The Parthenon - Athens

The Parthenon is found in the city of Athens and is a temple for the worship of the Greek Goddess Athena. The Parthenon is found high above the city and is situated on the Acropolis of Athens.

The name Parthenon is of unknown origin but the belief is that it actually means “The virgins place” or “The temple of the Virgin Goddess” and referred to a particular room in the structure rather than the whole building itself.

The Parthenon was built in the fifth century and sits on the site of an older Parthenon that was destroyed by Persians who tried to invade Greece around four hundred and eighty BC.

The building of the Parthenon was completed in a special way that every block has its individual shape. The idea was that from a distance the Parthenon would not look straight and symmetrical because of optical illusion so to combat this, the building was not built straight so from a distance the optical illusion would make it so.

As well as being a temple the Parthenon also served as a treasury, this was until the 6th century when it was converted into a Christian church for the Virgin Mary.

Later on in history when the Ottoman Turk Empire completed their conquest of Greece the Parthenon was converted to a Mosque and an Islamic Minaret was added.

After around two hundred years in the late seventeenth century the Parthenon was severely damaged when Ottoman ammunition being held in the Parthenon because of bombardment from the Venetians were ignited by the bombardment damaging a lot of the structure.

In 1832 when Greece became independent from the Ottoman Empire they Greeks tore down the Minaret and then became a historic monument to the great past of the Athenian Empire.

Today the Parthenon enjoys millions of tourists coming to bask in the glory and architecture of this amazing structure.

Tourists enjoy basking in the historic wonder of the Parthenon by taking the long and slow walk up the Panathenaic Way.

If you are visiting Athens then a visit to the Parthenon is a must as this building is a major part of what has made the city what it is today.

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