𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓸𝓷

Since the page is about Art and Athens there was no real competitor for our first post. The Parthenon sitting on top of the Acropolis, was a sacred and religious spot for a temple before the Classical Era. On the highest top of the small city state of Athens, it originally housed the ancient cult statue of Athena Polias. Athens, as it is relatively known, got its name from the Goddess Athena and the nickname Polias means the protector of the city. During the Persian wars and after the Spartan heroic fall at Thermopylae, the Persians proceeded and burned the earlier temple to Goddess Athena in 480BC. Topic for another day, the Athenians the arrogant scumbags , took all the credit for the defeat of the Persians and formed the Delian league. Spoiler: later called Athenian Empire. Its advertised purpose was to protect all other Ionian city states and islands around the Aegean from barbarians by building a huge navy. Later, as there was no eminent threat, Athens developed into the bully of the Greeks sieging anyone who dared not pay or leave the pact. Gathering all the money was not enough for the Athenians. In 454BC, under the powerful guidance of Perikles, the Treasury of the Delian League was moved from the island of Delos (hello!? the name of the league ) to Athens. Where specifically?? In our beloved Parthenon! With all that money piled up there from almost all Greek city states paying for a naval power to protect them. It went under massive reconstruction and built, full splendor, sculpture and everything, in only 15 years, between 447-432BC. Unlike the custom, the temple neither housed the ancient cult statue of Athena nor served as the foreground of priestess serving rituals and sacrifices. It just housed all that money from the Delian League (not any mooore!) accumulated by the Athenians at the expense of all the other Greeks. The money, mostly in gold, silver and other precious materials, was locked up and guarded in a rear chamber with the playful name "the Virgin Room" aka Parthenon. Even in the main hall, the point was about accumulated wealth and not religion since the huge gold and ivory statue of Athena served as semi - permanent bank of gold that could be melted down in case of an emergency. To make my already long story short, the Parthenon that survives today, served more as a giant stronghold treasury than a religious nest. Was this helpful or at least interesting ?? Awaiting your comments and suggestions. Thank you !