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Primary sourceArtifact447-432 BCE

Parthenon

447-432 BCE

The great temple to Athena on the Athenian Acropolis, built as the centrepiece of Pericles' building programme.

The Parthenon was the centrepiece of Pericles' building programme, embodying his vision of Athenian glory.

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Photograph of the Parthenon temple on the Athenian Acropolis, seen from the front-left under a deep blue sky. White marble Doric columns and a partly damaged pediment stand on a stepped base, with scattered marble blocks and ruins in the foreground.
The Parthenon, Athens, built 447–432 BCE under Pericles' building programme.

About this source

What it is

The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis dedicated to the goddess Athena. Construction began in 447 BC and was completed in 438 BC, with decoration continuing until 432 BC. It still stands, much damaged, in Athens today.

Why it matters

The Parthenon was built during Pericles' leadership and partly funded with money from the Delian League, the alliance Athens led. It shows Pericles' ambition to make Athens the most magnificent city in Greece, and it later became a powerful symbol of Western civilisation and democracy, even as its sculptures were removed and the building itself was damaged by war and conversion to other uses.

Look closer

  • Why might using Delian League funds for an Athenian temple have been controversial?
  • What does the building's long history of use—as temple, church, mosque, and ruin—tell us about how meanings change over time?
  • What is missing from the structure today, and why?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Pericles on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Manuscript page in Greek handwriting with a decorative heading at top, showing the text of a speech in dense lines of script on aged parchment with marginal notes at left and right edges.Speech

Secondary source

Pericles' Funeral Oration

Thucydides · 431/430 BCE

Marble bust of a bearded man wearing a tall Corinthian-style helmet with a raised crest and cheek guards. Curly hair and beard are carved in detail. The bust rests on a tan stone pedestal against a grey wall.Sculpture

Secondary source

Pericles with the Corinthian Helmet

Kresilas · Roman copy, from a Greek original near Pericles' lifetime

Facsimile page of Greek manuscript handwriting in minuscule script, nine lines of dark ink on white, headed 'Facsimile No. 57', with a transcription and caption 'Thucydides.—Tenth Century' below.Book

Primary source

History of the Peloponnesian War

Thucydides · 5th century BCE

Book

Secondary source

Life of Pericles

Plutarch

A long gallery with dim lighting and a grid ceiling. Carved marble relief panels line the left wall and are displayed along the right wall; a visitor walks toward a distant display of marble heads and sculptures. A dark bench sits in the foreground.Sculpture

Primary source

Parthenon Frieze

Phidias · c. 443-437 BCE

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