Greece - Athens: The Parthenon

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[This photo was taken on my first trip to the Holy Land in 1969. I'm that young 'boy' seated on the right!] The photo below was taken on that same trip.

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The Parthenon is a temple located on the Acropolis, a hill overlooking the city of Athens, Greece. It is considered to be the finest example of Doric-style construction. Doric is a simple, unadorned style characterized by plainer columns.

The Parthenon was designed by Phidias, a famous sculptor, at the behest of Pericles, a Greek politician credited with the rebuilding of the city of Athens  following the Persian Wars.  

Many treasures would have been displayed in the building when it was constructed, but the glory of the Parthenon was the gigantic statue of Athena designed by Phidias and made out of elephant ivory and gold.

In the 6th century AD it was used as a church. The Franks turned it into a cathedral in the 13th century.  Because it served as storage for Turkish ammunition, the Venetians blew it up in 1687. It was eventually restored in 1834-44 and again since 1983.

One of the great sermons in the Bible was delivered by the apostle Paul on Mar’s Hill in the very shadow of the ancient Parthenon. In it Paul said, "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things." Acts 17:24-25 

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