20100417 Su-jin Park S16 Journal6

20100417 Su-jin Park S16 Journal6

I take the history class in school, so I will introduce some interesting story about well known Historic Site. This is the fourth story.

<THE GLORY OF ANCIENT GREECE>

On a high hill overlooking the city of Athens stand the ruins of a once splendid temple. This famous temple is known as the Parthenon, and the hill is called the Acropolis.

The Acropolis was the religious center of ancient Athens. It was on this hill that the Greeks built the Parthenon almost 2,500 years ago. They put up this magnificent temple to honor Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of Athens. Inside the temple was a giant gold and ivory status of Athena.

When Greece became a Christian country in the fifth century, the Parthenon was used as a church that dedicated for the Virgin Mary. Then the Ottoman Empire conquered Greece. They turned the Parthenon into a mosque, which is a Moslem place of worship. But during a war, the Turks stored gunpowder in the Parthenon. The gunpowder was exploded by enemy fire and the building and statues were wrecked.

Years later, Lord Elgin, an Englishman, visited Athens. He sent home some of the marble sculptures from the outside of the building. Known as the Elgin Marbles or Parthenon Marbles, they can be seen in the British Museum in London. Other treasures are in the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

The Parthenon is stripped, wrecked, and worn now. But its ghostly splendor makes you think of the glory of ancient Greece. People say that The Parthenon is most important classical architecture of ancient Greece.