Where is parthenon

The metopes on the East side show Gigantomachy, mythical battles between gods and Giants. Most metopes on the South side show Centauromachy, the battle of mythical centaurs with the Lapiths, and the metopes on the North side portray the Trojan War. The frieze was carved using the bas-relief technique, which means the sculpted figures are raised slightly from the background. Historians believe the frieze depicted either the Panathenaic procession to the Acropolis or the sacrifice of Pandora to Athena.

There are two sculpted, triangular-shaped gables known as pediments on each end of the Parthenon. The West pediment showed the conflict between Athena and Poseidon to claim Attica, an ancient region of Greece which included the city of Athens. A shrine within the Parthenon housed an extraordinary statue of Athena, known as Athena Parthenos, which was sculpted by Phidias.

The statue no longer exists but is thought to have stood 12 meters high 39 feet. It was carved of wood and covered in ivory and gold. Historians know what the statue looked like thanks to surviving Roman reproductions. The Athena statue depicted a fully-armed woman wearing a goatskin shield known as an aegis. She held a six-foot tall statue of the Greek goddess Nike in her right hand and a shield in her left hand that illustrated various battle scenes.

Two griffins and a sphinx stood on her helmet and a large snake behind her shield. It was undoubtedly an awe-inspiring sight for anyone who gazed upon it. In the sixth century A. They outlawed pagan worship of the Greek gods and converted the Parthenon to a Christian church.

They blocked the East side entrance and, following the custom of Christianity , forced worshipers to enter the church on the West side. The massive statue of Athena was gone before the Byzantines arrived. The Parthenon remained a Christian church until A.

The Ottoman Turks converted the Parthenon into a mosque, yet kept many Christian paintings and artifacts intact. In , facing attack from the Christian Holy League, the Ottomans converted the Parthenon into an ammunitions depot and shelter, but it was anything but safe. The structure was bombarded with cannonballs and its ammunition stores exploded causing hundreds of deaths and massive structural damage. In the early 19th century, Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, removed the marble friezes and several other sculptures and shipped them to London, England where they remain on public display in the British Museum today.

After centuries of being ruled by the Turks, the Greeks fought for independence in the s. The Acropolis became a combat zone and the Turkish Army removed hundreds of marble blocks from Parthenon ruins. The Parthenon was significantly damaged in , when the Venetians, led by Francesco Morosini, attacked Athens. Many of its sculptures were later recovered and brought to London by Lord Elgin in Most of the remaining sculptures are preserved in Athens , at the Acropolis Museum , located at the foot of the hill, not far from the Parthenon.

After Greece gained independence, the ancient structures of the Parthenon were freed from the medieval and Turkish superstructures, as well as the rest of the Acropolis.

In it was raised around the northern colonnade, but the restoration work continues to this day. Do you want to know more about the history and architecture of the Parthenon and see how it was originally during Ancient Greece times?

The Parthenon , along with the other buildings on the Acropolis , is now one of the most visited a rchaeological sites in Greece. The Ancient Agora of Athens was the social, political and commercial hub of the city during Ancient Greece. This "meeting place" is the best kept example of an Agora. Details about the place of worship The Parthenon was raised on the remains of the sixth century temple Hekatompedon , which was destroyed by the Persians in BC.

The Parthenon's misfortunes Throughout the centuries, the Parthenon has been severely damaged. Location Inside the Acropolis. Schedule Every day: 8am — 5pm. Transport Metro : Monastiraki , lines 1 and 3; Akropoli , line 2. On the west side, the mythical battle against the Amazons Amazonomachy ; on the south, the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs Centauromachy ; on the east, the battle between the gods and the giants Gigantomachy ; on the north, the Greeks versus the Trojans.

Of the panels the best preserved are those showing the Centauromachy. For a complete catalogue, with images and descriptions of all the Parthenon metopes, see Perseus' Parthenon Metope Page photos will be available only if you are on a Reed computer or a computer on another campus which has enhanced access to the Perseus photos by license agreement , and theAustralian National University collection photos, but no text.

These relief sculptures, larger than those of the metopes, occupied the triangular space above the triglyphs and metopes. Those at the west end of the temple depicted the contest between Poseidon and Athena for the right to be the patron deity of Athens Athena's gift of the olive tree was preferred over Poseidon's spring.

The eastern pedimental group showed the birth of Athena from Zeus' head. The pedimental sculpture suffered badly when the Parthenon was hit by a Venetian shell in and the powder magazine inside exploded. This reclining god probably Dionysus from the east pediment gives some sense of the quality of the sculpture:. For a complete catalogue, with images and descriptions of all the Parthenon pedimental sculpture, see Perseus' Parthenon East Pediment Page and West Pediment Page photos will be available only if you are on a Reed computer or a computer on another campus which has enhanced access to the Perseus photos by license agreement.

The Parthenon frieze runs around the upper edge of the temple wall. Its relatively small size 3 feet 5 inches tall and placement inside from the triglyphs and metopes made it fairly hard to see from the ground.

Unlike the metopes, the frieze has a single subject on all four sides.