Parthenon

The Parthenon (Greek: ??????????) is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. The building has stood atop the Acropolis of Athens for nearly 2,500 years and was built to give thanks to Athena, the city's patron goddess, for the salvation of Athens and Greece in the Persian Wars. The building was officially called the Temple of Athena the Virgin, and its popular name derives from the ancient Greek word παρθένος (parthenos), a young woman.

Recent events

By the late eighteenth century many more Europeans were visiting Athens, and the picturesque ruins of the Parthenon were much drawn and painted, helping to arouse sympathy in Britain and France for Greek independence. In 1801 the British ambassador at Constantinople, the Earl of Elgin, obtained a firman (permit) from the Sultan 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. He took this as permission to collect all the sculptures he could find. Some he prised from the building itself, others he collected from the ground, still others he bought from local people.

Related Topics:
Britain - France - Constantinople - Earl of Elgin - Sultan

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Today these sculptures are in the British Museum, where they are known as the Elgin Marbles. Other sculptures from the Parthenon are in the Louvre in Paris and in Copenhagen. Most of the remainder are in the Acropolis Museum which stands a few metres to the south-east of the Parthenon. A few can still be seen on the building itself. The Greek government has been campaigning for many years for the British Museum sculptures (which it calls the Parthenon Marbles) to be returned to Greece. The British Museum has steadfastly refused to consider this, and successive British governments have been unwilling to force the Museum to do so (which would require legislation).

Related Topics:
British Museum - Elgin Marbles - Louvre - Paris - Copenhagen - Acropolis Museum

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When independent Greece gained control of Athens in 1832, the minaret was removed from the Parthenon and all the medieval and modern buildings on the Acropolis removed. The area became a historical precinct controlled by the Greek government. Today it attracts millions of tourists every year, who troop 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.

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Reconstruction

Beginning in 1975, the Greek government, with funding and technical assistance provided by the European Union, began a concerted effort to restore the Parthenon and other Acropolis structures. An archaeological committee thoroughly documented every artifact remaining at the site, and architects assisted with computer models to determine their original locations. In some cases, prior reconstruction was found to be incorrect. Particularly important and fragile sculptures were transferred to the Acropolis Museum. A modern construction crane was installed on the interior of the Parthenon for moving marble blocks; the crane was designed to fold away beneath the roofline when not in use. The incorrect reconstructions were dismantled, and a careful process of restoration began. The Parthenon will not be restored to a pre-1687 state, but the explosion damage will be mitigated as much as possible, and new marble is being used from the original quarry to fill gaps and effect structurally-necessary repairs. Ultimately almost all major pieces of marble will be placed in the structure where they originally would have been, supported as needed by modern materials.

Related Topics:
1975 - European Union

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Today the greatest threats to the Parthenon are environmental. Athens has grown enormously since World War II and has major problems with traffic congestion and air pollution. Corrosion of its marble by acid rain polluted by car exhausts threatens the remaining sculptures and the temple itself. Over the past 20 years the Greek government and the city of Athens have made some progress on these issues, but the future of the Parthenon is still a matter of some concern.

Related Topics:
World War II - Acid rain

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