For thousands of years, the iconic Parthenon has been viewed as one of the most dazzling buildings of antiquity. New research, however, states that we may have misunderstood its name for the last 2,000 years.
Dutch experts from the University of Utrecht say that the popular name, Parthenon, originally belonged to a completely different building and not the stone structure that millions of tourists visit every year.
The Parthenon of antiquity was an ancient Greek treasury which contained offerings for the goddess Athena. Instead of being known as the Parthenon, the temple of Athena was known as Hekatompedon. The name came from the size of the temple that was 100-foot long.
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Janric van Rookhuijzen, the archaeologist behind the research, told the Telegraph that the name ‘Hekatompedon’, is mentioned in 2,500-year-old archives. Alternatively, a more user-friendly name, ‘The Great Temple of Athena’, is also more accurate when taking into account the ancient texts.
Dr van Rookhuijzen says his research was not well-received by Greek archaeologists who were “very suspicious” of his work which is based on the examination of archaeological data and ancient texts. He adds that after some skepticism they are now stating that the theory put forward has some value.
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The actual Parthenon, whose name means ‘house of maidens’, and the smaller temple adorned with caryatids holding up the roof as pillars, is now the Erechtheion, which stands 100 metres away from the Parthenon.