Most people who hear someone mention the Parthenon will think of one place—the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. However, for most folks in Tennessee, they also know of the Parthenon in Nashville, the “Athens of the South.” I have seen both.

When I was 16 years-old, I visited Athens, Greece, on a student educational cruise. It was very impressive, especially if you like ruins. Using your imagination, you might see the incredible size that the original structure had been and be amazed how people that far in the past could build something so huge! After a couple thousand years, as well as the help of some idiots in the 17th century using the Parthenon for an ammo dump, there isn’t a great deal left.

I saw Tennessee’s Parthenon for the first time back in the 90’s. That was when we drove to Vanderbilt Hospital for our son’s heart operation. We went a couple of days early to see the sights. Mainly we decided to visit the state capital building and its grounds, (that’s another story), and the Parthenon. The history of the Parthenon replica is interesting. It was designed by a Confederate veteran and built as one of many exhibition halls for the Tennessee Centennial Celebration in 1897. It was constructed of plaster, cement, and wood and on the same scale as the original Parthenon. Documents were used in an attempt at accuracy.

This replica was never intended to be permanent and after the celebration, most of the other exhibits were taken down. However, the expense of demolishing the Parthenon as well as its popularity precluded that. The building sat in Centennial Park, used for a variety of events, for about twenty years until weather and age deteriorated the structure. That was when it was decided a new one would be built with cement and stone in 1920. As was the first replica, this one was as close to the original as possible. The only difference was that it didn’t have the Athena Parthenos, a huge statue of the goddess Athena that once graced the original.

In 1982 Alan LeQuire was commissioned to recreate one. The statue “is a reconstruction, to careful scholarly standards, of the long-lost original: she is cuirassed and helmeted, carries a shield on her left arm and a small 6-foot-high (1.8 m) statue of Nike (Victory) in her right palm, and stands 42 feet (13 m) high, gilt with more than 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of gold leaf; an equally colossal serpent rears its head between her and her shield.” (Wikipedia, Parthenon, Nashville.)

That description of Nike as being small is so ironically funny. By the way, if those dimensions sound impressive, believe me, they are!

Today, the Parthenon is used as an art gallery as well as a tourist attraction. For a nominal fee you can see Athena Parthenos as well as the art gallery and other exhibits. It is totally worth it. We made several trips to Centennial Park, which itself is beautiful with lovely lakes, well-kept lawns, flowers, and numerous walking paths. It’s kind of like a Central Park in the middle of Nashville. Check it out when next you make a trip to the state capital.

Susan Kite is the author of five young adult novels, as well as a children’s book in pre-publication and a novelette, also in prepublication. You can find out more at www.bookscape.net and http://www.amazon.com/author/bookscape