The House of Athena

For this presentation, I would like to discuss one of the most admired temples of the ancient world, the Parthenon, a blessed and large building made entirely out of white marble, where in its prime held public conferences and religious rituals; situated on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, consecrated to the greek goddess Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare, protector of the capital Athens, hence why it holds her name on its title. From 447 BC until 432 BC, construction was started by Pericles, many others contributed, such as Ictinus and Callicrates, and Phidias. The temple has doric and ionic architecture, as represented on its columns and sculptures; the outside decor of the temple depicts myths of Athena. It guards one big mystery sculpture, now lost, that stood 12 meters tall, the Athena Parthenos, sculpted by Phidias. Dedicated to its patroness goddess Athena portrayed the deity covered in a golden gown, full war gear, holding victory on her right hand; another sculpture, now dedicated to the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. It’s the lost of this great sculpture that signifies a lot; it is often through time that women in particular, have been lost to history, much like the Athena Parthenos, stolen and lost, never to be found again, even when women image carries great weight towards human developing, it is always overlooked. The course of time was not kind to this monument, as it endured many fires and wars, as well as looting, now what remains of it are ruins at its original site, and the sculptures that survive it, are well protected in the Britain and Acropolis museums. Though not as splendid as once was, the Parthenon has been used as a model for many other great establishments, such as libraries and banks; it also has an exact replica in Nashville, Tennessee, where one can admire the Athena Parthenos (also a copy of the original) and all its splendor, if only from a more modern making