The Parthenon is the temple of Athena on the Acropolis of Athens, and its classical form was built between 447 and 432 BCE under the statesman Pericles. The architects were Ictinus and Callicrates, and the sculptor Phidias supervised the decoration, including a great gold and ivory statue of the goddess. Earlier temples to Athena had stood on the Acropolis from the sixth century BCE and were destroyed by the Persians in 480 BCE. Over the centuries the Parthenon was turned into a church and then into a mosque, and in 1687 a Venetian bombardment ignited gunpowder stored inside, causing great damage. In the early nineteenth century Lord Elgin removed many sculptures, and their return from the British Museum is still disputed.
Before and after
- c. 510 BCEThe Roman Republic is founded
- from 509 BCE to 27 BCERoman Republic
- 509 BCEOrigins of Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus
- c. 509 BCECleisthenes lays the foundations of Athenian democracy
- 6th century BCEConstruction of Parthenon
- c. 500s BCEOrigins of Delhi
- 6th century BCEConstruction of Royal Road
- 6th century BCEConstruction of Bam Citadel
- 6th century BCEOrigins of Judaism
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 31st century BCE to 14th century BCEConstruction of Stonehenge
- c. 2,560 BCEConstruction of Great Pyramid of Giza
- 600 BCEFounding of Milan
- from January 27 BCE to January 395 CERoman Empire
- 80 CEThe Colosseum is inaugurated
- 25 March 421 CEFounding of Venice
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires.