The Greek Central Archaeological Council (KAS) decided on Wednesday that a part of the Parthenon, now in ruins on the Athens Acropolis, is to be rebuilt using mostly materials which are now lying on the ground.
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| Credit: Naftemporiki |
The KAS has decided to rebuild the “cella” of the Parthenon, which once housed the chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos, sculpted by Pheidias and dedicated in the year 439 or 438 BC.
“Today’s meeting is of great importance, because by utilizing research concerning the restoration of the cella we will be able to reconstruct its appearance, a very important event for the later history of the Parthenon,” a statement by KAS said.
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| Credit: WikiCommons |
The statue of Athena Parthenos, universally recognized as a piece of extraordinarily beautiful ancient art, represented Athena armed with a spear, shield and helmet, and accompanied by a serpent. Her right arm was extended before her, and her hand held a statue of victory.
The Athena Parthenos statue remained in the cella until the fifth century AD, when it was removed to Constantinople — and subsequently disappeared.
The complex rebuilding effort, which will include reusing 360 marble and stone pieces currently lying broken on the ground, is expected to take years to be completed.
The project intends to exploit the rich material and the vast knowledge gathered over nearly four decades, starting with the 1983 memorial volume for the restoration of the Parthenon by C. Bouras and M. Korres. Its aim is to highlight the limit of wall retention as it was formed after the bombing of Morozini in 1687 and before the siege of the Acropolis in 1822 when the Turks broke the ancient stones to remove the lead.
In the next phase, the restoration will include the section where the frieze and the architrave were located, but destroyed during Elgin’s theft and the siege of 1822.
Author: Tasos Kokkinidis | Source: Greek Reporter [May 09, 2019]
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