|
The Parthenon:- The Greek original, agreed to have been one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, was built 438 B. c. as a temple to pallas Athena (Minerva), guardian goddess of Athens, at a cost of around $7,000,000 in our money. Major E. C. Lewis of Nashville, with Col. W. C. Smith and R. T. Creighton as the architects, constructed the first reproduction in Centennial Park, for the Tennessee Centennial exposition, 1897. the present permanent reproduction was begun in 1921 by board of park commissioners of Nashville, Russell e. hart, architect. The pediment sculptures were executed by Leopold Schulz and Belle Kinney, and the Metope bas-reliefs by Julian Zolnay. the building has the same dimensions as those of the Greek original, and the sculptures reproduce, according to the most reliable data available, those of the original pediments. The east pediment tells the legend of the birth of Athena, and the west that of the contest between Athena and Poseidon (Neptune) for supremacy in the land of Attica. It is the only reproduction in the world. |
