Parthenon

The famous temple of Athena in the Acropolis at Athens, considered the finest example of the Doric order of architecture. It was built by Ictinus and Callicrates, 447-432 BC, as the centerpiece of Pericles' grand scheme for the Acropolis, under the supervision of the sculptor Phidias, who contributed the great statue of Athena. The material is Pentelic marble (from Mount Pentelikon, north of Athens). Much of the sculptured decoration may be seen in the British Museum, London (the so-called Elgin marbles). After the classical period, the building survived various conversions to the function of church and mosque, until wartime in 1687 when the temple exploded into two ruined halves. Other sculptures from the Parthenon are now in the Louvre Museum in Paris, in Copenhagen, and many are still in Athens.

Principal temple on the ACROPOLIS at ATHENS, dedicated to the maiden (Greek parthenos) goddess, Athena. It was built 447-432 BC as the centre piece of Pericles' grand scheme for the Acropolis, by the architects lctinus and Callicrates, under the supervision of the sculptor Phidias, who contributed the great chryselephantine statue of Athena. The temple is generally considered to mark the highest achievement in the DORIC order of architecture, and to incorporate sophisticated solutions to problems of visual line and spacing. The material is Pentelic marble (from Mount Pentelikon just north of Athens). Much of the sculptured decoration may be seen in the British Museum, London (the so-called ELGIN marbles). After the classical period the building survived various conversions to the function of church and mosque quite well, until Turkish occupying forces decided to use it as a powder magazine. Hit by Venetian fire, the temple exploded into two ruined halves. What remains today of the building is now under attack, this time from the corrosive industrial atmosphere of modern Athens.