Maybe the greatest single building from the ancient world. It is an archetypal image. No single image reflects the beauty and accomplishment of ancient Greece. Built around 440 BC by the great statesman and general Pericles, the building is a perfect blending of form, art and architecture. The building's proportions maintain a universal 9:4 ratio (length:height, column spacing:diameter etc.). Knowing that the eye suffers from an optical illusion that makes straight lines look like they are bending away, the architect bowed the columns and the sides of the building to correct the illusion (i.e. the temple lines incline 12 cm over 70 meters) to give the illusion that the building is perfectly straight. It was built as a temple to the city's patron: the Goddess Athena Polias. Originally it would have been painted bright colors. Missing, of course, are the famous reliefs on the frieze known as the Elgin Marbles which were stolen by a British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Lord Elgin had asked the Turkish government for permission to excavate and remove stones with inscriptions for study. He interpreted that as the right to pry off anything he wanted and ship it back to England. His intentions became pretty clear when he sold the stones to the British Museum. The Greek government has repeatedly asked for them back and for some reason the British government (or British Museum) refuses. I guess receiving stolen property is not an offense when the British government does it. Hopefully, the marbles will be returned to their rightful homeland. By the way, Parthenon means virgin chamber and originally referred to one room in the temple.