Mysteries of Ancient Greek Parthenon

The Greeks Parthenon after recovering from the war with the Persian, in 480 BC, rebuilt the city of Athens and erected a sanctuary on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, which was a beautiful temple, dedicated to the maiden goddess Athena and whom they considered as their patron deity. The Parthenon by which the temple was called was designed by two architects, Iktinos and Kallikrates and was built with fine white Pentelic marble. In the shrine was placed an image of the goddess which was 40 feet (12 m) and was sculptured by Phidias in gold and ivory. Athena as the warrior maiden is a combination of male and female, beauty and strength representing Athens. Athena is looked upon as the protector and champion of the city. The goddess is seen holding a Nike figure of winged victory in her right hand to commemorate the victory over the Persians. The helmet, worn by her bears the resemblance of the image sphinx in the center and griffin on the either side. In the center on the upper chest of Athena is an aegis on which is a gorgoneion - head of Medusa which plays the role of warding off evil. The snake that appears on the inner side of her shield is referred to a mythical origin of Athens

The Parthenon a Doric temple has eight columns at the façade and seventeen columns at the flank. This construction cost the Athenian treasury, 469 silver talents and while it is difficult to create an equivalent amount, one talent was the cost to build trireme, one of the most advanced warship of that era. This unique Greek temple’s construction started in 447 BC and though the decoration of the temple continued till 432 BC; it was finally completed in 438 BC. All the temples in Greece were designed to be seen from the exterior and the viewers could only glimpse the interior statues through the open door and never entered the temple. It was perceived in a way that the aesthetic elements permit a smooth transition of the exterior and the interior which housed the statue of the maiden goddess. It is considered as one of the most enduring symbol of Ancient Greece and the world’s greatest cultural monument. The Greek Ministry of Culture is presently planning a program of restoration and reconstruction for the stability of this partially ruined structure. The Greek Parthenon which has replaced an older temper of Athena that was destroyed by the Persian invasion is archaeoastronomically linked to Hyades and like most Greek temples was used as treasury. For some time it even used as a treasury for Delian League and later for the Athenian Empire.  Towards the 5^th century AD: it was converted into a Christian Church which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary