The Parthenon

I stand high on a rocky hill, like a crown of stone looking down at a busy city. The warm sun feels so nice on my marble columns, making them glow. Below me, houses and streets buzz with life, just like they have for a very, very long time. I have watched children grow up and have their own children, and their children’s children too. I have seen boats sail in and out of the harbor, and I have heard music and laughter float up to my perch. I have stood here through sunny days and stormy nights, a silent watcher over the city of Athens. Do you know who I am? I am a grand building with many stories to tell. I am the Parthenon.

I wasn’t always just an old building on a hill. I was built as a very special gift. Long, long ago, in a year they called 447 BCE, the clever people of ancient Athens decided to create something magnificent. They wanted to build a beautiful house for their protector, a wise and brave goddess named Athena. She was the city's special friend, and they wanted to show her how much they loved her. Their leader, a thoughtful man named Pericles, had the wonderful idea. He told everyone, “Let’s build a temple so amazing that everyone will remember Athena and our great city forever.” So, thousands of people got to work with happy hearts. They brought huge, beautiful blocks of white marble all the way up my steep hill. Day after day, they worked under the hot sun. A famous artist named Phidias and his team of sculptors were the master carvers. With their hammers and chisels, they carefully shaped every column and every statue, telling stories of heroes and gods in the stone. It was noisy work, but it was happy work. They made me strong and graceful. Inside my walls, they built the most amazing thing of all: a giant statue of Athena. She was as tall as a house, her dress made of shiny gold and her skin of smooth ivory. She held a shield and wore a helmet, looking powerful and kind. I was her special home, a place filled with light where people could come to thank her for watching over them. I felt so proud to be her temple, shining for all the world to see.

My life has been very long, and I have seen so many changes. After I was a temple for Athena, I became a church where people came to pray in a different way. Later, I was even used as a fortress to help protect the city. I have seen happy celebrations and sad goodbyes. A long time ago, in the year 1687, there was a big explosion that hurt me very much. Some of my walls and my roof fell down. It was a sad day, but I did not fall completely. My strong columns, the ones the ancient Athenians built so carefully, still stood tall. And they stand tall today. Now, people from all over the world climb my hill to come and visit me. They look up at my columns and imagine what I was like when I was new. I love hearing their different languages and seeing the wonder in their eyes. I am a reminder of what amazing things people can create with their hands and their minds. I also remind them of the big ideas that were born in my city, like democracy, which is the idea that everyone should have a voice. I hope I inspire everyone to build a world that is as strong and beautiful as I am.