The Parthenon Research Paper

The Greek Parthenon sits on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. It was built as a temple to honor the goddess Athena. A shrine was also originally included in the construction of the temple. The planning of the temple was done by two men, Pheidias and Iktinos, who led a committee responsible for the design of the structure (Burford 25). Its construction began sometime around 447 B.C. and took about 15 years (Burford 23). The temple’s construction employed many citizens of different types of craftsmen and traders, as well as handymen from the town and rural peasants (Burford 23). It also employed those with very specialized skills, such as sculptors and carvers. During Ancient times, the Parthenon contained a forty foot tall statue of Athena, made …show more content…
In the 1800’s, an archaeologist discovered that there was evidence of an earlier temple built on the Parthenon site (Hill 535). Further research suggested that there had been an original temple that had been burned down by the Persians, known as Hecatompedon (Hill 536). This temple then came to be known as the “Older Parthenon” (Hill 536). Ancient Greek society is credited for giving the modern world many developments and paving the way for Western society to develop. For example, Ancient Greece is known as the inventor of democracy. The Parthenon was important to the Ancient Greeks because it symbolised their god Athena, for whom the city of Athens was named. Athena was the protector of Athens, and the citizens of Athens considered her their patron (Robertson 46). Many rituals took place on the Acropolis that were dedicated to Athena. One Athenian festival was called the Great Panathenaia; every four years, the daughters of Athenian citizens would weave a robe and it would be brought to the Acropolis through a procession (Robertson 56). The robe was Athena’s symbol and sacred item, and therefore was important to the rest of Athens (Robertson