This celebrated temple was built by Ictinus and Callicrates, two Greek
architects who flourished about B. C. 430. Ictinus was celebrated for
the magnificent temples which he erected to the heathen gods. Among
these were the famous Doric temple of Ceres and Proserpine at Eleusis,
of which he built the outer cell, capable of accommodating thirty
thousand persons; also the temple of Apollo, near Mount Cotylion, in
Arcadia, which was considered one of the finest of antiquity, and was
vaulted with stone. But his most important work was the famous Parthenon
at Athens, erected within the citadel, by Ictinus and Callicrates, by
order of Pericles. According to Vitruvius, the two artists exerted all
their powers to make this temple worthy the goddess who presided over
the arts. The plan was a rectangle, like most of the Greek and Roman;
its length from east to west, was 227 feet 7 inches, and its width 101
feet 2 inches, as measured on the top step. It was peripteral,
octastyle; that is, surrounded with a portico of columns, with eight to
each façade. The height of the columns was 34 feet, and their diameter 6
feet. Within the outer portico was a second, also formed of isolated
columns, but elevated two steps higher than the first; from thence the
interior of the temple was entered, which contained the famous statue of
Minerva in gold and ivory, by Phidias. This famous temple was built
entirely of white marble, and from its elevated position, could be seen
from an immense distance. On a nearer approach, it was admired for the
elegance of its proportions, and the beauty of the bas-reliefs with
which its exterior was decorated. It was preserved entire until 1677,
when it was nearly destroyed by an explosion during the siege of Athens
by Morosini. It was further dilapidated by the Turks, and afterwards by
Lord Elgin, who removed all the bas-reliefs and other ornaments
practicable, and transported them to London, where they now adorn the
British Museum. King Otho has adopted measures to preserve the edifice
from further mischief.