The Greeks were somewhat slow in embracing Christianity but by 426 A.D. they had become a Christian nation. In the meantime Greece had fallen under the dominion of the Roman Empire and the Emperor Theodosius II changed the Parthenon into a Christian church. For a little more than a thousand years the Greeks worshiped Jehovah in the Parthenon. After the conquest by the Turks in 1458 the Parthenon was changed into a Mohammedan mosque.
Except for the minor changes to the interior in the fifth century by the Christians and those to the exterior in the fifteenth century by the Turks, the Parthenon was almost in as good condition at the time of its destruction in 1687 as it was in the beginning. In that year the Turks were driven out of Athens by the Venetians, representing a Christian nation. In this war the Turks temporarily stored gunpowder in the Parthenon for safekeeping, thinking the Greek gods which adorned its pediments would give them good luck. However, a Venetian shot, not so respectful of the gods of the Greeks, struck the Parthenon and rendered it the interesting ruin that, for the most part, remains today.
As a result of the explosion the entire interior was destroyed. The columns, the architrave, the ceiling, the roof, nothing remained except the floor and fragments of the walls. Fortunately the explosive agent was gunpowder, whose power acts upward and outward only; consequently, the floor was not materially injured and the markings on the floor disclose the order of architecture, location, and diameter of the columns.
The exterior did not suffer as much from the force of the explosion as did the interior. Of the fifty-eight columns on the outside, forty-four were left standing. Eight on the northeast corner and six on the south side were entirely blown away. A few of the end columns were damaged slightly. Almost all of the pedimental sculptures were blown off and greatly injured. Only two fragmentary groups of the pedimental sculptures are left on the old ruin.
In 1929 the Greek Government, with the assistance of American capital, began a restoration of the Parthenon. It is to be hoped that the Greeks will not allow anything to prevent the completion of this work.
The Parthenon at Nashville at Night
The Parthenon at Nashville
In 1896 the State of Tennessee attained its full century statehood. To celebrate that important event in the life of the State the Tennessee Centennial Exposition was held in Nashville the following year. Nashville had long been known as the “Athens of the South” because of its many schools and colleges and accompanying culture, and it is not surprising that the director general of the exposition, a man noted for his culture and love of art, conceived the idea of having as the gallery of fine arts for the exposition a reproduction of the Parthenon at Athens.
In the successful prosecution of the work there was no time for research and study. Relying on existing information, a very creditable building was erected of laths and plaster in the few months available.