Initially, Athenians began building the ancient Greek Parthenon at about the same time in 480 BC when it was destroyed by Persians. Early records about the initial construction are not available, but it is known that the Parthenon was dedicated to Athena which is now in ruins.

Nobody knows if the temple was razed while it was constructed or after, but the materials used were marble for columns and limestone for its strong foundations.

Ancient Greek Parthenon

Pentelic marble for columns was never used before the construction of the ancient Greek Parthenon constructed for focusing on the building complex called Acropolis.

Who built the Parthenon

The architects were Karpion, Iktinos, and Kallikrates and the pantheon were dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena Pallas. The primary reason for a building was to house the huge statue of Athena. The statue was built in about 438 BC and work on the building lasted until 432 BC.

Doric columns housing Athena

Compared to the construction of buildings in Greece at that time, the building was way ahead in architectural beauty and engineering. This building was created according to the Doric order and had a facade with eight columns and seventeen column flanks. It followed the ratio of 9:4.

Doric Temples

The spacing of the columns, as well as the height, depended on the ratio. The huge statue was housed in a cella while six Doric columns were enough to support both the front and back porch. There were 23 small Doric columns right behind the Athena surrounding it.

It was the first in Doric temples as this one was larger than the previous ones. In earlier constructions, the columns were placed on the flanks, but the sheer size of the Parthenon required a different system altogether.

Parthenon Architecture

The architecture was the first of its kind and had loads of aesthetics embedded in every feature. Visually, it was appealing and the structure was imposing while losing none if its delicate appeal. Visitors always experienced the magnificence as well as the imposing facade of the ancient Greece Parthenon.