The Parthenon

No list about Athens, Greece would be complete without adding one of the "wonders of the world" the Parthenon. This massive architectural monument was starting construction some time around 5th century BC by a man named Pericles. Inside the Parthenon is the 38ft statue of the Goddess Athena. She was covered in gold and ivory and stood next to her Aegis (shield) that has the Medusa head in the middle. The Medusa was symbolic to the legend of Athena cursing her, and many Greek warriors used this same shield to inspire fear in their enemies. This statue was to honor Athena as the cities protector. They also have an entire Temple on the Acropolis dedicated to Athena so people could worship there instead of the Parthenon.

 The Parthenon is a remarkable work of architecture due to its detail that it has on the top of every side of the building. Each side is depicting different stories of the beginnings of mythology.  On one side they depict the Titianomachy which was the battle between the Titians and the Gods, the other side they have the Giantomachy which was a battle between the Olympian Gods and the Giants. A lot of the work that is currently on the actual building are reconstructions while the original works are in the Acropolis Museum. 

 The heat in Athens is no joke, and the only downside of visiting the Acropolis to see the Parthenon is that because it sits on the top of a hill the sun is directly hitting the site, and the city will shut down the monuments if the heat gets to intense due to safety of the people who visit. When i went they shut the site down everyday after noon for two weeks, so i would recommended to go in the early morning around 8am to beat the crowd and the heat.