The Restoration Of The Parthenon Temple At The Acropolis

When Greece became an independent country in 1830, after 400 years of occupation from the Ottomans the restoration of the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis was just a dream. Some important works began with the technology of the 19th century which was partially successful.

The Greek Government has created the Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments (ESMA), a multidisciplinary scientific panel of experts. The interventions began in 1975 as a rescue operation for treating the serious structural problems of the monuments and the rapid degradation of their surface. Since then, the restoration of the Parthenon temple and the Acropolis is in progress.

In May 2019, the Central Archaeological Council “turned on” the “green light” for the implementation of works aimed at bringing the monument closer to its original form. The decision marks a turning point in the recent history of the monument that dominates Athens.

The statue of Athena inside the Parthenon

In ancient times the Cella was called the main interior where the statue of the god (or goddess) to which it was dedicated was kept. For the Parthenon, this statue was the ivory statue of Athena the Virgin, painted by Pheidias, with huge dimensions, 12 meters long. During the construction of the statue, he was accused that he stole some gold, but Pheidias was ready for that so, he took out parts of the statue and prove that he hadn’t stolen even a gram. After, he left to Olympia where he made the 17 meters statue of Zeus, which was considered as one of the 7 miracles of the world.

In essence, the decision is of great architectural importance, as after the restoration of both sides of the nave, the geometry of the building will be restored, the identity and history of the monument will be seen, while the average visitor will have an idea of its special architecture. reported the KAS.

Its aim is to highlight the retention limit of the wall as it was formed after the bombing of Morosini in 1687 and before the siege of the Acropolis in 1822 when the Turks broke the ancient stones to remove the lead in order to make bullets. “The section that was kept intact until 1822 was dismantled within a month to get the lead and the stones remained there. “Nobody wanted the stones, they wanted the lead”, said the current president of ESMA, Professor Manolis Korres, the man who has been associated as few with the restoration of the Parthenon temple and the Acropolis. The restoration of the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis is most of his job.

The Turks severely destroyed 500 stones. Five hundred seriously “injured” were left behind because they were in a hurry. “They could have destroyed 50 and the 450 could have been in good condition, he said characteristically. According to the suggestion, the ancient bricks that will be repositioned are 360 , and the new ones (from marble that will come from Dionysus, which is very similar to the Pentelic) are about 90. The restoration of both long walls of the nave (north and south) is estimated to be completed in about 15 years.

In the western part of the northern nave, which will be completed mainly with original material, the height of the restoration will not exceed the 6th building (ie a total of about 4.5 m), while the eastern part will reach about 10 m. next phase when the restoration will include the part where the frieze and the entablature were located (which were destroyed during the abduction of Elgin and the siege of 1822) the height will be about 13 m. The two minorities, which concerned the inner side of this western part (always of the northern nave), requested the further static investigation in order to make the minimum possible completion with new material.