The Parthenon has a new old look.
Greece’s Ministry of Culture said on June 15 that the Acropolis Restoration Service, known as YSMA, has finished restoring the pediment on the western facade of the Parthenon after eight years of work. The exterior scaffolding on that facade has now been permanently removed.
“Today we are talking about the completion of an extremely demanding restoration intervention, thanks to which the west pediment of the Parthenon is being presented in its fullest form in some 220 years,” Greece’s Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said. “The sight is truly breathtaking.”
Ancient Athenians built the Parthenon in the 5th century B.C.E. as a temple to the city’s patron goddess. Since then, it has also served as a treasury, a mosque and army barracks.
The building has sustained damage from human conflict, natural disasters and past restoration work, including efforts led by Greek architect Nikolaos Balanos between 1894 and 1938.
The Greek government set up YSMA in 1975 to manage restoration work across the Acropolis. The service began work on the Parthenon’s western pediment in 2017.
Last November, the western facade briefly appeared in what the source described as its now permanent full form, but the pediment still remained the only unfinished part of the facade.
In its latest announcement, YSMA said restoring the tympanon inside the pediment was “one of the greatest challenges of recent years.”
Under a 2008 plan re-approved in 2020, two orthostat slabs now complete the western pediment. One slab combines two ancient stone fragments with new marble. The other is made entirely from newly quarried marble.
YSMA said the blocks were installed on March 3 and March 5.
“It is a moment of historic significance for the monument, for the Acropolis and for world culture,” Mendoni said. “A moment that fills us with pride, but also with a sense of responsibility to continue, with the same consistency, the great work of protecting and showcasing the foremost symbol of Western civilization.”
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