The Parthenon is a former temple of Athena on the Athenian Acropolis in Greece. The atlas records it as built in the 500s BC, with a plausible range of 501 BC to 401 BC, based on documentary evidence. It is one of the most influential buildings in Western architecture and a symbol of ancient Athens.
When
500s BC (atlas range 501 to 401 BC)
Where
Athenian Acropolis, Greece
Dedicated to
Athena Parthenos
Also known as
Temple of Athena
Identification
The Parthenon is a Doric temple on the Acropolis of Athens, dedicated to Athena Parthenos. It is the largest and most famous building of the Periclean building programme. Its ruins are a central monument of classical antiquity and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The atlas lists it as an archaeological site under culture and construction.
Date and location
The atlas records the Parthenon as built in the 500s BC, with a plausible range of 501 BC to 401 BC. The dating method is documentary, and the source is Wikidata. The coordinates given are 37.972 N, 23.727 E, which place it on the Acropolis hill in Athens. The atlas does not specify a more precise date within that range.
Significance
The Parthenon is regarded as a high point of classical Greek architecture and sculpture. It has influenced Western building traditions for centuries. As a temple of Athena, it was also a treasury and a statement of Athenian power. Its later history includes use as a church, a mosque, and an ammunition store, and it was damaged in a siege in 1687.
Perspectives. The Parthenon is generally studied as a monument of classical Greek civilisation. Some traditions, including Greek mythology, associate the Acropolis with the contest between Athena and Poseidon, but the temple itself is a historical building. Modern scholarship debates the exact dates and the extent of its original decoration, but the atlas relies on a documentary source.
Uncertain. The atlas gives a broad date range of 501 BC to 401 BC for the Parthenon, which is less precise than the usual scholarly consensus of 447 to 432 BC. The atlas does not explain the basis for its range. The coordinates are given to three decimal places, which may not pinpoint the exact centre of the building. The atlas does not mention the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, or the sculptor Pheidias, so those details are not included here.
Further reading. Mary Beard, The Parthenon; John Boardman, The Parthenon and Its Sculptures