Parthenon in Greece, resort of Athens
Rating: 8,3/10 (1167 votes)  The Parthenon is the most famous monument of ancient architecture, as well as the main temple in Ancient Athens. The temple was built in 447-438 BC, in honor of the goddess Athena, who was considered the patroness of the city and all of Attica. The temple was erected on the highest point of the Acropolis, according to the project of Iktin by the architect Kallikrates. Subsequently, it was decorated with sculptures of the famous Phidias (including the famous sculpture of Athena). During the heyday of Athens in 447 BC. Pericles put forward the idea of restoring the Acropolis ensemble after its destruction by the Persians. The Parthenon building took almost 10 years to build. For some time the temple stood untouched, however, in the Hellenistic era, the Athenian tyrant Lahar removed gold plates from the statue of Athena. In the 2nd century BC. after the fire, the temple was partially destroyed, but rather quickly completely renovated. In 146 BC. After the conquest of Greece, the Romans removed most of the sculptures from the temple. In the 6th century AD. The Parthenon turned into a Christian temple, and according to the inscription, in 693 it was already named a cathedral. The change in the function of the building also affected its layout. Earlier, the eastern passage leading to the ancient naos for the construction of an altar there was closed with an asp, and a window was cut through in the central part of the pediment. The only entrance to the temple is the western one. Since it led to the opisthode, separated by a blank wall from the naos, this wall had to be cut through. Also, a small bell tower was added to the southwest corner of the temple. The famous statue of Athena was taken from the Parthenon to Constantinople (around the 5th century), where its traces were lost after the sack of the city by the crusaders during the 4th Crusade. In the 5th century, the Parthenon temporarily became the Catholic Church of the Virgin Mary. Around 1460, the Turks converted the Parthenon into a mosque, to which a minaret was eventually added. During the siege of Athens in 1687, the temple served as a powder warehouse. In September of the same year, a nucleus flew into the building, which produced a big explosion, and therefore the Parthenon remained in ruins forever. The middle part of the temple was completely destroyed, most of the reliefs were broken. Nobody began to repair the building, moreover, gradually marble blocks were dismantled by local residents for their own needs. In the 18th century, more and more Europeans began to come to Athens. In 1787, the first sketches of the Parthenon with modifications were published by Nicholas Revett and James Stewart. The looting of the monument, however, was not stopped. In 1799, Lord T. Elgin obtained permission from the Sultan to export the sculptures, which was done in 1802-1812. Most of the fragments were badly damaged during transportation. Some of the sculptures of the temple ended up in the British Museum, others went to Copenhagen and the Louvre. Today, the Parthenon, despite the ongoing restoration, is still in a dilapidated state, nevertheless attracting the unremitting attention of numerous tourists, remaining peculiar the city's business card.  We also recommend reading Fethiye. Recreation and entertainment Topic: Parthenon in Greece, resort of Athens. |
