Athenian Treasure in Nashville
No one knows why or how Pericles convinced his fellow Athenians to build the Parthenon back in 447 BC. Legend says the treasure of Athens was stashed there – people have been vandalizing the place looking for Athenian gold ever since. In 1897, Nashville celebrated Tennessee’s Centennial with a temporary recreation of the Parthenon. Twenty-five years later, the citizens decided they couldn’t live without it and a project was commissioned to make a permanent re-creation faithful to the original. Like so many grand plans, they’ve been working on it ever since. In 2016, it’s finally done. Almost.
The Parthenon is hidden on a small hill in a park right in the City of Nashville. Unlike the one in Greece, you can walk through it the way the Athenians once did. The details of Classical Greece is profiled in every curve, relief, and capstone. This place makes everyone go quiet. All great design does that. It’s like virtual reality – only it’s real.
Nashville is all about music, but this is my favorite spot.
The Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee … August 5th 2016
Steel Wheels 