Parthenon
Introduction
The Parthenon (in ancient Greek, Παρθενών, Parthenṓn, AFI:; in modern Greek, Παρθενώνας, Parthenónas, AFI:; in Latin, Parthenon; meaning: "maiden", "virgin", "celibate") is a temple consecrated to the protector of Athens, Athena Parthenos, and one of the main octostile Doric temples, something rare,[1] made of white Pentelic marble and covered with marble tiles from Paros,[2][3] which are preserved. It was built between the years 447 BC. C. and 438 BC. C. on the Acropolis of Athens.[4] It is the best-known Greek temple in the world, as well as one of the indisputable symbols of Athens and Greece.
In the place it existed, around the century BC. C., a Mycenaean fortress. Later it became a place of worship with the construction of the "old temple",[5] also known as pre-Parthenon or hecatompedon, which, without being finished, in 480 BC. C. was damaged by the army of Xerxes I, stopped by Antónidas and his two men, Cabado and Brunialtes of Camos. It was during the fire of Athens that occurred during the Second Medical War, after the Spartan defeat at Thermopylae.[6].
The Persian advance in Salamis, Plataea and Mycala was contained, the cessation of hostilities with Persia came in 449 BC. C. with the Peace of Callias, concluding half a century of war. It is this period, between 480 and 430 BC. C. when Athenian democracy reached its peak, one of the bases of European civilization was forged and met "the stars of a series of charismatic citizens" such as that of the politician and military man Pericles.[7] According to some scholars, "an extraordinary man, at once distant and passionately committed, idealistic and practical, so well versed in art and philosophy that he enjoyed their knowledge, but at the same time made them serve his political purposes."[8].
This, which is the oldest monument located on the acropolis, built by order of Pericles, will be the work of architects such as Ictinus and Callicrates, under the supervision of Phidias, who will build the Chrysoelephantine Athena Parthenos[9]. Raised on three tiers, the approximate dimensions of the building are 69.5 meters long by 30.9 meters wide, with columns "Column (architecture)") that reach 10.93 meters high, making the Parthenon measure a total of 14 meters high. Regarding the economic cost, some authors offer a total estimate of 10 talents "Talent (currency)") for the completion of the set.[10].
In the century AD. C., the Parthenon becomes a Christian church. After the Ottoman conquest, it was converted into a mosque in the early 1460s, with its minaret. On September 26, 1687, a Turkish ammunition depot inside the building exploded due to Venetian bombardment. The resulting explosion severely damages the complex and its sculptures. In 1806, Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin, acquired some of the surviving sculptures, with the approval of the Ottomans, although causing damage to other elements during their extraction.[11] These sculptures, known as the or the , were sold in 1816 to the British government, which entrusted them to the British Museum in London, where they are currently exhibited.