Probably one of the most well known pieces of ancient Greek art, the Parthenon is made
completely of Pentelic marble ( A pure white marble quarried on Mt. Pentelicus near Athens )
apart from its wooden roof. The whole thing took 15 years to complete but was finally
finished in 438 BC. What is left of the Parthenon stands proudly on the highest part of
the Acropolis ( A ciadetel -fortress - protecting many previous temples to Athena and Nike )
with a main purpose of sheltering the Athena Parthenos. The Athena Parthenos is a 9m tall
sculpture of Athena ( Ancient Greek goddess of war and wisdom ). In her right hand she holds
a statue of Nike ( Ancient Greek god of Victory ) and in her left a gold spear. At her feet lies
a shield coiled with a serpent. She was made by Phidias ( A Greek sculptor and architect who
lived in 5th century BC, Phidias "statue of Zeus in Olympus"is one of the seven wonders of
the ancient world ) using a method called Chryselephantine ( Chryselephantine statues are
built round a wooden frame then layered with thin slabs of ivory, then details are added with
gold leaf - 91% pure gold hammered into sheets - ).
The Parthenon was used for many different purpose over the course of time and in early 1460 - just after the Ottoman conquest - it was turned into a mosque. The Parthenon was destroyed in 1687 when an Ottoman ammunition dump inside it was lighted by Venetian bombardment
So next time you happen to be Greece ward way .........
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