Athens

For reading this week we have been reading an article about Athens and an ancient old building called the Parthenon. The article is written by Lynne Beaven and it is called 'ancient but earthquake proof.'

Greece has always suffered severe earthquakes but there is one building that is over 2500 years old and still has no damage done to the building by earthquakes. It is called the Parthenon and it was made for the goddess Athena. Some parts of the Parthenon are missing, its walls are gone but the damage isn't from earthquakes. They are from many years of fires, explosions during wars and deliberate removal of pieces for private and public collections.

The Parthenon was built very carefully by Phidias a very famous sculptor in Greece. To join the pillars onto the roof and floor they used iron to hold it in place and to stop the iron from going rusty and weak they sealed it with a strong lead. The lead is like elastic so the Parthenon  will sway and move during an earthquake but wont fall!

Inside the Parthenon was a giant statue of the goddess Athena made out of elephant ivory and gold. the statue was over 12m tall in the centre of the building. The statue is no longer there but some carvings and ancient Greek writing still is.

by Omea Hall