Parthenon
a celebrated temple at Athens, consecrated to Athena or Minerva, the protectress of the city. The Parthenon was built on an elevated rock near the Acropolis, and has always been regarded as the most perfect example of Grecian architecture; it was built in the Doric style. The Parthenon was erected about 448 B. c., in the time of Pericles, Phidias being the chief sculptor. It had a length of 228 feet, by a breadth of 100. The principal object of art was a statue of Minerva, 26 cubits high, made of ivory and gold, in an erect position, with a lance in her hand, a shield at her feet, and Medusa's head on her chesta work regarded as the masterpiece of Phidias. It had resisted the ravages of time down to the 17th century, till at the siege of Athens by the Venetians, in 1687, a shell fell on the roof of the Acropolis or citadel, which, firing the magazine beneath, shattered that building and the Parthenon. Early in the 19th century, it was mutilated by Lord Elgin, who removed to England its noblest sculpture.