>>Flags/National Symbols of Europe<<
About the EHL/The Staff/Contact Us
Submit Articles & Content
Online Language Translation
Join our Mailing List
Donate to the EHL
Bookmark the EHL to Favourites!   

         
Click a Flag to Translate

• History of Christianization of Europe
• Soviet Union, Communist influence
• Map of European ethnic groups
• Map of Fascism in Europe (1922-75)
• History of Islamic conquest in Europe
• Religions & ethnic groups in Russia
• Detailed map of French colonization
• Detailed map of British colonization
• Napoleon's conquests & legacy

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--

• Muhammad cartoon crisis in pictures
• Stalin's private summer home
• Ravenna: capital of Gothic empire
• Czar Nicholas II's Ukrainian palace
• European traditional costumes/dress
• Inside the Vatican, house of all wealth

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--

• Islamic Mujahidin vs. Spain & El Cid
• Poland-Lithuania vs. Teutonic Order
• Nevskiy's Russia vs. German Crusaders
• Mussolini vs. Libyan Islamic fighters
• Qadafi: Europe will soon be Islamic
• Ivan the Terrible vs. Muslim Tatars 

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--

• The Gypsies in history and today, Europe's public enemy
• History of Jihad in Chechnya
& Caucasus vs. Russians
• History of the Muslim Tatars in Russia
• Ethnic & religious history of Serbs, Croats, & Bosnians
• Breakaway states and independence movements in Europe
• The ancient Germanic Runic alphabet and Runestones
• Inside Bulgaria, 1st Slavic nation,
land of Thracian masters of gold
• Visual history of Yugoslavia
• 4,000-year-old white mummies of China, bringers of Buddhism 

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--

Gallery of the Greek Parthenon, the jewel of the Greeks
by James Mayfield (Chairman, European Heritage Library)

Print this Article    •    About the Author    •    Bibliography/Sources

Resting atop the Acropolis mountain and built in the 5th century BCE, the Greek Parthenon of Athens is considered one of the greatest structures ever built as well as one of the best preserved still standing. It reminds the Greek culture and its observers that the Greeks are responsible for some of the ancient world's greatest architectural works. Included are my photos from my 2007 vacation.

For a brief historical background, around the time of the construction of the Parthenon, what is today the nation of Greece was divided into regional and warring Greek tribes. It was built and ruled by the city-state of Athens (Athena), which acted as a wealthy political buffer between the neighboring Greek powers of Sparta and Macedonia in their numerous internal squabbles and wars against themselves and the invading Zoroastrian Iranians. It ushered the birth of the concept of a republic, not in the American-borne sense of universal freedoms, weak government, regional rights, and racial and minority powers, but rather that instead of an inherited king, a small council of ultra-wealthy elites was able to elect each successive leader and be involved in national issues. It offered some of the greatest earliest philosophers like Aristotle and Socrates. The city declined to virtually uselessness due to internal conflict, economic decline, and the growth of foreign power by the Iranians and Arab Phoenecians, and was later annexed upon the creation of the first Greek unified state under Alexander the Great, when the city's presence became unimportant. After Alexander's death, the short-lived unified "Greece" collapsed and split, never to be unified again until the 19th century nearly two millennia later. The Roman conquest annexed and absorbed the warring Greek tribes and states after Alexander's death.

Compared to the other ancient sites of the ancient Greek period, the Parthenon is actually quite marginal, disappointing, and does not live up to its near-mythic stereotype. It appears to be a way for Greeks to pride themselves for a nation they once had, much as the Italians pride themselves in a quite young nation by deriving from the Roman period. It is sadly not realized that any religious monumental construction task of any civilization is bound to be glorious when a state and population sacrifice years of labor and virtually bankrupt their coffers for their gods. Such accomplishments should never be indicative of a nation's civil and technological advancement or historical role. Though the Parthenon and its surrounding treasures on the Acropolis mountain are indeed in fantastic condition, they as architectural accomplishments or vastness are virtually insignificant compared to the works of other Greek tribes outside of Athens, especially in Ephesus of today's Ku in Muslim Turkey or Olympia to the west in Katakolon.

The huge mountain (the Acropolis) which houses the Parthenon can be seen for miles and miles all throughout the city. Its base is reached via a short drive or walk through a very poor slum area with a large criminal Albanian Muslim population, interestingly. Communist rebels (usually immigrants) have made their mark by spraypainting anti-Nazi, anti-Greek, and pro-Communist remarks on nearly every wall with hammers and sickles much like in USA and Italy. The mountain is flooded with tourists, taxis, and tour guides for hire on the spot. The walk to the Parthenon and the greatest structures on the mountain are miles and miles up a steep path made of original and restored stone paving. From nearly every angle and corner, amphitheatres, temples, and other structures can be seen all the way up the mountain. Most are in quite good condition. To the distance, other mountains in vision reveal more temples and pillars. To the far distance at the base of the mountain, an ancient graveyard claims to offer the actual graves of Socrates, Aristotle, and other fantastic historical figures. Christianity has adopted a role here to link these very pagan and pre-Christian scholars to Christ with the placement of crosses and churches nearby. Closer to the top of the mountain, nearly every few paces reveal some ancient temple, archway, set of pillars, and intricate statues. The walk to the main Parthenon is reached through a huge temple with pillars and arches whose floors are quite slippery and prone to injury. From the top of the mountain, the entire city of Athens can be seen from all angles. The selection of the Acropolis mountain by the Athenians for this religious construction is quite meticulous and wise. The main area on the summit offers several huge temples to female gods opposite the Parthenon itself. The buildings nearby are easily as fantastic as the Parthenon itself, though not as intricate. Huge open-air temples are decorated with pillars and arches covered in huge and realistic female and male statues. Many pillars used to support the structure are actually humanoid goddesses (Athena of course), with very large heads to support the weight; very intricate and impressive.

the Parthenon in the background of lovely Greek red wine and mussels. (click to enlarge)

Athens visible in the distance from a courtyard, in all its smoggy and polluted glory. (click to enlarge)

a fantastic-condition amphitheatre on the Acropolis. (click to enlarge)

a major and impressive temple next to the Parthenon, with Athena carved into the pillars. (click to enlarge)

The structures are indeed collapsing and decaying due to entropy, weather, and erosion. Etchings on the temples of stretched nude men are either half-collapsed or disappearing. Many pillars have completely collapsed or broken apart, with many being blatantly and hugely cracked. Many pillars in the temples are interestingly bright white and dark beige. This is due to restorative effort to support the collapsing surfaces. Scaffolding all around the Parthenon reveal this imminent fear of total ruin, with international aid and donation from the UN (as it is of course a UNESCO 'world-funded' site). Multi-tonne pillars can be seen all around the temples that are being restored, recreated, and added to the structures; every piece of marble on the ground that collapsed is treated as a treasure at one time glorious and upright. The temples cannot be entered.

The Parthenon itself is imposing, large, intricate, and in remarkably good condition. Massive etched pillars seem to have no end. Intricate arches with etched designs cover every part of the structure. In part, it appears to have been built by creating a strong foundation in the ground, as the perimeter of the Parthenon has a number of holes deep into the earth. The surface has by majority collapsed. The temple can only be entered by the local employees and archaeologists, and there seem to be hundreds carefully and hastily working away to restore it. The interior and ceiling are impressive indeed, and Greeks pride themselves in the fact that such could be built some 25 centuries ago with no glasses, no [modern] sunscreen, and no aspirin to alleviate burning headaches from the blinding sun atop the mountain, though far more impressive monuments by Greek and non-European alike exist much earlier elsewhere. From the edge of the Parthenon, the whole city again can be seen. The distant amphitheatres, classrooms, and temples at the very distant base are dwarfed by the once-standing Temple of Zeus. It appears to have been equally as impressive as the Parthenon, though it was obliterated as an infidel temple by the Muslim Turks when the Jihad of Islam had conquered the Byzantine lands in Greece proper throughout the 15th century. Laughably, other Greek Christian and pre-Christian treasures were also destroyed by the Christian Venetians by accident in their pan-Christian war against the superior Muslim conquerers.

the Parthenon in its glory. (click to enlarge)

the Parthenon close-up.

the treasures at the base of the Acropolis, and the Temple of Zeus (left) destroyed by the Jihad. (click to enlarge)

a local stone covered in Arabic graffiti. Immigration is causing a major backlash in Greece.

The Acropolis is a must-see for any avid traveler, and its Parthenon warrants world marvel, but pales in comparison to the fantastic works of other Greek tribes even earlier.

________________________________________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Mayfield is the owner and Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I am working for a doctorate in history, with a specific emphasis on Islamic and European histories. I am well versed in all world cultures, ethnicities, religions, languages, politics, and historical evolution in relation to and against each other.

BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES USED:

Personal observations, photographs.