The sanctuary to the goddess Athena
More than 2,400 years after its construction, the Parthenon still dominates the skyline of the Acropolis in Athens. The structure, originally painted in brilliant shades of red, green and blue, remained largely intact until 1687, when a force of Venetians laying siege to invading Turkish troops ignited a gunpowder magazine stored there. The explosion reduced the sanctuary to near ruins.One treasure, however, will remain absent—the marble friezes that England's Lord Elgin removed from the site between 1801 and 1803 and sold to the British Museum, where they remain.
