The Parthenon through Time: Cost and Value

The Parthenon is one of the most iconic buildings from the ancient world. The history of this building is rich, spanning thousands of years, during which it was subject to a wide variety of regimes and religions. First I explore the history of the building: How did the building come to be? What was its fate following the fall of Athens during the Peloponnesian War? What has been lost, and what still survives? Along with this historical examination, I explore from modern and historical sources for the construction of the building in terms of both its artistic and architectural elements. We take a deep-dive, too, into the finances required to construct the building through a variety of approaches, including contemporary comparisons as well as calculations based on the value of the 5^th-century Athenian drachma. At the end of the day, what can we say about the cost to construct this building? And what has been the return on investment over the millennia since its construction?