Parthenon

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Guides : Athens,
Geographic : europe, greece, athens,
Thematic : monument, archeology,

The Parthenon, « temple of the Virgin », is located at the highest point of the Acropolis and is dedicated to the goddess Athena, protectress of the city of Athens. It took Phidias, the greatest of all classical sculptors, 11 years to build and decorate the famous classical monument. The greatest damage ever made to the famous temple were done by the Venitian bombardments against the Turkish occupation in 1687. Later, in 1801, Lord Elgin, British subject and ambassador of Great-Britain in Constantinople, was granted the authorization of excavating the site of Parthenon for the recovering of vestiges. He took advantage of the excavations to plunder the temple by removing frescos and marble statues in order to bring them to the British Museum. Within 10 months of plundering, half the sculptures were removed as well as 7 metopes and 20 tiles of a frieze which were cut in two before leaving behind the lower half because of their great weight. During the summer and autumn of 1802, two other metopes and 6 tiles were removed from the Parthenon. In September 1802, Lusieri wrote to Lord Elgin: « I am pleased, my Lord, to inform you that we now possess the eighth metope, the Centaur carrying a woman. It caused us many troubles and I was forced to use some harsh methods. » All these deeds were done in accordance with the Turkish authorities. Unfortunately, it was only in 1803 that a new ambassador was named and only then the plundering of the Acropolis ceased. The minaret built by the Turks and other constructions made by invaders were destroyed by Persians in 1832.

Parthenon Informations:

Athens, Greece
See Parthenon on the map
Parthenon Opening time: in summer : 8.00-19.00 every day.

september - end june : 8.30-17.00.


Parthenon Price: Combined with Acropole ticket (6,00