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Photo courtesy of Corbis.

The crowning glory of the Athenian Acropolis, the Parthenon is named after Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). This large Doric temple, 101 feet wide and 228 feet long, was built between 449 and 437 B.C. In antiquity, it was divided into two chambers, with the eastern room housing a monumental statue of Athena, sculpted by the artist Phidias out of ivory and gold on a core of wood. The western room (whose facade is shown in the cover photo) held offerings and valuables. In “Antiquity’s High Holy Place,” author Harrison Eiteljorg suggests that the real genius of the Parthenon lay in its craftsmen’s skills, which had evolved over generations.