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{{Redirect|Temple of Athena|other uses|Parthenon (disambiguation)|and|Temple of Athena (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Pantheon, Rome}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2017}}
{{Coord|37.9714|23.7265|type:landmark_region:GR_scale:4000|display=title|format=dms}}
{{Infobox building
|name       = Parthenon
|native_name= Παρθενώνας
|image               = The Parthenon in Athens.jpg
|image_size          =300px
|caption             = The Parthenon
|building_type       = [[Temple]]
|architectural_style = [[Classical architecture|Classical]]
|location            = [[Athens]], Greece
|start_date          = 447&nbsp;BC<ref name="academic.reed.edu">[http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/Parthenon.html Parthenon]. Academic.reed.edu. Retrieved on 4 September 2013.</ref><ref name="ancientgreece.com">[http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Parthenon/ The Parthenon]. Ancientgreece.com. Retrieved on 4 September 2013.</ref>
|completion_date     = 432&nbsp;BC<ref name="academic.reed.edu"/><ref name="ancientgreece.com"/>
|destruction_date    = Partially on 26 September 1687
|height              = {{convert|13.72|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="Penprase2010">{{cite book|last=Penprase|first=Bryan E.|title=The Power of Stars: How Celestial Observations Have Shaped Civilization|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XXOxGOpawuMC&pg=PA221|accessdate=8 March 2017|year=2010|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1441968036|page=221}}</ref>
|size                = {{convert|69.5|by|30.9|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|other_dimensions    = [[Cella]]: {{convert|29.8|by|19.2|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|floor_count         =
|floor_area          =
|main_contractor     =
|architect           = [[Iktinos]], [[Callicrates]]
|structural_engineer =
|services_engineer   =
|civil_engineer      =
|other_designers     = [[Phidias]] (sculptor)
|quantity_surveyor   =
|awards              =
|references          =
}}
[[File:Akropolis by Leo von Klenze.jpg|thumb|right|Reconstruction of the Acropolis and [[Areopagus]] in Athens, [[Leo von Klenze]], 1846]]

The '''Parthenon''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɑr|θ|ə|ˌ|n|ɒ|n|,_|-|n|ən}}; {{lang-grc|[[wikt:Παρθενών#Ancient Greek|Παρθενών]]}}; {{lang-ell|Παρθενώνας}}, ''Parthenónas'') is a former [[Ancient Greek temple|temple]]<ref name="Neils2005">{{cite book|last=Barletta|first=Barbara A.|authorlink=Barbara Barletta|editor=Jenifer Neils|editor-link=Jenifer Neils|title=The Parthenon: From Antiquity to the Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gA81kINAI9cC&pg=PA67|accessdate=8 March 2017|year=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521820936|page=67|chapter=The Architecture and Architects of the Classical Parthenon|quote=The Parthenon (Plate 1, Fig. 17) is probably the most celebrated of all Greek temples.}}</ref><ref name="HambidgeFund1924">{{cite book|first1=Jay|last=Hambidge|author-link1=Jay Hambidge|author2=Yale University. Rutherford Trowbridge Memorial Publication Fund|title=The Parthenon and other Greek temples: their dynamic symmetry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xH9TAAAAMAAJ|year=1924|publisher=Yale university press}}</ref> on the [[Acropolis of Athens|Athenian Acropolis]], [[Greece]], dedicated to the [[Greek gods|goddess]] [[Athena]], whom the people of [[Athens]] considered their patron. Construction began in 447&nbsp;BC when the [[Athenian Empire]] was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438&nbsp;BC, although decoration of the building continued until 432&nbsp;BC. It is the most important surviving building of [[Classical Greece]], generally considered the zenith of the [[Doric order]]. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of [[Art in Ancient Greece|Greek art]]. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of [[Ancient Greece]], [[Athenian democracy]] and [[western culture|Western civilization]],<ref name="Beard2010">{{cite book|last=Beard|first=Mary|authorlink=Mary Beard (classicist)|title=The Parthenon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q6MlnesZaRoC&pg=PA118|year=2010|publisher=Profile Books|isbn=978-1847650634|page=118}}</ref> and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments. To the Athenians who built it, the Parthenon and other Periclean monuments of the Acropolis were seen fundamentally as a celebration of Hellenic victory over the Persian invaders and as a thanksgiving to the gods for that victory.<ref name=":0" />  As of 2007 the [[Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Greece)|Greek Ministry of Culture]] was carrying out a programme of selective restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially ruined structure.<ref name="venieri-acropolis">{{cite web|url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2384 |title=Acropolis of Athens |author=Ioanna Venieri |publisher=Hellenic Ministry of Culture |accessdate=4 May 2007}}</ref>

The Parthenon itself replaced an older temple of Athena, which historians call the Pre-Parthenon or [[Older Parthenon]], that was destroyed in the [[Greco-Persian wars|Persian invasion]] of 480&nbsp;BC. The temple is [[Archaeoastronomy|archaeoastronomically]] aligned to the [[Hyades (star cluster)|Hyades]].<ref name="BoutsikasHannah2012">{{cite journal|last1=Boutsikas|first1=Efrosyni|last2=Hannah|first2=Robert|title=Aitia, Astronomy and the timing of the Arrhēphoria|journal=The Annual of the British School at Athens|volume=107|year=2012|pages=233–245|issn=0068-2454|doi=10.1017/S0068245411000141}}</ref> Like most Greek temples, the Parthenon served a practical purpose as the city [[treasury]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Robertson|first1=Miriam|title=A Shorter History of Greek Art|date=1981|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0521280846|page=90|url=https://books.google.com/?id=BoUsvD1_VNQC&pg=PA90&dq=Parthenon+used+as+a+treasury#v=onepage&q=Parthenon%20used%20as%20a%20treasury&f=false|accessdate=10 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Davison|first1=Claire Cullen|last2=Lundgreen|first2=Birte|title=Pheidias:The Sculptures and Ancient Sources|date=2009|publisher=Institute of Classical Studies, University of London|volume=105|location=London|isbn=978-1905670215|page=209|url=https://books.google.com/?id=qm5CAQAAIAAJ&q=Parthenon+used+primarily+as+a+treasury&dq=Parthenon+used+primarily+as+a+treasury|accessdate=10 September 2017}}</ref> For a time, it served as the treasury of the [[Delian League]], which later became the [[Athenian Empire]]. In the final decade of the sixth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a [[History of Christianity#Early Middle Ages (476–799)|Christian]] church dedicated to the [[Mary, the mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]].

After the [[Ottoman Greece|Ottoman conquest]], it was turned into a [[mosque]] in the early 1460s. On 26 September 1687, an Ottoman ammunition dump inside the building was ignited by [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] bombardment. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures. From 1800 to 1803,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/l/lord_elgin_and_the_parthenon_s.aspx|title=Lord Elgin and the Parthenon Sculptures|publisher=British Museum|date=|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203024816/https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/l/lord_elgin_and_the_parthenon_s.aspx|archivedate=3 February 2013}}</ref> [[Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin]] removed some of the surviving sculptures with the alleged permission of the [[Turkish people|Turks]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]].{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} These sculptures, now known as the [[Elgin Marbles]] or the Parthenon Marbles, were sold in 1816 to the [[British Museum]] in [[London]], where they are now displayed. Since 1983 (on the initiative of Culture Minister [[Melina Mercouri]]), the Greek government has been committed to the return of the sculptures to Greece.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/06/22/Greece-urges-Britain-return-sculptures/UPI-36201245680874/ |title=Greece urges Britain to return sculptures |publisher=UPI.com |date=22 June 2009 |accessdate=29 June 2009}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The origin of the Parthenon's name is from the Greek word παρθενών (''parthenon''), which referred to the "unmarried women's apartments" in a house and in the Parthenon's case seems to have been used at first only for a particular room of the temple;<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dparqenw%2Fn παρθενών], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library</ref> it is debated which room this is and how the room acquired its name. The Liddell–Scott–Jones ''[[A Greek–English Lexicon|Greek–English Lexicon]]'' states that this room was the western [[cella]] of the Parthenon, as does J.B. Bury.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=A history of Greece to the death of Alexander the Great, 3rd ed|last=Bury|first=J. B.|last2=Meiggs|first2=Russell|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1956|isbn=|location=Oxford|pages=367–369}}</ref> Jamauri D. Green holds that the parthenon was the room in which the [[peplos]] presented to Athena at the [[Panathenaic Festival]] was woven by the ''[[arrephoros|arrephoroi]]'', a group of four young girls chosen to serve Athena each year.<ref>Hurwit 200, pp. 161–163.</ref> Christopher Pelling asserts that Athena Parthenos may have constituted a discrete cult of Athena, intimately connected with, but not identical to, that of [[Athena Polias]].<ref>Research has revealed a shrine with altar pre-dating the Older Parthenon, respected by, incorporated and rebuilt in the north ''[[pteron]]'' of the Parthenon (Pelling, ''Greek Tragedy and the Historian'', 169).</ref> According to this theory, the name of the Parthenon means the "temple of the virgin goddess" and refers to the cult of Athena Parthenos that was associated with the temple.<ref name="Br">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Parthenon |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> The epithet ''parthénos'' ({{lang|grc|παρθένος}})  meant "maiden, girl", but also "virgin, unmarried woman"<ref>[http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dparqe%2Fnos παρθένος], Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus Digital Library</ref> and was especially used for [[Artemis]], the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and vegetation, and for Athena, the [[goddess]] of strategy and tactics, handicraft, and practical reason.<ref>Frazer, ''The Golden Bough'', 18</ref> It has also been suggested that the name of the temple alludes to the maidens (''parthenoi''), whose supreme sacrifice guaranteed the safety of the city.<ref>Whitley, ''The Archaeology of Ancient Greece'', 352</ref> ''Parthénos'' has also been applied to the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]], Parthénos Maria, and the Parthenon had been converted to a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the final decade of the sixth century.<ref name="freely"/>

The first instance in which ''Parthenon'' definitely refers to the entire building is found in the writings of the 4th century BC orator [[Demosthenes]]. In 5th-century building accounts, the structure is simply called ''ho naos'' ("the temple"). The architects [[Iktinos]] and [[Callicrates]] are said to have called the building ''Hekatompedos'' ("the hundred footer") in their lost treatise on Athenian architecture,<ref>[[Harpocration]].{{Full citation needed|date=May 2007}}</ref> and, in the 4th century and later, the building was referred to as the ''Hekatompedos'' or the ''Hekatompedon'' as well as the Parthenon; the 1st-century-AD writer [[Plutarch]] referred to the building as the ''Hekatompedos Parthenon''.<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''Pericles'' 13.4.</ref>

Because the Parthenon was dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, it has sometimes been referred to as the Temple of [[Minerva]], the Roman name for Athena, particularly during the 19th century.<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, 1878</ref>

==Function==
[[File:DoricParthenon.jpg|thumb|The [[Doric order]] of the Parthenon]]
Although the Parthenon is architecturally a temple and is usually called so, it is not really one in the conventional sense of the word.<ref name="Deacy-11">[[Susan Deacy]], ''Athena'', Routledge, 2008, p. 111.</ref> A small [[shrine]] has been excavated within the building, on the site of an older [[sanctuary]] probably dedicated to Athena as a way to get closer to the goddess,<ref name="Deacy-11" /> but the Parthenon never hosted the cult of Athena Polias, patron of Athens: the [[cult image]], which was bathed in the sea and to which was presented the ''[[peplos]]'', was an olivewood ''[[xoanon]]'', located at an older altar on the northern side of the Acropolis.<ref name="Burkert-143">Burkert, ''Greek Religion'', Blackwell, 1985, p. 143.</ref>

The colossal statue of Athena by [[Phidias]] was not related to any cult<ref>MC. Hellmann, ''L'Architecture grecque. Architecture religieuse et funéraire'', Picard, 2006, p. 118.</ref> and is not known to have inspired any religious fervour.<ref name="Burkert-143" /> It did not seem to have any [[priest]]ess, altar or cult name.<ref name="Nagy-55">B. Nagy, "Athenian Officials on the Parthenon Frieze", ''AJA'', Vol. 96, No. 1 (January 1992), p. 55.</ref>
According to [[Thucydides]], [[Pericles]] once referred to the statue as a gold reserve, stressing that it "contained forty talents of pure gold and it was all removable".<ref>Thucydides 2.13.5. Retrieved 11 September 2008.</ref>
The Athenian statesman thus implies that the metal, obtained from contemporary coinage,<ref>S. Eddy, "The Gold in the Athena Parthenos", ''AJA'', Vol. 81, No. 1 (Winter, 1977), pp. 107–111.</ref> could be used again without any impiety.<ref name="Nagy-55" />
The Parthenon should then be viewed as a grand setting for Phidias' votive statue rather than a cult site.<ref>B. Holtzmann and A. Pasquier, ''Histoire de l'art antique : l'art grec'', École du Louvre, Réunion des musées nationaux and Documentation française, 1998, p. 177.</ref> It is said{{by whom|date=June 2014}} in many writings of the Greeks that there were many treasures stored inside the temple, such as Persian swords and small statue figures made of precious metals.

Archaeologist [[Joan Breton Connelly]] has recently argued for the coherency of the Parthenon’s sculptural programme in presenting a succession of genealogical narratives that track Athenian identity back through the ages: from the birth of Athena, through [[wikt:Special:Search/cosmic|cosmic]] and epic battles, to the final great event of the [[Athenian Bronze Age]], the war of [[Erechtheus]] and [[Eumolpos]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Parthenon Enigma: a New Understanding of the West's Most Iconic Building and the People Who Made It|publisher = Vintage|date = 2014|location = New York|isbn = 978-0307476593|first = Joan Breton|last = Connelly}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Welcome to Joan Breton Connelly|url = http://www.joanbretonconnelly.com/|website = Welcome to Joan Breton Connelly|accessdate = 18 August 2015}}</ref>  She argues a pedagogical function for the Parthenon’s sculptured decoration, one that establishes and perpetuates Athenian foundation myth, memory, values and identity.<ref>Joan Breton Connelly, ''The Parthenon Enigma'',"[https://www.amazon.com/Parthenon-Enigma-Joan-Breton-Connelly/dp/030759338X]" New York, Knopf, 2014, p. 35</ref><ref>Daniel Mendelsohn, "[http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/14/deep-frieze Deep Frieze]", ''The New Yorker'', 14 April 2014</ref> While some classicists, including [[Mary Beard (classicist)|Mary Beard]], [[Peter Green (historian)|Peter Green]], and [[Garry Wills]]<ref>Mary Beard, "[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/mar/06/latest-scheme-parthenon/ The Latest Scheme for the Parthenon]", ''The New York Review of Books'', 6 March 2014</ref><ref>Mary Beard, Peter Green, Garry Wills "[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/may/22/parthenon-enigma-exchange/ ‘The Parthenon Enigma’—An Exchange]", ''The New York Review of Books'', 22 May 2014</ref> have doubted or rejected Connelly's thesis, an increasing number of historians, archaeologists, and classical scholars support her work. They include: J.J. Pollitt,<ref>{{cite web|title = Decoding the Parthenon by J.J. Pollitt – The New Criterion|url = http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/Decoding-the-Parthenon-7857|website = www.newcriterion.com|accessdate = 18 August 2015}}</ref> Brunilde Ridgway,<ref>{{cite web|title = Rethinking the West's Most Iconic Building – Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin|url = http://bulletin.brynmawr.edu/features/rethinking-the-wests-most-iconic-building/|website = bulletin.brynmawr.edu|accessdate = 18 August 2015}}</ref> Nigel Spivey,<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://media.wix.com/ugd/2b5cdc_ea1cd7caf3404a2f8e9e7ebfec55b4bb.pdf|title = Art and Archaeology|last = Spivey|first = Nigel|date = October 2014|journal = Greece & Rome|doi = 10.1017/S0017383514000138|pmid = |access-date = |volume = 61|issue = 2|pages = 287–290}}</ref> Caroline Alexander,<ref>{{Cite news|title = ‘The Parthenon Enigma,’ by Joan Breton Connelly|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/books/review/the-parthenon-enigma-by-joan-breton-connelly.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 23 January 2014|access-date = 18 August 2015|issn = 0362-4331|first = Caroline|last = Alexander}}</ref> [[A.E. Stallings]].<ref>{{cite web|title = Deep Frieze Meaning|url = http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/deep-frieze-meaning_803982.html|website = www.weeklystandard.com|accessdate = 18 August 2015}}</ref>

===Older Parthenon===
{{Main|Older Parthenon}}
[[File:Parthenon ancient & Pericles, Maxime Collignon.jpg|thumb|The [[Older Parthenon]] (in black) was destroyed by the Achaemenids during the [[Destruction of Athens]] in 480-479 BC, and then rebuilt by [[Pericles]] (in grey).]]
The first endeavour to build a sanctuary for [[Athena#Athena Parthenos: Virgin Athena|Athena Parthenos]] on the site of the present Parthenon was begun shortly after the [[Battle of Marathon]] (c. 490–488&nbsp;BC) upon a solid [[limestone]] foundation that extended and levelled the southern part of the [[Acropolis]] summit. This building replaced a ''hekatompedon'' (meaning "hundred-footer") and would have stood beside the [[Old Temple of Athena|archaic temple dedicated to ''Athena Polias'']] ("of the city"). The [[Older Parthenon|Older or Pre-Parthenon]], as it is frequently referred to, was still under construction when the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]] sacked the city in 480&nbsp;BC and razed the Acropolis.<ref name="venieri-acropolis" /><ref>Hurwit 2005, p. 135</ref>

The existence of both the proto-Parthenon and its destruction were known from [[Herodotus]],<ref>Herodotus Histories, 8.53</ref> and the drums of its columns were plainly visible built into the curtain wall north of the [[Erechtheion]]. Further physical evidence of this structure was revealed with the excavations of [[Panagis Kavvadias|Panagiotis Kavvadias]] of 1885–90. The findings of this dig allowed [[Wilhelm Dörpfeld]], then director of the [[German Archaeological Institute]], to assert that there existed a distinct substructure to the original Parthenon, called Parthenon I by Dörpfeld, not immediately below the present edifice as had been previously assumed.<ref>W. Dörpfeld, "Der aeltere Parthenon", ''Ath. Mitteilungen'', XVII, 1892, pp. 158–189 and W. Dörpfeld, "Die Zeit des alteren Parthenon", ''AM'' '''27''', 1902, 379–416</ref> Dörpfeld's observation was that the three steps of the first Parthenon consisted of two steps of Poros limestone, the same as the foundations, and a top step of Karrha limestone that was covered by the lowest step of the Periclean Parthenon. This platform was smaller and slightly to the north of the final Parthenon, indicating that it was built for a wholly different building, now completely covered over. This picture was somewhat complicated by the publication of the final report on the 1885–90 excavations, indicating that the substructure was contemporary with the Kimonian walls, and implying a later date for the first temple.<ref>P. Kavvadis, G. Kawerau, ''Die Ausgabung der Acropolis vom Jahre 1885 bis zum Jahre 1890'', 1906</ref>

[[Image:Perserschutt.gif|thumb|upright|Part of the archaeological remains called ''[[Perserschutt]]'', or "Persian rubble": remnants of the destruction of Athens by the armies of [[Xerxes I]]. Photographed in 1866, just after excavation.]]
If the original Parthenon was indeed destroyed in 480, it invites the question of why the site was left a ruin for thirty-three years. One argument involves the oath sworn by the Greek allies before the [[Battle of Plataea]] in 479&nbsp;BC<ref>NM Tod, ''A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions II'', 1948, no. 204, lines 46–51, The authenticity of this is disputed, however; see also P. Siewert, Der Eid von Plataia (Munich 1972) 98–102</ref> declaring that the sanctuaries destroyed by the Persians would not be rebuilt, an oath from which the Athenians were only absolved with the [[Peace of Callias]] in 450.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kerr|first=Minott|url=http://people.reed.edu/~mkerr/papers/Parth95.html|title='The Sole Witness': The Periclean Parthenon|publisher=Reed College Portland, Oregon USA|date=23 October 1995|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608024611/http://people.reed.edu/~mkerr/papers/Parth95.html|archivedate=8 June 2007}}</ref> The mundane fact of the cost of reconstructing Athens after the Persian sack is at least as likely a cause. However, the excavations of [[Bert Hodge Hill]] led him to propose the existence of a second Parthenon, begun in the period of [[Cimon|Kimon]] after 468&nbsp;BC.<ref>B.H. Hill, "The Older Parthenon", ''AJA', XVI, 1912, 535–58</ref> Hill claimed that the Karrha limestone step Dörpfeld thought was the highest of Parthenon I was in fact the lowest of the three steps of Parthenon II, whose stylobate dimensions Hill calculated at {{convert|23.51|x|66.888|m|2|lk=on}}.

One difficulty in dating the proto-Parthenon is that at the time of the 1885 excavation the archaeological method of [[seriation (archaeology)|seriation]] was not fully developed; the careless digging and refilling of the site led to a loss of much valuable information. An attempt to discuss and make sense of the potsherds found on the Acropolis came with the two-volume study by Graef and Langlotz published in 1925–33.<ref>B. Graef, E. Langlotz, ''Die Antiken Vasen von der Akropolis zu Athen'', Berlin 1925–33</ref> This inspired American archaeologist [[William Bell Dinsmoor]] to attempt to supply limiting dates for the temple platform and the five walls hidden under the re-terracing of the Acropolis. Dinsmoor concluded that the latest possible date for Parthenon I was no earlier than 495&nbsp;BC, contradicting the early date given by Dörpfeld.<ref>W. Dinsmoor, "The Date of the Older Parthenon", ''AJA'', XXXVIII, 1934, 408–48</ref> Further, Dinsmoor denied that there were two proto-Parthenons, and held that the only pre-Periclean temple was what Dörpfeld referred to as Parthenon II. Dinsmoor and Dörpfeld exchanged views in the ''American Journal of Archaeology'' in 1935.<ref>W. Dörpfeld, "Parthenon I, II, III", ''AJA'', XXXIX, 1935, 497–507, and W. Dinsmoor, ''AJA'', XXXIX, 1935, 508–9</ref>

===Present building===
[[File:The Parthenon at Night..jpg|thumb|The Parthenon at the acropolis of Athens at night.]]
[[File:Parthenon restoration.gif|thumb|Parthenon today and as it probably appeared in ancient times]]
In the mid-5th century BC, when the Athenian Acropolis became the seat of the [[Delian League]] and Athens was the greatest cultural centre of its time, [[Pericles]] initiated an ambitious building project that lasted the entire second half of the century. The most important buildings visible on the Acropolis today — the Parthenon, the [[Propylaia]], the [[Erechtheion]] and the temple of [[Athena Nike]] — were erected during this period. The Parthenon was built under the general supervision of the artist [[Phidias]], who also had charge of the sculptural decoration. The architects [[Ictinos]] and [[Callicrates]] began their work in 447&nbsp;BC, and the building was substantially completed by 432, but work on the decorations continued until at least 431.

==Architecture==
[[File:Parthenon plan.png|thumb|right|Floor plan of the Parthenon]]

The Parthenon is a [[peripteral]] [[octastyle]] [[Doric order|Doric]] temple with [[Ionic order|Ionic]] architectural features. It stands on a platform or [[stylobate]] of three steps. In common with other Greek temples, it is of [[post and lintel]] construction and is surrounded by columns ("peripteral") carrying an [[entablature]]. There are eight columns at either end ("octastyle") and seventeen on the sides. There is a double row of columns at either end. The colonnade surrounds an inner masonry structure, the ''[[cella]]'', which is divided into two compartments. At either end of the building the [[gable]] is finished with a triangular [[pediment]] originally occupied by sculpted figures. The columns are of the [[Doric order]], with simple capitals, fluted shafts and no bases. Above the architrave of the entablature is a [[frieze]] of carved pictorial panels ([[Metope (architecture)|metopes]]), separated by formal architectural [[triglyph]]s, typical of the Doric order. Around the cella and across the lintels of the inner columns runs a continuous sculptured [[frieze]] in low relief. This element of the architecture is [[Ionic order|Ionic]] in style rather than Doric.<ref>Banister Fletcher, ''History of architecture on the Comparative Method'', pp. 119–123</ref>

Measured at the stylobate, the dimensions of the base of the Parthenon are {{convert|69.5|by|30.9|m|ft}}. The cella was 29.8&nbsp;metres long by 19.2&nbsp;metres wide (97.8&nbsp;×&nbsp;63.0&nbsp;ft). On the exterior, the Doric columns measure {{convert|1.9|m|ft}} in diameter and are {{convert|10.4|m|ft}} high. The corner columns are slightly larger in diameter. The Parthenon had 46 outer columns and 23 inner columns in total, each column containing 20 flutes. (A flute is the [[wikt:concave|concave]] shaft carved into the column form.) The roof was covered with large overlapping marble tiles known as [[imbrex and tegula|imbrices and tegulae]].{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Tegula.html|title=LacusCurtius • Roman Architecture — Roof Tiles (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)|website=penelope.uchicago.edu|language=en|access-date=8 February 2018}}</ref>

The Parthenon is regarded as the finest example of Greek architecture. The temple, wrote [[John Julius Cooper]], "enjoys the reputation of being the most perfect Doric temple ever built. Even in antiquity, its architectural refinements were legendary, especially the subtle correspondence between the curvature of the stylobate, the taper of the [[naos (architecture)|naos]] walls and the ''entasis'' of the columns."<ref>John Julius Norwich, ''Great Architecture of the World'', 2001, p. 63</ref><!-- If we must have this quote let's at least get it right. --> ''[[Entasis]]'' refers to the slight swelling, of {{convert|4|cm}}, in the centre of the columns to counteract the appearance of columns having a waist, as the swelling makes them look straight from a distance. The stylobate is the platform on which the columns stand. As in many other classical Greek temples,<ref>And in the surviving foundations of the preceding Older Parthenon (Penrose, ''Principles of Athenian Architecture'' 2nd ed. ch. II.3, plate 9).</ref> it has a slight parabolic upward curvature intended to shed rainwater and reinforce the building against earthquakes. The columns might therefore be supposed to lean outwards, but they actually lean slightly inwards so that if they carried on, they would meet almost exactly a mile above the centre of the Parthenon; since they are all the same height, the curvature of the outer stylobate edge is transmitted to the [[architrave]] and roof above: "All follow the rule of being built to delicate curves", Gorham Stevens observed when pointing out that, in addition, the west front was built at a slightly higher level than that of the east front.<ref>Penrose ''op. cit.'' pp. 32–34, found the difference motivated by economies of labour; Gorham P. Stevens, "Concerning the Impressiveness of the Parthenon" ''American Journal of Archaeology'' '''66'''.3 (July 1962:337–338).</ref>

It is not universally agreed what the intended effect of these "optical refinements" was; they may serve as a sort of "reverse optical illusion".<ref>Archeologists discuss similarly curved architecture and offer the theory. ''Nova'', "Secrets of the Parthenon", PBS. http://video.yahoo.com/watch/1849622/6070405{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=Balon Greyjoy |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> As the Greeks may have been aware, two [[parallel (geometry)|parallel]] lines appear to bow, or curve outward, when intersected by converging lines. In this case, the ceiling and floor of the temple may seem to bow in the presence of the surrounding angles of the building. Striving for perfection, the designers may have added these curves, compensating for the illusion by creating their own curves, thus negating this effect and allowing the temple to be seen as they intended. It is also suggested that it was to enliven what might have appeared an inert mass in the case of a building without curves, but the comparison ought to be, according to Smithsonian historian Evan Hadingham, with the Parthenon's more obviously curved predecessors than with a notional rectilinear temple.<ref name=SmithMag>{{Citation|last=Hadingham|first=Evan|year=February 2008|title=Unlocking Mysteries of the Parthenon |publisher=Smithsonian Magazine|publication-place= Washington, DC|page=42}}</ref>

Some studies of the Acropolis, including of the Parthenon and its façade, have conjectured that many of its proportions approximate the [[golden ratio]].<ref>Van Mersbergen, Audrey M., "Rhetorical Prototypes in Architecture: Measuring the Acropolis", ''Philosophical Polemic Communication Quarterly'', Vol. 46, 1998.</ref> However, such theories have been discredited by more recent studies, which have shown that the proportions of the Parthenon do not match the golden proportion.<ref>{{cite journal|author=George Markowsky|url=http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/teaching/maa/markowsky.pdf|format=PDF|title=Misconceptions about the Golden Ratio|journal=The College Mathematics Journal|volume= 23|issue= 1|date=January 1992}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Livio|first=Mario|authorlink=Mario Livio|title=The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World's Most Astonishing Number|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bUARfgWRH14C|origyear=2002|edition=First trade paperback|year=2003|publisher=[[Random House|Broadway Books]]|location=New York City|isbn=0-7679-0816-3|pages=74–5}}</ref>

==Sculpture==
[[File:Elgin Marbles east pediment.jpg|thumb|Group from the east pediment, [[British Museum]].]]
The cella of the Parthenon housed the [[Athena Parthenos|chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos]] sculpted by [[Phidias]] and dedicated in 439 or 438&nbsp;BC.  The appearance of this is known from other images.  The decorative stonework was originally highly coloured.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/ancient-greece/history-of-ancient-greek-art-12.asp |title=Tarbell, F.B. ''A History of Ancient Greek Art''. (online book) |publisher=Ellopos.net |accessdate=18 April 2009}}</ref> The temple was dedicated to Athena at that time, though construction continued until almost the beginning of the [[Peloponnesian War]] in 432. By the year 438, the sculptural decoration of the Doric metopes on the [[frieze]] above the exterior colonnade, and of the Ionic frieze around the upper portion of the walls of the [[cella]], had been completed.  In the ''opisthodomus'' (the back room of the cella) were stored the monetary contributions of the Delian League, of which Athens was the leading member.

Only a very small number of the sculptures remain ''in situ''; most of the surviving sculptures are today (controversially) in the [[British Museum]] in London as the [[Elgin Marbles]], and the Athens [[Acropolis Museum]], but a few pieces are also in the [[Louvre]], and museums in Rome, [[Vienna]] and [[Palermo]].<ref>For comprehensive drawings showing the location of each piece today, see: [https://www.academia.edu/2543561/The_Parthenon= "The Parthenon", in ''Strolling Through Athens''], City of Athens, 2004, pp. 112–119.</ref>

===Metopes===
{{Main|Metopes of the Parthenon}}
[[File:Parthenon XL.jpg|thumb|left|Detail of the West metopes]]

The frieze of the Parthenon's entablature contained ninety-two [[Metope (architecture)|metopes]], fourteen each on the east and west sides, thirty-two each on the north and south sides. They were carved in high relief, a practice employed until then only in treasuries (buildings used to keep votive gifts to the gods).{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} According to the building records, the metope sculptures date to the years 446–440&nbsp;BC. The metopes of the east side of the Parthenon, above the main entrance, depict the [[Gigantomachy]] (the mythical battle between the Olympian gods and the [[Gigantes|Giants]]). The metopes of the west end show the [[Amazonomachy]] (the mythical battle of the Athenians against the [[Amazons]]). The metopes of the south side show the Thessalian [[Centauromachy]] (battle of the [[Lapiths]] aided by [[Theseus]] against the half-man, half-horse [[Centaur]]s). Metopes 13–21 are missing, but drawings from 1674 attributed to Jaques Carrey indicate a series of humans; these have been variously interpreted as scenes from the [[Lapith]] wedding, scenes from the early history of Athens and various myths.<ref name=Barringer2008 >{{Cite book |last=Barringer |first=Judith M |year=2008 |title=Art, myth, and ritual in classical Greece |publisher=Cambridge |isbn=978-0521646475  |url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/art-myth-and-ritual-in-classical-greece/oclc/174134120 |page=78 |postscript=<!--None--> }}</ref> On the north side of the Parthenon, the metopes are poorly preserved, but the subject seems to be the [[Iliou persis|sack of Troy]].

The metopes present examples of the [[Severe Style]] in the anatomy of the figures' heads, in the limitation of the corporal movements to the contours and not to the muscles, and in the presence of pronounced veins in the figures of the [[Centauromachy]]. Several of the metopes still remain on the building, but, with the exception of those on the northern side, they are severely damaged. Some of them are located at the [[Acropolis Museum]], others are in the [[British Museum]], and one is at the [[Louvre]] museum.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}<ref>{{Citation|title=Tenth metope from the south façade of the Parthenon|url=https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/tenth-metope-south-facade-parthenon|accessdate=30 January 2018}}</ref>

In March 2011, archaeologists announced that they had discovered five [[Metope (architecture)|metopes]] of the Parthenon in the south wall of the Acropolis, which had been extended when the Acropolis was used as a fortress. According to ''Eleftherotypia'' daily, the archaeologists claimed the metopes had been placed there in the 18th century when the Acropolis wall was being repaired. The experts discovered the metopes while processing 2,250 photos with modern photographic methods, as the white Pentelic [[marble]] they are made of differed from the other stone of the wall. It was previously presumed that the missing metopes were destroyed during the Morosini explosion of the Parthenon in 1687.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://greece.greekreporter.com/2011/03/04/archaeologists-discover-new-metopes-of-parthenon/Discovery|title=Discovery Reveals Ancient Greek Theaters Used Moveable Stages Over 2,000 Years Ago |website=greece.greekreporter.com}}</ref>

===Frieze===
{{Main|Parthenon Frieze}}
[[File:1868 Lawrence Alma-Tadema - Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends.jpg|thumb|''[[Phidias]] Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends'', 1868 painting by [[Lawrence Alma-Tadema]]]]

The most characteristic feature in the architecture and decoration of the temple is the Ionic [[frieze]] running around the exterior walls of the cella, which is the inside structure of the Parthenon. The bas-relief frieze was carved in situ; it is dated to 442&nbsp;BC-438&nbsp;BC.

One interpretation is that it depicts an idealized version of the [[Panathenaic Festival|Panathenaic procession]] from the Dipylon Gate in the [[Kerameikos]] to the [[Acropolis]]. In this procession held every year, with a special procession taking place every four years, Athenians and foreigners were participating to honour the goddess [[Athena]], offering sacrifices and a new [[peplos]] (dress woven by selected noble Athenian girls called ''ergastines'').

[[Joan Breton Connelly]] offers a mythological interpretation for the frieze, one that is in harmony with the rest of the temple’s sculptural programme which shows Athenian genealogy through a series of succession myths set in the remote past. She identifies the central panel above the door of the Parthenon as the pre-battle sacrifice of the daughter of [[King Erechtheus]], a sacrifice that ensured Athenian victory over [[Eumolpos]] and his Thracian army. The great procession marching toward the east end of the Parthenon shows the post-battle thanksgiving sacrifice of cattle and sheep, honey and water, followed by the triumphant army of Erechtheus returning from their victory. This represents the very first Panathenaia set in mythical times, the model on which historic Panathenaic processions was based.<ref>Connelly, ''Parthenon and Parthenoi'', 53–80.</ref><ref>Connelly, ''The Parthenon Enigma'', chapters 4, 5, and 7.</ref>

===Pediments===
{{Main|Pediments of the Parthenon}}
The traveller [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], when he visited the Acropolis at the end of the 2nd century AD, only mentioned briefly the sculptures of the [[pediment]]s (gable ends) of the temple, reserving the majority of his description for the gold and ivory statue of the goddess inside.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.theoi.com/Text/Pausanias1B.html |title=Description of Greece |author=Pausanias |author-link=Pausanias (geographer) |translator-first=W.H.S. |translator-last=Jones |year=1918 |location=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Harvard University Press |at=Book 1, 24.5}}</ref>

====East pediment====
[[File:Partenon04.JPG|thumb|Part of the east pediment still found on the Parthenon (although part of it, like Dionysos, is a copy)]]

The figures on the corners of the pediment depict the passage of time over the course of a full day.  [[Chariot racing|Tethrippa]] of [[Helios]] and [[Selene]] are located on the left and right corners of the pediment respectively. The horses of Helios's chariot are shown with livid expressions as they ascend into the sky at the start of the day; whereas the Selene's horses struggle to stay on the pediment scene as the day comes to an end.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ancient.eu/article/780/|title=The Parthenon Sculptures by Mark Cartwright 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1325893001&objectid=461663|title=The British Museum: The Parthenon sculptures}}</ref>

====West pediment====
The supporters of Athena are extensively illustrated at the back of the left chariot, while the defenders of Poseidon are shown trailing behind the right chariot. It is believed that the corners of the pediment are filled by Athenian water deities, such as [[Cephissus (mythology)|Kephisos]] river, [[Ilissos]] river and nymph [[Callirhoe (Greek mythology)|Callirhoe]]. This belief merges from the fluid character of the sculptures' body position which represents the effort of the artist to give the impression of a flowing river.,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ascsa.edu.gr/pdf/uploads/hesperia/148069.pdf|title=Athenians and Eleusinians in the West Pediment of the Parthenon }}</ref><ref name="britishmuseum.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=461691&partId=1|title=The Parthenon Sculptures, The British Museum}}</ref> Next to the left river god, there are the sculptures of the mythical king of Athens ([[Kekrops]]) with his daughters ([[Aglauros]], [[Pandrosos]], [[Herse]]). The statue of Poseidon was the largest sculpture in the pediment until it broke into pieces during [[Francesco Morosini]]'s effort to remove it in 1688. The posterior piece of the torso was found by Lusieri in the groundwork of a Turkish house in 1801 and is currently held in [[British Museum]]. The anterior portion was revealed by Ross in 1835 and is now held in the [[Acropolis Museum]] of Athens.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=GFNuxcVKLIkC&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=poseidon+torso+morosini#v=onepage&q&f=false|title=The Pediments of the Prthenon by Olga Palagia|isbn=978-9004111981|last1=Palagia|first1=Olga|year=1998}}</ref>

Every statue in the west pediment has a fully completed back, which would have been impossible to see when the sculpture was on the temple; this indicates that the sculptors put great effort into accurately portraying the human body.<ref name="britishmuseum.org"/>

===Athena Parthenos===
{{Main|Athena Parthenos}}

The only piece of sculpture from the Parthenon known to be from the hand of Phidias<ref>
{{cite book |title= Chryselephantine Statuary in the Ancient Mediterranean World|last= Lapatin|first= Kenneth D.S.|year= 2001|publisher=OUP|location= Oxford|isbn= 978-0198153115|page= 63}}</ref> was the statue of Athena housed in the ''naos''. This massive [[chryselephantine sculpture]] is now lost and known only from copies, vase painting, gems, literary descriptions and coins.<ref>N. Leipen, Athena Parthenos: a huge reconstruction, 1972.</ref>

==Later history==
===Late antiquity===
[[File:Attica 06-13 Athens 50 View from Philopappos - Acropolis Hill.jpg|thumb|The Parthenon's position on the Acropolis dominates the city skyline of Athens.]]
[[File:ParthenonNight.jpg|thumb|Image of Parthenon at night]]
A major fire broke out in the Parthenon shortly after the middle of the third century AD<ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction to the Parthenon Frieze |publisher=[[National Documentation Centre (Greece)|National Documentation Centre]] (Greek Ministry of Culture) |url=http://www.ekt.gr/parthenonfrieze_text_version/introduction/history.jsp?lang=en |accessdate=14 August 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028205240/http://www.ekt.gr/parthenonfrieze_text_version/introduction/history.jsp?lang=en |archivedate=28 October 2012  }}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QME9WXUnookC&pg=PA69 Freely 2004, p. 69]. "According to one authority, [[John Travlos]], this occurred when Athens was sacked by the [[Heruli]] in AD 267, at which time the two-tiered colonnade in the cella was destroyed."</ref> which destroyed the Parthenon's roof and much of the sanctuary's interior.<ref name = "Chatziaslani">{{cite web |last=Chatziaslani |first=Kornilia |title=Morosini in Athens |publisher=Archaeology of the City of Athens  |url=http://www.eie.gr/archaeologia/En/chapter_more_8.aspx | accessdate=14 August 2012}}</ref>  Heruli pirates are also credited with sacking Athens in 276, and destroying most of the public buildings there, including the Parthenon.<ref name = "O'Donovan">{{cite web |last=O'Donovan |first=Connell |title=Pirates, marauders, and homos, oh my! |url=http://www.connellodonovan.com/heruli.html | accessdate=10 December 2015}}</ref> Repairs were made in the fourth century AD, possibly during the reign of [[Julian the Apostate]].<ref name = "AcropolisRestoration">{{cite web |title=The Parthenon |publisher=Acropolis Restoration Service  |url=http://www.ysma.gr/en/parthenon | accessdate=14 August 2012}}</ref>  A new wooden roof overlaid with clay tiles was installed to cover the sanctuary. It sloped at a greater incline than the original roof and left the building's wings exposed.<ref name = "Chatziaslani"/>

The Parthenon survived as a temple dedicated to Athena for nearly one thousand years until [[Theodosius II]], during the [[Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire]], decreed in 435 AD that all [[pagan]] temples in the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]] be closed.<ref name = "Freely69">[https://books.google.com/books?id=QME9WXUnookC&pg=PA69 Freely 2004, p. 69].</ref> 
However, it is debated exactly when during the 5th-century that the closure of the Parthenon as a temple was actually put in practice.  It is suggested to have occurred in c. 481–484, in the instructions against the remaining temples by order of [[Zeno (emperor)|Emperor Zeno]], because the temple had been the focus of Pagan Hellenic opposition against Zeno in Athens in support of Illus, who had promised to restore Hellenic rites to the temples that were still standing.<ref>Trombley, ''[https://books.google.se/books?id=HZefAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA145&lpg=PA145&dq=statue+allat-athena&source=bl&ots=J8DvCAWQZN&sig=6CwrxUq7hCUokhhLY5j60U_yebU&hl=sv&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi11Zq2o6fbAhXkIJoKHU-fB3EQ6AEITTAM#v=onepage&q=statue%20allat-athena&f=false  Hellenic Religion and Christianization c. 370–529]''</ref>

At some point in the fifth century, Athena's great [[cult image]] was looted by one of the emperors and taken to [[Constantinople]], where it was later destroyed, possibly during the [[Sack of Constantinople (1204)|siege and sack of Constantinople]] during the [[Fourth Crusade]] in 1204 AD.<ref>{{cite book | last = Cremin | first = Aedeen | title = Archaeologica | publisher =  Frances Lincoln Ltd. | year = 2007 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=A0llBlzF6UgC&pg=PA170 | page=170 |isbn = 978-0711228221}}</ref>

===Christian church===
The Parthenon was converted into a [[History of Christianity#Early Middle Ages (476–799)|Christian]] church in the final decade of the sixth century AD<ref name="freely">[https://books.google.com/books?id=QME9WXUnookC&pg=PA69 Freely 2004, p. 69] "Some modern writers maintain that the Parthenon was converted into a Christian sanctuary during the reign of [[Justinian]] (527–65)...But there is no evidence to support this in the ancient sources. The existing evidence suggests that the Parthenon was converted into a Christian [[basilica]] in the last decade of the sixth century."</ref> to become the Church of the Parthenos Maria (Virgin Mary), or the Church of the [[Theotokos]] ([[Mary, the mother of Jesus|Mother of God]]). The orientation of the building was changed to face towards the east; the main entrance was placed at the building's western end, and the Christian altar and [[iconostasis]] were situated towards the building's eastern side adjacent to an [[apse]] built where the temple's [[pronaos]] was formerly located.<ref name=Freely70>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QME9WXUnookC&pg=PA70 Freely 2004, p. 70].</ref><ref name=Hurwit293>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BAnbmQMvdkwC&pg=PA21 Hollis 2009, p. 21].</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=0pQ4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA293 Hurwit 2000, p. 293].</ref>  A large central portal with surrounding side-doors was made in the wall dividing the cella, which became the church's [[nave]], from the rear chamber, the church's [[narthex]].<ref name=Freely70/>  The spaces between the columns of the ''opisthodomus'' and the [[peristyle]] were walled up, though a number of doorways still permitted access.<ref name=Freely70/> [[Icons]] were painted on the walls and many Christian inscriptions were carved into the Parthenon's columns.<ref name = "AcropolisRestoration"/>  These renovations inevitably led to the removal and dispersal of some of the sculptures. Those depicting gods were either possibly re-interpreted according to a Christian theme, or removed.{{Citation needed|date=August 2012}}

The Parthenon became the fourth most important Christian pilgrimage destination in the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] after Constantinople, [[Ephesos]], and [[Thessalonica]].<ref name=Kaldelis>{{cite web|first=Anthony|last=Kaldellis|format=PDF|url=http://www.lsa.umich.edu/UMICH/modgreek/Home/_TOPNAV_WTGC/Lectures%20at%20U-M/ParthenonKaldellis.pdf|title=A Heretical (Orthodox) History of the Parthenon|publisher=University of Michigan|date=2007|page=3|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090824170528/http://www.lsa.umich.edu/UMICH/modgreek/Home/_TOPNAV_WTGC/Lectures%20at%20U-M/ParthenonKaldellis.pdf|archivedate=24 August 2009}}</ref> In 1018, the emperor [[Basil II]] went on a pilgrimage to Athens directly after his final victory over the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarians]] for the sole purpose of worshipping at the Parthenon.<ref name=Kaldelis/> In medieval Greek accounts it is called the Temple of Theotokos Atheniotissa and often indirectly referred to as famous without explaining exactly which temple they were referring to, thus establishing that it was indeed well known.<ref name=Kaldelis/>

At the time of the [[Latin Empire|Latin occupation]], it became for about 250&nbsp;years a [[Roman Catholic]] church of [[Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic)|Our Lady]]. During this period a tower, used either as a watchtower or [[bell tower]] and containing a spiral staircase, was constructed at the southwest corner of the cella, and vaulted tombs were built beneath the Parthenon's floor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0pQ4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA295|title=The Athenian Acropolis: History, Mythology, and Archaeology from the Neolithic Era to the Present|first=Jeffrey M.|last=Hurwit|date=19 November 1999|publisher=CUP Archive|via=Google Books}}</ref>

===Islamic mosque===
[[File:Peytier - Mosque in the Parthenon.jpg|thumb|Painting of the ruins of the Parthenon and the Ottoman mosque built after 1715, in the early 1830s by Pierre Peytier.]]In 1456, [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Turkish forces invaded Athens and laid siege to a [[Florence|Florentine]] army defending the Acropolis until June 1458, when it surrendered to the Turks.<ref>{{cite book | last = Babinger | first = Franz | title = Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time | publisher = Princeton University Press | year = 1992 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PPxC6rO7vvsC&pg=PA159 | pages=159–160 |isbn = 978-0691010786}}</ref> The Turks may have briefly restored the Parthenon to the [[Greek Orthodox]] Christians for continued use as a church.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tomkinson |first=John L. |title=Ottoman Athens I: Early Ottoman Athens (1456–1689) |publisher=Anagnosis Books  |url=http://www.anagnosis.gr/index.php?la=eng&pageID=216 | accessdate=14 August 2012}} "In 1466 the Parthenon was referred to as a church, so it seems likely that for some time at least, it continued to function as a cathedral, being restored to the use of the Greek archbishop."</ref> Some time before the close of the fifteenth century, the Parthenon became a mosque.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tomkinson |first=John L. |title=Ottoman Athens I: Early Ottoman Athens (1456–1689) |publisher=Anagnosis Books  |url=http://www.anagnosis.gr/index.php?la=eng&pageID=216 | accessdate=14 August 2012}} "Some time later – we do not know exactly when – the Parthenon was itself converted into a mosque."</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6tjUAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA317 D'Ooge 1909, p. 317]. "The conversion of the Parthenon into a mosque is first mentioned by another anonymous writer, the ''Paris Anonymous'', whose manuscript dating from the latter half of the fifteenth century was discovered in the library of Paris in 1862."</ref>

The precise circumstances under which the Turks appropriated it for use as a mosque are unclear; one account states that [[Mehmed II]] ordered its conversion as punishment for an Athenian plot against Ottoman rule.<ref name = "Miller">{{cite journal |last=Miller |first=Walter |title=A History of the Akropolis of Athens |journal=The American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts |volume=8 |year=1893 |pages=546–547 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3aMrAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA547}}</ref> The apse became a [[mihrab]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=BAnbmQMvdkwC&pg=PA33 Hollis 2009, p. 33].</ref> the tower previously constructed during the Roman Catholic occupation of the Parthenon was extended upwards to become a minaret,<ref>{{cite book | last = Bruno | first = Vincent J. | title = The Parthenon | publisher = W.W. Norton & Company | year = 1974 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kNItkhYRrc0C&pg=PA172 | isbn = 9780393314403 | page = 172}}</ref> a [[minbar]] was installed,<ref name=Freely70/> the Christian altar and iconostasis were removed, and the walls were whitewashed to cover icons of Christian saints and other Christian imagery.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6tjUAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA317 D'Ooge 1909, p. 317].</ref>

Despite the alterations accompanying the Parthenon's conversion into a church and subsequently a mosque, its structure had remained basically intact.<ref name = "Rathus">{{cite book | last = Fichner-Rathus | first = Lois | title = Understanding Art | publisher = Cengage Learning |edition = 10 | year = 2012 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JPlYOG52w2UC&pg=PT324 | page = 305 |isbn=978-1111836955}}</ref>  In 1667 the Turkish traveller [[Evliya Çelebi]] expressed marvel at the Parthenon's sculptures and figuratively described the building as "like some impregnable fortress not made by human agency".<ref>{{cite book | last = Stoneman | first = Richard | title = A Traveller's History of Athens | publisher = Interlink Books | year = 2004 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WmBdajkYRC4C&pg=PA209 |isbn=978-1566565332 | page = 209}}</ref> He composed a poetic supplication that it, as "a work less of human hands than of Heaven itself, should remain standing for all time".<ref name="Holt">{{cite journal |last=Holt |first=Frank L. |title=I, Marble Maiden |journal=[[Saudi Aramco World]] |volume=59 |number=6 |date=November–December 2008 |pages=36–41 |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200806/i.marble.maiden.htm |access-date=3 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801063702/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200806/i.marble.maiden.htm |archive-date=1 August 2012 |dead-url=yes  }}</ref> The French artist [[Jacques Carrey]] in 1674 visited the Acropolis and sketched the Parthenon's sculptural decorations.<ref name="Bowie">T. Bowie, D. Thimme, ''The Carrey Drawings of the Parthenon Sculptures'', 1971</ref>  Early in 1687, an engineer named Plantier sketched the Parthenon for the Frenchman Graviers d’Ortières.<ref name = "Chatziaslani"/> These depictions, particularly those made by Carrey, provide important, and sometimes the only, evidence of the condition of the Parthenon and its various sculptures prior to the devastation it suffered in late 1687 and the subsequent looting of its art objects.<ref name="Bowie"/>

===Destruction===
[[File:Parthenon, o Tempio di Minerva a Atene - Coronelli Vincenzo - 1688.jpg|thumb|Parthenon illustration, published in 1688, depicting the structure in its entirety, by [[Vincenzo Coronelli]]]]
In 1687, the Parthenon was extensively damaged in the greatest catastrophe to befall it in its long history.<ref name="AcropolisRestoration" /> As part of the [[Great Turkish War|Great Turkish War (1683–1699)]], the [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] sent an expedition led by [[Francesco Morosini]] to attack Athens and capture the Acropolis. The Ottoman Turks fortified the Acropolis and used the Parthenon as a [[gunpowder magazine]] – despite having been forewarned of the dangers of this use by the 1656 explosion that severely damaged the [[Propylaea]] – and as a shelter for members of the local Turkish community.<ref name="Tomkinson2">{{cite web |last=Tomkinson |first=John L. |title=Venetian Athens: Venetian Interlude (1684–1689) |publisher=Anagnosis Books  |url=http://www.anagnosis.gr/index.php?la=eng&pageID=217 | accessdate=14 August 2012}}</ref>  On 26 September a Venetian mortar round, fired from the Hill of Philopappus, blew up the magazine, and the building was partly destroyed.<ref>Theodor E. Mommsen, ''The Venetians in Athens and the Destruction of the Parthenon in 1687'', American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 45, No. 4 (October – December 1941), pp. 544–556</ref> The explosion blew out the building's central portion and caused the cella's walls to crumble into rubble.<ref name="Rathus" /> Greek architect and archaeologist Kornilia Chatziaslani writes that "...three of the sanctuary’s four walls nearly collapsed and three-fifths of the sculptures from the frieze fell. Nothing of the roof apparently remained in place. Six columns from the south side fell, eight from the north, as well as whatever remained from eastern porch, except for one column. The columns brought down with them the enormous marble architraves, triglyphs and metopes."<ref name="Chatziaslani" /> About three hundred people were killed in the explosion, which showered marble fragments over nearby Turkish defenders<ref name="Tomkinson2" /> and caused large fires that burned until the following day and consumed many homes.<ref name="Chatziaslani" />

[[File:MotarFragmentFromParthenon-BritishMuseum-August21-08.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Fragment of an exploded shell found on top of a wall in the Parthenon, thought to originate from the time of the Venetian siege]]Accounts written at the time conflict over whether this destruction was deliberate or accidental; one such account, written by the German officer Sobievolski, states that a Turkish deserter revealed to Morosini the use to which the Turks had put the Parthenon; expecting that the Venetians would not target a building of such historic importance. Morosini was said to have responded by directing his artillery to aim at the Parthenon.<ref name="Chatziaslani" /><ref name="Tomkinson2" /> Subsequently, Morosini sought to loot sculptures from the ruin and caused further damage in the process. Sculptures of [[Poseidon]] and Athena's horses fell to the ground and smashed as his soldiers tried to detach them from the building's west pediment.<ref name="Hurwit293" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Palagia |first=Olga |title=The Pediments of the Parthenon |edition=2 |publisher=Brill  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GFNuxcVKLIkC&pg=PA10 |isbn=978-9004111981 |year=1998 | accessdate=14 August 2012}}</ref>[[File:Dodwell Parthenon 1.jpg|thumb|"View of the Parthenon from the Propylea", [[Edward Dodwell]],  ''Views in Greece'', London 1821, depicting buildings of the time within the Acropolis]]

The following year, the Venetians abandoned Athens to avoid a confrontation with a large force the Turks had assembled at [[Chalcis]]; at that time, the Venetians had considered blowing up what remained of the Parthenon along with the rest of the Acropolis to deny its further use as a fortification to the Turks, but that idea was not pursued.<ref name="Tomkinson2" />

After the Turks had recaptured the Acropolis they used some of the rubble produced by this explosion to erect a smaller mosque within the shell of the ruined Parthenon.<ref name="Tomkinson3">{{cite web |last=Tomkinson |first=John L. |title=Ottoman Athens II: Later Ottoman Athens (1689–1821) |publisher=Anagnosis Books  |url=http://www.anagnosis.gr/index.php?la=eng&pageID=218 | accessdate=14 August 2012}}</ref> For the next century and a half, portions of the remaining structure were looted for building material and any remaining objects of value.<ref name="Grafton">{{cite book|last = Grafton| first = Anthony|author2=Glenn W. Most |author3=Salvatore Settis | title = The Classical Tradition| publisher = Harvard University Press| year = 2010| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LbqF8z2bq3sC&pg=PA693 |page=693 |isbn=978-0674035720}}</ref>

The 18th century was a period of [[Sick man of Europe|Ottoman stagnation]]; as a result, many more Europeans found access to Athens, and the picturesque ruins of the Parthenon were much drawn and painted, spurring a rise in [[philhellenism]] and helping to arouse sympathy in Britain and France for Greek independence. Amongst those early travellers and archaeologists were [[James Stuart (1713–1788)|James Stuart]] and [[Nicholas Revett]], who were commissioned by the [[Society of Dilettanti]] to survey the ruins of classical Athens. What they produced was the first measured drawings of the Parthenon published in 1787 in the second volume of ''Antiquities of Athens Measured and Delineated''. In 1801, the British Ambassador at [[Constantinople]], the [[Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin|Earl of Elgin]], obtained a questionable ''firman'' (edict) from the [[Sultan]], whose existence or legitimacy has not been proved until today, to make casts and drawings of the antiquities on the Acropolis, to demolish recent buildings if this was necessary to view the antiquities, and to remove sculptures from them.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

===Independent Greece===
[[File:Parthenon 1839.jpg|thumb|right|The first known photograph of the Parthenon was taken by Joly de Lotbinière in October 1839. This is an engraving made after the original daguerreotype. The Ottoman-era mosque can just be seen behind the foreground pillars.]]
[[File:Parthenon.Southern.Side.damaged.jpg|thumb|The southern side of the Parthenon, which sustained considerable damage in the 1687 explosion]]
When independent Greece gained control of Athens in 1832, the visible section of the minaret was demolished; only its base and spiral staircase up to the level of the [[architrave]] remain intact.<ref>{{cite book | last = Murray | first = John | title = Handbook for travellers in Greece, Volume 2 | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1884 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ac4GAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA317 | page = 317}}</ref> Soon all the medieval and Ottoman buildings on the Acropolis were destroyed. However, the image of the small mosque within the Parthenon's cella has been preserved in [[Pierre-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière|Joly de Lotbinière]]'s photograph, published in Lerebours's ''Excursions Daguerriennes'' in 1842: the first photograph of the Acropolis.<ref>Neils, ''The Parthenon: From Antiquity to the Present'', 336– the picture was taken in October 1839</ref> The area became a historical precinct controlled by the Greek government. Today it attracts millions of tourists every year, who travel up the path at the western end of the Acropolis, through the restored [[Propylaea]], and up the Panathenaic Way to the Parthenon, which is surrounded by a low fence to prevent damage.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

===Dispute over the marbles===
{{Main|Elgin Marbles}}
[[File:Pediments of the Parthenon-British Museum.jpg|thumb|Life-size pediment sculptures from the Parthenon in the British Museum]]

The dispute centres around the Parthenon Marbles removed by [[Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin]], from 1801 to 1803, which are in the [[British Museum]]. A few sculptures from the Parthenon are also in the [[Louvre]] in Paris, in [[Copenhagen]], and elsewhere, but more than half are in the [[Acropolis Museum]] in Athens.<ref name="Br" /><ref name="BrIT">[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/09/europe/EU_GEN_Greece_Acropolis_Museum.php Greek Premier Says New Acropolis Museum to Boost Bid for Parthenon Sculptures], International Herald Tribune</ref> A few can still be seen on the building itself. The Greek government has campaigned since 1983 for the British Museum to return the sculptures to [[Greece]].<ref name="BrIT"/> The British Museum has steadfastly refused to return the sculptures,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/news_and_press_releases/statements/the_parthenon_sculptures/facts_and_figures.aspx |title=The Parthenon Sculptures: The Position of the British Museum Truistees and Common Misconceptions |publisher=The British Museum |accessdate=18 April 2009}}</ref> and successive British governments have been unwilling to force the Museum to do so (which would require legislation). Nevertheless, talks between senior representatives from Greek and British cultural ministries and their legal advisors took place in London on 4 May 2007. These were the first serious negotiations for several years, and there were hopes that the two sides may move a step closer to a resolution.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6578661.stm Talks Due on Elgin Marbles Return], BBC News</ref>

==Restoration==
In 1975, the Greek government began a concerted effort to restore the Parthenon and other Acropolis structures. After some delay, a Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments was established in 1983.<ref>[http://www.arcchip.cz/w09/w09_lambrinou.pdf Lina Lambrinou, "State of the Art: ‘Parthenon of Athens: A Challenge Throughout History"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003065235/http://www.arcchip.cz/w09/w09_lambrinou.pdf |date=3 October 2008 }} (pdf file) with bibliography of interim conservation reports;</ref> The project later attracted funding and technical assistance from the [[European Union]]. An archaeological committee thoroughly documented every [[artifact (archaeology)|artifact]] remaining on the site, and architects assisted with [[computer model]]s to determine their original locations. Particularly important and fragile sculptures were transferred to the Acropolis Museum. A crane was installed for moving marble blocks; the crane was designed to fold away beneath the roofline when not in use. In some cases, prior re-constructions were found to be incorrect. These were dismantled, and a careful process of restoration began.<ref>[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081003065234/http://cipa.icomos.org/fileadmin/papers/Athens2007/FP111.pdf "The Surface Conservation Project"] (pdf file). Once they had been conserved, the West Frieze blocks were moved to the museum, and copies cast in artificial stone were reinstalled in their places.</ref> Originally, various blocks were held together by elongated iron '''H''' pins that were completely coated in lead, which protected the iron from corrosion. Stabilizing pins added in the 19th century were not so coated, and corroded. Since the corrosion product (rust) is expansive, the expansion caused further damage by cracking the marble.<ref>{{cite web |title =Unlocking the Mysteries of the Parthenon |author=Hadingham, Evan |publisher=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] |year=2008 |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/parthenon.html |accessdate=22 February 2008}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Athen Baustelle Akropolis 20020809-262.jpg|Restoration works in 2002.
File:ParthenonRecon06185.jpg|Work in progress in 2007.
File:ParthenonRepairDetail06163.JPG|A reconstructed architrave block.
File:Parthenon in the rain.jpg|Wide-scale restoration in 2010.
File:Parthenon in November 2014.JPG|Western side works in 2014.
</gallery>
{{external media | width = 210px | align = right
 | headerimage=[[File:Dionysos pediment Parthenon BM.jpg|210px]]
 | video1 = [http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Sculpture-from-the-Parthenons-East-Pediment.html Sculpture from the Parthenon's East Pediment], [[Smarthistory]]<ref name="smarth">{{cite web | title =Sculpture from the Parthenon's East Pediment | website = | publisher =[[Smarthistory]] at [[Khan Academy]] | url =http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Sculpture-from-the-Parthenons-East-Pediment.html | accessdate =18 March 2013 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130304063318/http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Sculpture-from-the-Parthenons-East-Pediment.html | archive-date =4 March 2013 | dead-url =yes | df =dmy-all }}</ref> }}

[[File:Parthenon from south.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The Parthenon from the south. In the foreground of the image, a reconstruction of the marble [[imbrex and tegula|imbrices and tegulae]] (roof tiles) forming the roof is visible, resting on wooden supports.]]

==See also==
* [[Palermo Fragment]]
* [[Ancient Greek architecture]]
* [[Ancient Greek temple]]
* [[List of Ancient Greek temples]]
* [[List of megalithic sites]]
* [[National Monument of Scotland]], [[Edinburgh]]
* [[Walhalla temple]] [[Regensburg]] – Exterior modelled on the Parthenon, but interior is a hall of fame for distinguished Germans
* [[Parthenon (Nashville)|Parthenon]], [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] – Full-scale replica
* [[Temple of Hephaestus]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
===Printed sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Burkert|first=Walter|authorlink=Walter Burkert|title=Greek Religion|year=1985|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674362819}}
* {{cite journal |last=Connelly |first=Joan Breton|authorlink=Joan Breton Connelly|date=1 January 1996|title=Parthenon and Parthenoi: A Mythological Interpretation of the Parthenon Frieze |journal=[[American Journal of Archaeology]] |volume=100 |issue=1 |id=  |quote= |doi=10.2307/506297 |jstor=506297 |pages=53–80}}
* {{cite book | last = Connelly | first = Joan Breton | title = The Parthenon Enigma: A New Understanding of the West's Most Iconic Building and the People who Made It | publisher = Random House | year = 2014|isbn = 978-0307476593|author-link = Joan Breton Connelly|url = https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307476596/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=1J5HMAE909FRCSPYTK97&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop}}'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/201691/the-parthenon-enigma-by-joan-breton-connelly/|title=The Parthenon Enigma by Joan Breton Connelly - PenguinRandomHouse.com|website=PenguinRandomhouse.com}}</ref>
* {{cite book | last = D'Ooge | first = Martin Luther | title = The Acropolis of Athens | publisher = Macmillan | year = 1909}}
* {{cite book |last=Frazer |first= Sir James George|title=The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion|year=1998|publisher=Oxford University Press|chapter=The King of the Woods|isbn=978-0192835413}}
* {{cite book | last = Freely | first = John | title = Strolling Through Athens: Fourteen Unforgettable Walks through Europe's Oldest City | publisher = Tauris Parke Paperbacks | year = 2004 | edition=2 |isbn = 978-1850435952}}
* {{cite book | last = Hollis | first = Edward | title = The Secret Lives of Buildings: From the Ruins of the Parthenon to the Vegas Strip in Thirteen Stories | publisher = Macmillan | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-0805087857}}
* {{cite book |last=Hurwit |first=Jeffrey M. |title=The Athenian Acropolis: History, Mythology, and Archeology from the Neolithic Era to the Present |year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521428347}}
* {{cite book |last=Hurwit |first=Jeffrey M. |title=Periklean Athens and Its Legacy: Problems and Perspectives|year=2005|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0292706224|editor=Judith M. Barringer |editor2=Jeffrey M. Hurwit |editor3=Jerome Jordan Pollitt|chapter=The Parthenon and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia}}
* {{cite book |last=Neils|first=Jenifer|title=The Parthenon: From Antiquity to the Present|year=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521820936}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|title=Parthenon|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|year=2002}}
* {{cite book |last=Pelling|first=Christopher|title=Greek Tragedy and the Historian|year=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|chapter=Tragedy and Religion: Constructs and Readings |isbn=978-0198149873}}
* {{cite book |last=Tarbell|first=F.B|title=A History of Ancient Greek Art|location=|url=http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/ancient-greece/history-of-ancient-greek-art-12.asp}}
* {{cite book |last=Whitley|first=James|title=The Archaeology of Ancient Greece|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|chapter=The Archaeology of Democracy: Classical Athens|isbn=978-0521627337}}
{{refend}}

===Online sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite news |title= Greek Premier Says New Acropolis Museum to Boost Bid for Parthenon Sculptures |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/09/europe/EU_GEN_Greece_Acropolis_Museum.php|work=International Herald Tribune|date=9 October 2006 |accessdate=23 April 2007}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Parthenon | title=Parthenon |accessdate=5 May 2007 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary}}
* {{cite web|url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2384|title=Acropolis of Athens – History|author=Ioanna Venieri|publisher=Οδυσσεύς|website=Acropolis of Athens| accessdate=4 May 2007}}
* {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLCW0zKR4xk|title=Secrets of the Parthenon – History|author=Nova – PBS|publisher=PBS|website=Acropolis of Athens|accessdate=14 October 2010}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* [[Mary Beard (classicist)|Beard, Mary.]] ''The Parthenon''. Harvard University: 2003. {{ISBN|067401085X}}.
* [http://www.joanbretonconnelly.com/ Connelly, Joan Breton Connelly.] [https://www.amazon.com/Parthenon-Enigma-Understanding-Iconic-Building/dp/0307476596/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439926583&sr=1-1&keywords=the+parthenon+enigma "The Parthenon Enigma: A New Understanding of the West's Most Iconic Building and the People Who Made It."] Knopf: 2014. {{ISBN|0307476596}}.
* Cosmopoulos, Michael (editor). ''The Parthenon and its Sculptures''. Cambridge University: 2004. {{ISBN|0521836735}}.
* {{cite book |last=Holtzman |first=Bernard|title=L'Acropole d'Athènes : Monuments, Cultes et Histoire du sanctuaire d'Athèna Polias|year=2003|publisher=Picard|location= Paris|language=French|isbn=978-2708406872}}
* King, Dorothy "The Elgin Marbles" Hutchinson / Random House, 2006. {{ISBN|0091800137}}
* Osada, T. (ed.) ''The Parthenon Frieze. The Ritual Communication between the Goddess and the Polis. Parthenon Project Japan 2011–2014'' Phoibos Verlag, Wien 2016, {{ISBN|978-3851611243}}.
* {{cite book|last=Queyrel|first=François|title=Le Parthénon: un monument dans l'histoire|year=2008|publisher=Bartillat|isbn=978-2841004355}}.
* Papachatzis, Nikolaos D. ''Pausaniou Ellados Periegesis- Attika'' Athens, 1974.
* Tournikio, Panayotis. ''Parthenon''. Abrams: 1996. {{ISBN|0810963140}}.
* Traulos, Ioannis N. '' I Poleodomike ekselikses ton Athinon'' Athens, 1960 {{ISBN|9607254015}}
* Woodford, Susan. ''The Parthenon''. Cambridge University, 1981. {{ISBN|0521226295}}.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons|Parthenon}}
{{Wiktionary}}
{{EB1911 Poster|Parthenon}}
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Parthenon
  |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* [http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=912 The Acropolis of Athens: The Parthenon] (official site with a schedule of its opening hours, tickets and contact information)
* [http://www.yppo.gr/4/e40.jsp?obj_id=123 (Hellenic Ministry of Culture) The Acropolis Restoration Project]
* [http://www.parthenonfrieze.gr (Hellenic Ministry of Culture) The Parthenon Frieze] {{el icon}}
* [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/404 UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Acropolis, Athens]
* [http://www.nashville.gov/parthenon/index.htm Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County – The Parthenon]
* [http://www.metrum.org/key/athens/index.htm The Athenian Acropolis by Livio C. Stecchini] (Takes the heterodox view of the date of the proto-Parthenon, but a useful summary of the scholarship.)
* [http://www.acropolisfriends.gr/index.php?lang=en The Friends of the Acropolis]
* [http://people.hsc.edu/drjclassics/lectures/ParthenonMarbles/marbles.shtm Illustrated Parthenon Marbles] – Dr. Janice Siegel, Department of Classics, [[Hampden–Sydney College]], Virginia
* [http://travels.co.ua/engl/greece/athens/acropolis/parthenon/index.html Parthenon:description, photo album]
* View a digital reconstruction of the Parthenon [https://sketchfab.com/models/4552d90409924583b1fadfc9953134cb in virtual reality from Sketchfab]

===Videos===
* [[:File:Athens Acropolis Parthenon day.ogg|A Wikimedia video of the main sights of the Athenian Acropolis]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLCW0zKR4xk ''Secrets of the Parthenon''] video by [[Public Broadcasting Service]], on YouTube
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGitmYl6U90 ''Parthenon'' by Costas Gavras]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyzTAG9V-_o The history of Acropolis and Parthenon from the Greek tv show ''Η Μηχανή του Χρόνου'' (''Time machine'')] {{el icon}}, on YouTube
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN44e3jmDSA ''The Acropolis of Athens in ancient Greece – Dimensions and proportions of Parthenon'' on Youtube]
* [https://video.ias.edu/amiaslecture-connelly Institute for Advanced Study: The Parthenon Sculptures]

{{Acropolis of Athens}}
{{Ancient Greece topics}}

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[[Category:World Heritage Sites]]
[[Category:Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire]]ping|areaseven|iggy the Swan}}
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