Some of the financial accounts for the Parthenon survive, which make it clear that the largest single expense was transporting the stone from Mt. Pentelicus, about 16 kilometers from Athens, to the Acropolis.
The Parthenon holds a canonical position as the ideal Greek Temple for many people; however, the original building was unusual in several attributes. Iktinos and Kallikrates built the Parthenon entirely with marble, while more usual temples had terra cotta roof tiles, often supported with wooden truss work. The Parthenon is also not an example of a purely Doric? order building, either. The wall that separates the interior and exterior space carries an Ionic type frieze carved by Phidias and the West interior room of the temple supports its ceiling with four Ionic columns.
Over the years the Parthenon was converted first into a Christian church and then into an Islamic mosque.
In the 17th century A.D. the Turk?s used it to house ammunition, and most of the structure was destroyed when it was hit by a Venetian? cannonball. The remains are a popular tourist attraction. The friezes that had decorated the outside are now in the British Museum, which calls them the [Elgin Marbles]?, after the man who brought them to London. The Greek government has asked for their return, thus far unsuccessfully.
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