TechnoTourist’s Engineering Expeditions

Steep hills offered a city protection from its attackers in ancient times. One term for this safety feature is an "acropolis" and Athens, Greece is home to the acropolis and the Parthenon, the building on top. Restoration was being completed on the Parthenon when I visited it, and I viewed the ancient temple from a distance, but it was still quite a thing to see.

Acropolis Defined

Athens' acropolis is a large, flat rock located 490 feet above sea level. It has been home to numerous structures since the Bronze Age.

Construction and History

Today's Parthenon was built to replace a temple of Athena that had been destroyed in the Persian invasion of 480 BC. Construction of the Parthenon began in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC. Some studies have concluded that the measurements of the Parthenon approximate the golden ratio.

The temple was dedicated to Athena. It was constructed of many materials and contains many sculptures and other references to Greek mythology. The Parthenon has been a setting for the votive statue of Phidias, a Christian church, and an Islamic mosque.

Restoration

The Parthenon was partially destroyed after it was blown up by a Venetian mortar in the 17^th century. Some of the restoration following this damage resulted in wrongly assembled columns.

Since 1975 a restoration project has been underway to repair the effects of pollution, war, and poor past restorations. Some of the stone needed to be patched with new marble using a total of 530 cubic meters of the material. The restoration covered 2,675 tons of the architecture. The repairs appear white against the yellowish original structure but should weather and blend with age.

New titanium metalwork was added - chosen because of its resistance to corrosion. Earlier metals such as the H pins that were used to hold blocks together had been made of uncoated iron, which corroded, or lead-coated iron, which offered some protection from corrosion.

During this re-restoration artifacts were carefully documented and many were transferred to the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis_of_Athens

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon

http://www.ancient-greece.org/architecture/parthenon.html

http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/parthenon.html