Athens - Hadrian's Arch

Hadrian's Arch Description

To the west of the Olympieion, immediately adjoining the Leofóros Amalías, one of Athens' busiest traffic arteries, is Hadrian's Arch, erected in A.D. 131-132, when the gigantic temple of Olympian Zeus was finally completed. It is thought to occupy the position of an earlier city gate of the sixth century B.C., and was later incorporated by the Turks in the circuit of walls with which they surrounded the town in 1778 and which was pierced by seven gates.





The arch is a plain structure of Pentelic marble, bearing two inscriptions: on the west side, facing the Acropolis. "This is the ancient city of Theseus", and on the east side, facing the Olympieion, "This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus".

Athens - Acropolis

Acropolis Description

(Local Name: Akrópoli) A great crag of limestone rising out of the plain of Attica offered a site well adapted for the Acropolis, the fortified citadel of Athens. At first it served both as the stronghold of the kings of Athens and as the site of the city's oldest shrines; later it was reserved for the service of the divinities of Athens alone.




This religious center of ancient Athens, which received its classical form in the time of Pericles, thus reflected the humane values of Greek culture and thoughts which have retained their power down to our own day. In spite of the destruction wrought by many centuries, most notably the devastating explosion in 1687, when a Venetian grenade blew up a Turkish powder

magazine which had been housed in the Parthenon and made the 2,000-year-old temple a ruin, the surviving remains still convey something of the splendor of the age of Pericles.

Parthenon in Athens

The Parthenon stands proudly as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, Nashville's premier urban park. The re-creation of the 42-foot statue Athena is the focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. The building and the Athena statue are both full-scale replicas of the Athenian originals.
Originally built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, this replica of the original Parthenon in Athens serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture. The plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles found in the Naos are direct casts of the original sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Athenian Parthenon, dating back to 438 B.C. The originals of these powerful fragments are housed in the British Museum in London.
The Parthenon also serves as the city of Nashville's art museum. The focus of the Parthenon's permanent collection is a group of 63 paintings by 19th and 20th century American artists donated by James M. Cowan. Additional gallery spaces provide a venue for a variety of temporary shows and exhibits.