The Parthenon, originally built out of wood for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition. The citizens liked it so much that they built one out of more durable materials, you'll have to go the website for the details. However; here are some interesting fact:
The structure and the Athena statue (42') inside are full size replicas. This building also serves as the Nashville art museum. There are some beautiful paintings from the 19th and 20th century including George Inness and William Merritt Chase. Steve and I had been here in 2002, and at the time Athena was under scaffolding having her gilt applied. You'll see in the photos below.
Here's the goddess in all her glory- truly a sight to see. I encourage a visit to the Parthenon website to get more images. My photogs don't do the statue justice.
A better view. I believe it was on the first trip here that I learned that the Greek and Roman sculptors did indeed paint the statues they created. Since most statues were of the gods and goddesses, this made them more life like. Something we're not used to as most statues we see now no longer have the vivid colors. This statue is supposed to be as exact as it can get. The sculptor did an extensive amount of research to get the details right as the original statue disappeared a few thousand years ago..JPG)
Here's a side view
A close up of the shield
Here's a model of the friezes on the pediments. These are all based on the Elgin Marbles that are in the British Museum.
Nike bestowing the laurel wreath of victory onto Athena. Nike is the god of Victory, something that shoemaker Nike knew- ya think?
Steve and the boys outside the building, don't know why the images looked cropped- oh well you get the idea.Now we're off to Memphis- we've had beautiful weather and great fun so far.
TTFN
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