Parthenon, Akropolis, Athens, ca. 447-432 B.C.E. Parthenon, Akropolis, Athens, ca. 447-432 B.C.E.

View from inside the north pteroma toward the east (Copyright A. Nicgorski, 1993)

This view from inside the pteroma (the area between the cella wall and the peristyle) of the Parthenon would have been one of the few cool and shady places on the Akropolis in antiquity. It is also the place from which one would view the frieze, at a very sharp angle, atop the cella walls. Indeed, this tight and steep placement of such a fabulous frieze seems rather awkward and one wonders how visible it really was. To our knowledge, no ancient visitor to the Akropolis even mentioned it!