een from the Propylaia, the Acropolis is dominated by the Parthenon, set on the rock's highest ground. Parthenon is one of the worlds most stunning sights. Even its constructors, however, could not have anticipated that their temple would come to symbolize no less than the emergence of human civilization. The erection began in 447 BC, and the inauguration was held in 438 BC during the celebration of the Panathenaic Games.
The sculptural decoration of the building would be completed in 432 BC. Iktinos and Kallikratis are known as the architects of the Parthenon. The temple is Doric, peripheral, with eight columns on each façade and 17 columns on the long sides. Its nave, amphiprostyle and with six columns, was divided into two unequal parts.

f those, the one to the east was a two-storied Doric porch in a "u" shape which housed the religious statue of Athena, while the smaller western one had a more or less square plan, four Ionic columns to support the roof and was accessible only from the opisthodromos. From the beginning this part was called the Parthenon (virgins' chamber). The entire temple was made of pentelic marble except for the wooden roof and the poros limestone foundation. It is distinguished for its astonishing technical perfection which graces the building with a completely harmony. The curves of the horizontal and vertical surfaces of the temple were not, of course, employed here for the first time, but were already known in Archaic times. However, in the Parthenon they achieve their most perfect form.

		ere are found all the so-called visual corrections and refinements of the Doric style, in a system so strictly adhering to set proportions that nothing could have resulted but a perfectly balanced and harmonious whole. The conscious lack of straight lines lends charm and vitality to the building.
The conscious lack of straight lines lends charm and vitality to the building. The ambitious morphological intentions of the planners can be seen in a series of innovations to the building such as the continual frieze on the sanctuary, 160 m. long, done in the Ionic manner, the interior colonnade in a "u" shape which housed the gold and ivory statue of the goddess, a work by Pheidias, the double colonnade on the narrow sides and so on. Nothing has survived of the religious statue.

his colossal wooden statue of Athena Polias (Athena of the City) was decked in ivory and gold plate, with precious gems as eyes and sporting an ivory Medusa's head on her breast. In her right hand she was holding a Victory while in the other she had a spear. Leaning against her leg was her great shield and near her spear a snake.
Pliny mentions that on the base of the statue was a relief representation of the birth of Pandora where 20 gods were to be found, while on the soles of the goddess sandals was a depiction of the battle with the Lapiths and the Centaurs. On the exterior side of the goddess' shield was depicted a battle with the Amazons and on the interior a battle with the Giants. Finally, the body of the goddess was covered with a long, Doric Attican peplos falling in pleats.

		esigned by Pheidias and considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the statue was installed in the semi-darkness of the cult chamber, where it remained an object of prestige and wealth, if not veneration, until at least the 5th century AD. The sculpture has been lost since ancient times but its characteristics are known through numerous later copies. The structural frieze by itself represents one of Pheidias' innovations.
He introduced an Ionic element (the frieze) into a Doric temple and thereby started a new tradition. But that is not the only innovation. The subject that is depicted is thought to have been revolutionary because it was far removed from the subjects customarily used for depiction up until then-namely, the ancient, sacred myths-using for its subject contemporary democracy as seen through the course of the Panathenaic Procession.

he Panathenaic festival was the greatest of Athenian festivals, held in honor of Athena. A real procession is depicted on the frieze. But the visitor can only admire one part of it. Specifically, the monument retains the whole west side quite a few plaques from the north, and a few from the south. Two of those from the eastern side of the frieze are in the Acropolis Museum. But the largest part of the frieze is in the British Museum!
The 92 metopes of the temple are reliefs as well with motifs from the Battle with the Giants, the Battle with the Amazons, the Battles with the Centaurs and scenes from the Trojan War. On the two pediments of the Parthenon, Pheidias depicted two myths related to Athena: on the east side her birth from the head of Zeus and on the west her dispute with Poseidon over the occupation of Attica.

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