The Parthenon
Enduring symbol of Greek civilization and its love of beauty.
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Pericles oversaw the rebuilding of the Parthenon - the temple of Athena - beginning in 437 B.C. in ancient Greece.
In 480 BC, the Persians under King Xerxes sacked and destroyed Athens. The people of Athens stayed behind the walls of the port of Piraeus to watch their beloved city burn. The invaders looted and pillaged with abandon.
Meanwhile the Athenian fleet moved away from the mainland and into narrow waters. The Persians followed. In these narrow waters, the Persians were outmaneuvered and overrun. The Greek navy, which had recently been built into the biggest in the world, completely destroyed the Persian fleet. So, though they had won the city of Athens, the Persians had to retreat, leaving the city in smoldering ruins. And ironically, though the city was ruined, with the Persian retreat, the city was in effect “saved” for the Greeks.
After this horrible disaster, the Athenians, under leader Themosticles, set to rebuilding their city with enthusiasm. They began a program of new public buildings: temples, courts, and monuments. But Themosticles’ plan did not include rebuilding the old temple to Athena that now lay in ruins.
Themosticles intended to leave the old temple building on the Acropolis just as it was: in utter destruction. He wanted it to be a monument to their overcoming the brutality of thepericles, Persian enemies. But in the spirit of rebuilding and confidence that filled the Athenians, this negativity didn’t last long. Another leader with more ambitious plans came on the scene – Pericles.
Under Pericles, the hilltop of the Acropolis was to become the setting for a new display of civic pride and the scene for the Parthenon. This new vast marble temple to Athena was decorated with exquisitely-detailed friezes and was elaborately painted in a riot of color, all testimony to the ancient Athenians as lovers of beauty. Rows of slender marble columns stretched around all four sides. Within the temple, a gold and ivory statue of Athena, 35 feet (11 metres) high, stood on a pedestal. In the words of author Michael Kerrigan, though today it shimmers in whiteness, the Parthenon’s color and design would “belie the modern stereotype of classical restraint.” All around the hilltop, the Athenians constructed an array of religious buildings, temples and stunning statues.
In the 1600s, the Venetians bombed the Parthenon and many surrounding statues. Though it remains damaged today, the temple is a magnificent sight on its dominant spot above the Agora up on the Acropolis. It is an enduring and unforgettable symbol of Greek civilization. Ironically, today the temple remains in a state similar to the way Themosticles had planned to leave the old temple building in 480 BC: in ruins.
Source:
Kerrigan, Michael. Ancient Greece. London: BBC Worldwide, 2001.
