The Parthenon is the most iconic building of ancient Greek architecture, and, partly due to its size, it outshines all the buildings on the Acropolis. Like all the monuments on the Acropolis, the Parthenon was part of Perikles’ (Athens’ political leader) development plan, showcasing the city’s magnificence and sense of aesthetics. The Parthenon was built in the fifth century BC and was home to a 39-foot-tall, ivory, and gold sculpture of Athena. It is unknown what happened to the statue, but the most accurate replica is (surprisingly) in Nashville, Tennessee, along with a full-scale reproduction of the Parthenon.
Other decorations included an outer frieze made carved marble blocks (also known as metopes) demonstrating scenes from mythology. Those metopes are on display at the Acropolis Museum. On the inner frieze, artist Phidias chose to depict the Great Panathenaea, a musical and athletic festival in honor of Athena. The inner frieze was made of over 100 metopes; today, some of it is in the Acropolis Museum, some in the British Museum, and one block in the Louvre, while precise replicas are adorning the Parthenon. The triangular upper parts of the Parthenon were decorated with colossal sculptures representing the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus, and the fight between Poseidon and Athena over the land of Athens.
In its long existence, the Parthenon went through a lot. In early Christianity, the Parthenon was converted into a church, and in the 15th century, when Athens was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, it was changed into a mosque. During the Sixth Ottoman-Venetian War, Turks used the Parthenon to store gunpowder, and in a Venetian bombardment, the damage was immense. More vandalism and looting occurred through World War II when the monument served as barracks for German soldiers.