the parthenon-nashville

Last week a few of the girls got together & took a trip to the Parthenon in Centennial Park in Nashville. Greek & Roman mythology is so interesting, how the gods were created, their lack of standards, always seeking revenge. I'm not quite sure I'd want to worship people like that...but that's another story.

Before Brady & I left for the summer my little brother's gave me a big stack of books to read! I was never much of a reader growing up (a few books here & there) but the past few years I've started to really enjoy it. Some of the books I was lent were the Percy Jackson & The Olympians  books.

I watched the movie when it first came out & then read the first one but it was years ago. So as I basked in the summer sun at the pool I quickly read through all 5 books. I couldn't put them down! They are great books for anyone pre-teen-adult. I get fed up with all the grotesque, dirty, nasty books/media that's out in the world today. These are a breath of fresh air & educational. I learned a lot about the Greek gods throughout the series. My brother also lent me the add-on series after the Percy Jackson books, The Heroes of Olympus.

So far I'm halfway through the first book & I'm loving every minute! I'll read for a good 3 hours at the pool everyday (rough life, I know) I recommend you read all of these books if you haven't done so already.

Back to the Parthenon....On the main floor of the building there is an art gallery & a few pictures & trinkets from when Nashville first became a town, but upstairs was the GIANT statue of Athena. She was beautiful! Athena is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.

The amount of detail in the statue is amazing & to think that long, long, long, ago in Greece they carved a statue similar to this. This one itself took 8 years to complete by Alan LeQuire.

Seeing this statue & others & the Parthenon itself made me want to go to Greece & see the actual Parthenon & other Greek ruins.

Since Athena is the Goddess of war her shield has a battle scene on it. Sorry this was the best shot I could get.

To see the scale of this thing, check out the lady in the far right of the picture....it's huge. Might I add that Athena is covered in actual gold leaf. The gold on the original Greek statue weighed 1500 Lbs. This statue tops out at 8.5 Lbs.

Athena is holding the goddess Nike (or Victoria in Roman mythology). Nike is the goddess of victory. So the next time you lace up your Nikes, know that you will win.

On the north & south faces of the Parthenon are most of the greek gods. They had these smaller replicas to show you what it looks like since you can't get close to the roof to see up close on the actual building. The pieces without arms & heads are molds of the remains in Greece. Sculptors worked with photos/drawings & these molds to recreate the Nashville Parthenon's statues.

After we wandered through the Parthenon & bought a postcard for my dad & myself (my tradition) we walked around the park. It was a beautiful day. I'm so grateful that I get to explore new places every year! I love traveling, seeing sights, & learning the history of the earth.

Go explore a new place this week!! Take pictures & collect a keepsake for you to remember your time there by.

peace+blessings