Editing Parthenon (section)

{{Short description|Temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece}}
{{Redirect|Temple of Athena|other uses|Parthenon (disambiguation)|and|Temple of Athena (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Pantheon, Rome}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox building
| name             = Parthenon
| native_name      = {{lang|el|Παρθενώνας|italic=no}}
| image            = The Parthenon in Athens.jpg
| image_size       = 300px
| caption          = The Parthenon in 1978
| building_type    = Temple
| architectural_style = [[Classical architecture|Classical]]
| location         = [[Athens]], Greece
| coordinates      = {{coord|37.9715|23.7266|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| start_date       = 447&nbsp;BC<ref name="academic.reed.edu">[http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/Parthenon.html Parthenon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305115918/http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/Parthenon.html |date=5 March 2011 }}. Academic.reed.edu. Retrieved on 4 September 2013.</ref><ref name="ancientgreece.com">[http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Parthenon/ The Parthenon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702195954/http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Parthenon/ |date=2 July 2017 }}. Ancientgreece.com. Retrieved on 4 September 2013.</ref>
| completion_date  = 432&nbsp;BC;<ref name="academic.reed.edu"/><ref name="ancientgreece.com"/> {{time interval|-432}} ago
| destruction_date = Partially in 1687
| height           = {{convert|13.72|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="Penprase2010">{{cite book |last=Penprase |first=Bryan E. |title=The Power of Stars: How Celestial Observations Have Shaped Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XXOxGOpawuMC&pg=PA221 |access-date=8 March 2017 |year=2010 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4419-6803-6 |page=221}}</ref>
| size             = {{convert|69.5|by|30.9|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| other_dimensions = [[Cella]]: {{convert|29.8|by|19.2|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| material         = [[Pentelic Marble]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sakoulas |first1=Thomas |title=The Parthenon |url=https://ancient-greece.org/architecture/parthenon.html |website=Ancient-Greece.org |access-date=15 December 2020 |archive-date=31 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231044650/https://ancient-greece.org/architecture/parthenon.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| floor_count      = 
| floor_area       = {{convert|73|by|34|m|abbr=on}}<ref name= ":JN">{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Benjamin Franklin |date=1920 |title=The Parthenon at Athens, Greece and at Nashville, Tennessee |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/58665/58665-h/58665-h.htm |location=Nashville, Tennessee |publisher=Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606130252/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/58665/58665-h/58665-h.htm |archive-date=6 June 2021 |access-date=11 November 2020 |url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>
| main_contractor  = 
| architect        = [[Iktinos]], [[Callicrates]]
| structural_engineer = 
| services_engineer = 
| civil_engineer   = 
| other_designers  = [[Phidias]] (sculptor)
| quantity_surveyor = 
| awards           = 
}}
The '''Parthenon''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɑ:r|θ|ə|ˌ|n|ɒ|n|,_|-|n|ən}}; {{transl-grc|{{Wikt-lang|grc|Παρθενών}}|}} {{IPA|grc|par.tʰe.nɔ̌ːn|}}; {{langx|el|{{Wikt-lang|grc|Παρθενώνας}}|Parthenónas|}} {{IPA|el|parθeˈnonas|}}) is a former [[Ancient Greek temple|temple]]<ref name="Neils2005">{{cite book |last=Barletta |first=Barbara A. |author-link=Barbara Barletta |editor=Jenifer Neils |editor-link=Jenifer Neils |title=The Parthenon: From Antiquity to the Present |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gA81kINAI9cC&pg=PA67 |year=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-82093-6 |page=67 |chapter=The Architecture and Architects of the Classical Parthenon |quote=The Parthenon (Plate 1, Fig. 17) is probably the most celebrated of all Greek temples.}}</ref><ref>Sacks, David. "Parthenon". ''Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World'', David Sacks, Facts On File, 3rd edition, 2015. Accessed 15 July 2022.</ref> on the [[Acropolis of Athens|Athenian Acropolis]], Greece, that was dedicated to the [[Greek gods|goddess]] [[Athena]]. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of classical [[Art in Ancient Greece|Greek art]], and the Parthenon is considered an enduring symbol of [[Ancient Greece]], democracy, and [[western culture|Western civilization]].<ref name="Beard2010">{{cite book |last=Beard |first=Mary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q6MlnesZaRoC&pg=PA118 |title=The Parthenon |publisher=Profile Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-84765-063-4 |page=118 |author-link=Mary Beard (classicist)}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> 

The Parthenon was built in the 5th century BC in thanksgiving for the Greek victory over the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] invaders during the [[Greco-Persian Wars]].<ref name=":0" /> Like most Greek temples, the Parthenon also served as the city [[treasury]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robertson |first1=Miriam |url=https://archive.org/details/shorterhistoryof0000robe |title=A Shorter History of Greek Art |date=1981 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-28084-6 |location=Cambridge |page=[https://archive.org/details/shorterhistoryof0000robe/page/90 90] |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Davison |first1=Claire Cullen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qm5CAQAAIAAJ&q=Parthenon+used+primarily+as+a+treasury |title=Pheidias:The Sculptures and Ancient Sources |last2=Lundgreen |first2=Birte |date=2009 |publisher=Institute of Classical Studies, University of London |isbn=978-1-905670-21-5 |volume=105 |location=London |page=209 |access-date=10 September 2017}}</ref> 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. For a time, it served as the treasury of the Delian League, which later became the [[Athenian Empire]].

In the final decade of the 6th century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church dedicated to the [[Mary, the mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]]. After the [[Ottoman Greece|Ottoman conquest]] in the mid-15th century, it became a [[Parthenon mosque|mosque]]. In the [[Morean War]], a Venetian bomb landed on the Parthenon, which the Ottomans had used as a munitions dump, during the 1687 [[Siege of the Acropolis (1687)|siege of the Acropolis]]. The resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon. From 1800 to 1803,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/l/lord_elgin_and_the_parthenon_s.aspx |title=Lord Elgin and the Parthenon Sculptures |publisher=British Museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203024816/https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/l/lord_elgin_and_the_parthenon_s.aspx |archive-date=3 February 2013}}</ref> [[Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin|the 7th Earl of Elgin]] controversially removed many of the surviving sculptures and subsequently shipped them to England where they are now known as the ''[[Elgin Marbles]]'' or Parthenon marbles.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/03-04/parthenon-sculptures-british-museum-controversy/ |title=How the Parthenon Lost Its Marbles |date=28 March 2017 |website=History Magazine |access-date=17 April 2019 |archive-date=17 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417040258/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/03-04/parthenon-sculptures-british-museum-controversy/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> Since 1975, numerous large-scale restoration projects have been undertaken to preserve remaining artefacts and ensure its structural integrity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ysma.gr/en/restoration/reasons-of-interventions/ |title=Reasons of Interventions |website=ysma.gr |access-date=10 October 2021 |archive-date=10 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010210527/https://www.ysma.gr/en/restoration/reasons-of-interventions/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Smithsonian |title=Unlocking Mysteries of the Parthenon |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unlocking-mysteries-of-the-parthenon-16621015/ |access-date=23 July 2022 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630164336/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unlocking-mysteries-of-the-parthenon-16621015/ |url-status=live }}</ref>