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In Greek culture, there is no greater achievement than the world-famous Parthenon atop the Acropolis of Athens. Though it has not been in use for many centuries, it still holds power over local residents and tourists alike.
Whether you are here for travel information, doing research, gathering facts, or simply just fascinated by this phenomenal monument, ParthenonTemple.com has all the information you need. We are the central place for Parthenon details on the web.
Feb
24
ATHENS (AFP) – Its austere white is on every postcard, but the Athens Parthenon was originally daubed with red, blue and green, the Greek archaeologist supervising conservation work on the 2,400-year-old temple said.
“A recent cleaning operation by laser revealed traces of haematite (red), Egyptian blue and malachite-azurite (green-blue) on the sculptures of the western frieze,” senior archaeologist Evi Papakonstantinou-Zioti told AFP.
While archaeologists had found traces of the first two colours elsewhere on the temple years ago, the malachite-azurite colouring was only revealed in the latest restoration process, Papakonstantinou-Zioti said.
Given the testimony of ancient writers, it is not unlikely that the Parthenon’s trademark columns were also coloured, she added.
Archaeologists have been trying since 1987 to remedy damage wrought on the Parthenon’s marble structure by centuries of weather exposure and decades of smog pollution.
Principal restoration work on the entire Acropolis citadel, which stands in the centre of the modern Greek capital, is scheduled to be completed by 2009.
Dedicated to the ancient Greek goddess Athena, patron of the ancient city of Athens, the Parthenon was badly damaged during a Venetian siege of occupying Ottoman Turkish forces in 1687.
Much of the temple’s eastern frieze was removed in the early 19th century by agents of Lord Elgin, then British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
Elgin subsequently sold the sculptures to the British Museum in London, where they are still on display, despite persistent efforts by the Greek government to secure their return for the past 20 years.
Feb
20
Digital-visual effects have transformed the movies during the past decade. One of the most dazzling examples is the reconstruction of the Parthenon in Greg MacGillivray’s dynamic new IMAX travelogue, “Greece: Secrets of the Past.”
MacGillivray’s floating cameras swoop around the fabulous Athens ruin, as tourists explore the exterior and what’s left of a 40-foot statue that was originally made of gold and ivory. Then, as the visitors gawk, the broken columns are filled in, the paint is restored, the cracks disappear and the glittering statue suddenly towers above them, seemingly ready to spring to life.
For the first time in more than 2,000 years, the Parthenon looks as it must have looked when the paint was still fresh. It’s a miraculous moment, possible only because of recent advances in digital technology, and it’s easily worth the price of admission by itself.
“Greece: Secrets of the Past,” IMAX documentary directed by Greg MacGillivray, from a screenplay by Stephen Judson and Jon Boorstin. 40 minutes. Not rated; suitable for general audiences. Pacific Science Center.
“Greece” will play through May at the Pacific Science Center’s Boeing IMAX Theater. Joining it in mid-March will be the latest IMAX 3-D production, “Deep Sea 3D.”
Feb
17
“Greece: Secrets of the Past,” which makes its world premiere Saturday at Cincinnati Museum Center and other locations, is an enriching odyssey of the mind.
An exploration of the past that can inform us today, it’s all wrapped up in breathtaking special effects and spectacular vistas of the Greek islands.
Narrated by actress Nia Vardalos (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”), the latest Omnimax production is part archaeological mystery pursuit, part history lesson, largely chronicled through the efforts of Greek archaeologist Dr. Christos Doumas and his fellow scientist, volcanist Dr. George Vougiokalakis.
“In many ways we are all sons and daughters of ancient Greece,” Vardalos tells viewers at the beginning of the film, drawing them into the dawn of Western Civilization in the formation of democracy in Greece 500 years before the birth of Jesus.
The film then switches gears to Athens nearly 1,000 years later, during the Classical or Golden Age of Greece. Proclaimed “the first hub of the information age,” the Athens of that time has plenty of written texts from which to extract knowledge of an era that provided major transformations in politics, sculpture, drama and philosophy.
The film touches on those transformations while focusing on the crowning architectural glory of that Golden Age – the Parthenon in Athens, which was constructed as a temple to the goddess Athena. Today’s ruins are rejuvenated through computer graphics that even recreate the 42-foot golden sculpture of Athena, which was the “crown jewel” of the monumental structure.
Amidst those scenes of ruins, the film becomes part cautionary tale: “Athens overextended her armies… left too poor and weak to keep her grasp on power. Her hubris, her arrogance was her downfall.”
However, the narration ends on an upbeat note. “Centuries later those fragments still enrich our life… from philosophy and art to Olympic spirit, no other civilization has so profoundly shaped who we are and how we live.”
Ultimately, the 45-minute film has only time to provide glimpses into a fascinating past; there’s a Web site, www.greecefilm.com, that offers much background to the film and the history therein.
And don’t miss the closing credits for two amusing scenes where live models are used to recreate the human pillars of a temple and a military scene of riders on horseback.