Keely--Parthenon

Did you know that the Parthenon was named after the goddess Athena? The Parthenon is located on a hill in the center of Athens, Greece. (According to legend) the people were glad when Athena won the city. They knew that the goddess was the patron saint. They also knew that she was the Goddess of warfare, wisdom, and Justice. With that being said the citizens knew that they would be in good hands. They knew the building had to be good cause anything held in their was going to do something to honor Athena. Knowing that, this building was the biggest of its time and is one of the oldest buildings still standing. (Yeoh) **History ** Some of the reasons that the Parthenon is important are that it has been useful throughout history. Another thing is that the building was built in the center of where democracy started. Also they used the Parthenon for meeting and as a theater. They put on shows and plays inside the large building. Another thing that is important is that it took place in a battle field as a base for some of the fighters. The building was very useful because you could see it far away. The Parthenon measured in at 101.34 feet wide and 228.14 feet long, so it was hard to miss. That came in handy if you were in a battle and needed cover. (Which is why it was often used a base). (Yeoh)
 * The Parthenon **

These are a few reasons why and when the Parthenon was built. The construction for the Parthenon started in 447 BC. Then finally, in 432 BC the Parthenon was finished by the two best architects in Greece at that time. Although, the Parthenon was finished in 432 BC the statue of Athena wasn’t finished until 438 BC, so Phidias had to wait 6 years before he could put the statue in the Parthenon. The reason they wanted to put a statue of Athena, is because (according to legend) she won the city in a race against Poseidon to win the city. (Yeoh)

There are a lot of things that started too happened after the Parthenon was built. The Parthenon stayed untouched for 700 years after 438 BC. After that they had a few tragic things happen to the building but, nothing that knocked it to the ground in ruins. In the third century the Parthenon’s roof was burned away completely. Then it wasn’t for a few years until the roof was finally fixed. It was fixed by Julius Caesar. (Yeoh)

A few more things happened more recently to the Parthenon. In the fifth century, the Parthenon was used as a temple by the Greeks. Then when Emperor Theodosius came into power in the sixth century the Parthenon was turned into a Christian church. The reason that it was changed so often was because when the Roman Empire would have a change in power or a big change in religion the Parthenon would be changed. Even more recently the Parthenon has become a monument. (Yeoh)

Today The Parthenon is still being used today. Like I said before the Parthenon was turned in to a monument. Lots of people come from around the world to see the beautiful building. Although lots of people visit the building daily, we still have to try to preserve it. We try to reinforce the white marble, but some things can be helped. Also they building was well made and has with stood a lot already. Even though it was well made, for reinforcement they put metal bars and metal reinforces. (Yeoh)

There are also other things that I haven’t said that make the Parthenon important. Another thing that makes it important is that most people that visit the building say it is the most impressive marble mosaic in the world. It is important to see how people lived back then. It shows how the people and architects liked to built things/design things too. Then you have how old the Parthenon is. Since it was built back in 447 BC then it is now, 2442 years old. (Yeoh)

** Future ** In the future some different things are going to happen to the Parthenon. Since we have cars that put dirty exhaust into the air, we have created acid rain. The acid rain has made it hard to protect the Parthenon’s white marble. That means if the white marble keeps corroding the top part of the Parthenon the top of it might be gone in a few years. Although this is all happening the Parthenon, it will still be a beautiful building to go visit. (Yeoh)



Works Cited

Yeoh, Hang Nam. Greece. Milwakee: Gareth Stevens, 1999