No, not this Parthenon.
Actually, there is a Parthenon in Nashville, TN. This was news to me as I stared out the windows on a recent road trip to visit some friends.
Apparently it was built in 1897 as one of several historically accurate replicas for Tennessee’s Centennial Exposition. When it was time to knock all the buildings down (they were made of wood), the citizens wanted to preserve the Parthenon, and they rebuilt it out of concrete in the 1920s.
Inside, there is a giant statue of Athena, crafted based on literary and archaeological evidence. It was later gilded and painted.
The builders attempted to recreate every detail, from the lintels, friezes, and pediments, to the shape and size of the columns and proportions of the building. They made casts from the original pieces when possible, and used educated guesses when not.
Though we CANE members are mainly based in the Northeast, if you are ever in the Nashville area, stop by to see this. It is thought-provoking, to say the least.
Some questions to ponder (for yourself or your students):
- How accurate are some of the assumptions the builders and crafters made when recreating artifacts?
- What do you think of the painted statue? Is it how you would picture Athena?
- What is the point of recreating or emulating buildings or artifacts? Is it useful or pointless?
- Why did Nashville decide to keep this monument? What does it symbolize for its citizens?