The Parthenon
447 BCEAthens
2,472 years ago
A temple to the goddess Athena on the Acropolis of Athens, begun in 447 BCE and finished in 438 BCE.
is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena
Construction started in 447 BC when the Delian League was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438 BC
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
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Why and when
It was built as thanks for the Greek victory over the Persian invaders in the Persian wars.
The Parthenon was built in the 5th century BC in thanksgiving for the Greek victory over the Persian invaders during the Greco-Persian Wars.
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
Work began in 447 BCE, when the Delian League was at the peak of its power. The temple was finished in 438 BCE, its decoration in 432 BCE.
Construction started in 447 BC when the Delian League was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438 BC; work on the artwork and decorations continued until 432 BC.
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
An earlier temple on the site, begun shortly after the Battle of Marathon, was unfinished when the Persians razed the Acropolis in 480 BCE.
The first endeavour to build a sanctuary for Athena Parthenos on the site of the present Parthenon was begun shortly after the Battle of Marathon
was still under construction when the Persians sacked the city in 480 BC and razed the Acropolis
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
Pericles started the building project on the Athenian Acropolis in the mid-5th century BCE; it lasted the rest of the century.
In the mid-5th century BC, when the Athenian Acropolis became the seat of the Delian League, Pericles initiated the building project that lasted the entire second half of the century.
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
Who built it
Phidias had general charge of the building and was in charge of its sculpture.
The Parthenon was built under the general supervision of Phidias, who also had charge of the sculptural decoration.
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
The architects were Ictinos and Callicrates, who began their work in 447 BCE.
The architects Ictinos and Callicrates began their work in 447
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
Skilled quarrymen cut the marble blocks to exact sizes, and the architects rejected blocks that were not up to standard.
These quarrymen had exceptional skills and were able to cut the blocks of marble to very specific measurements.
If the marble blocks were not up to standard, the architects would reject them.
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
Slaves and foreigners worked alongside Athenian citizens on it, doing the same jobs for the same pay.
Slaves and foreigners worked together with the Athenian citizens in the building of the Parthenon, doing the same jobs for the same pay.
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
The sculpture
Inside stood a huge statue of Athena Parthenos by Phidias, dedicated in 439 or 438 BCE and now lost.
The cella of the Parthenon housed the chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos sculpted by Phidias and dedicated in 439 or 438 BC.
This massive chryselephantine sculpture is now lost and known only from copies, vase painting, gems, literary descriptions, and coins.
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
According to Thucydides, Pericles said the statue held forty talents of pure gold, all removable, that Athens could use if it had to.
According to Thucydides, during the Peloponnesian War when Sparta's forces were first preparing to invade Attica, Pericles, in an address to the Athenian people, said that the statue could be used as a gold reserve if that was necessary to preserve Athens, stressing that it "contained forty talents of pure gold and it was all removable"
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
Its 92 metopes date to 446–440 BCE by the building records; those on the east show the gods fighting the Giants.
The frieze of the Parthenon's entablature contained 92 metopes
According to the building records, the metope sculptures date to the years 446–440.
The metopes of the east side of the Parthenon, above the main entrance, depict the Gigantomachy (the mythical battle between the Olympian gods and the Giants).
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
The frieze was carved in place c. 443–438 BCE; one reading is that it shows an idealised Panathenaic procession.
The bas-relief frieze was carved in situ and is dated from c. 443–438.
One interpretation is that it depicts an idealised version of the Panathenaic procession
From Wikipedia, Parthenon (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-09-18.
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