying the roof, many of the interior columns, and much of the sculptural decoration. A further blow came in 1801–1812, when Lord Elgin removed approximately half of the remaining sculptures and shipped them to London, where they remain in the British Museum as the "Elgin Marbles" — the subject of an ongoing repatriation dispute with Greece.
Cultural Significance
- Influence: Model for classical architecture worldwide (US Capitol, British Museum, etc.)
- Sculptures: Elgin Marbles (British Museum) and Acropolis Museum collections
- Symbol: Western civilization, democracy, artistic achievement
The Parthenon's influence on Western architecture is incalculable. Its proportions, its colonnade, and its decorative vocabulary have been adapted, imitated, and quoted in buildings across the globe — from the US Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial to the British Museum, the Madeleine church in Paris, and government buildings on every continent. The very idea of a "classical" building — with columns, pediments, and proportional harmony — derives fundamentally from the Parthenon.
The Parthenon sculptures represent one of the great achievements of Western art. The pediment sculptures depicted the birth of Athena and her contest with Poseidon for patronage of Athens. The 160-meter frieze running around the interior showed the Panathenaic procession, an annual religious festival. The 92 metopes depicted mythological battles. The ongoing dispute between Greece and the British Museum over the return of the Elgin Marbles remains one of the most prominent cultural repatriation debates in the world.
Visitor Experience
- Acropolis Hours: Open daily 8 AM–8 PM (summer); reduced winter hours
- Best Time: Early morning or late afternoon for fewer crowds
- Nearby Museum: New Acropolis Museum (at the base of the hill)
Visiting the Parthenon involves climbing the Acropolis hill via a paved path from the entrance near the Propylaea. The climb is moderately strenuous and the marble surfaces can be slippery, so appropriate footwear is essential. The Parthenon itself is roped off — visitors cannot enter the building — but the exterior can be viewed from all sides. An ongoing restoration project (since 1975) means that scaffolding and cranes are usually visible, though they do not significantly diminish the experience.
The New Acropolis Museum at the base of the hill is an essential complement to the Acropolis visit. The museum's top-floor Parthenon Gallery displays the surviving frieze, metopes, and pediment sculptures in their original arrangement, with plaster casts filling the gaps where the originals are in the British Museum. The gallery's glass walls frame views of the Parthenon itself on the hilltop above, creating a powerful visual dialogue between the originals and their source.
Key Facts
- The Parthenon was built between 447 and 432 BC during the Golden Age of Athens
- Its 46 outer columns incorporate subtle optical corrections to appear perfectly straight
- A Venetian bombardment in 1687 detonated stored Ottoman gunpowder, destroying the central section
- Approximately half of the surviving sculptures are in the British Museum (the Elgin Marbles)
- The building has influenced virtually every major tradition of Western classical architecture
Fun Facts
- The Parthenon's columns lean inward so precisely that if extended upward as lines they would meet at a point approximately 2.4 km above the building
- The building was originally painted in vivid colors including red, blue, and gold — not the white marble we see today
- Nashville, Tennessee has a full-scale replica of the Parthenon, complete with a recreation of the Athena Parthenos statue
- The name Parthenon likely derives from "parthenos" (virgin), a reference to Athena's virginity
Final Thoughts
The Parthenon is the building against which all Western architecture is measured. Its proportions, its optical refinements, and its sculptural program represent a moment of artistic perfection that has never been surpassed. Standing before its columns on the Acropolis, with the city of Athens spread below, one understands why this temple has endured as the supreme symbol of human aspiration for two and a half millennia.
