The Parthenon, art and empire

The Parthenon was built between 447 BC and 432 BC as a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. It was the centrepiece of an ambitious building programme on the Acropolis of Athens. The temple’s great size and lavish use of white marble was intended to show off the city’s power and wealth at the height of its empire. Yet the Parthenon was built in the shadow of the vast Persian empire – a power that Athens had successfully repulsed. To what extent did Athens look precisely to its enemies, the Persians, for an example of what an empire looked like? And to what extent – if any – did Persian styles influence Athenian styles and design? This event celebrates the major new exhibition Luxury and power: Persia to Greece, which considers how eastern luxuries were received in democratic Athens, and how they were adapted in innovative ways to make them socially and politically acceptable. Join chair Dr Paul Collins, Keeper of the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum, and speakers: Prof Dame Mary Beard, one of Britain’s best-loved classicists; Dr Lindsay Allen, Lecturer in Greek and Near Eastern History at King’s College London; and Prof Tom Harrison, the newly appointed Keeper of the Department of Greece and Rome at the British Museum, as they explore the Parthenon in the broader context of empire, in the Mediterranean and Middle East. View the latest information on the Parthenon sculptures in the British Museum collection: This event is part of the public programme supporting the exhibition Luxury and power: Persia to Greece (open until 13 August 2023). More information about the exhibition can be found here: Sign up to our newsletters for the latest news on our work, stories about the collection and upcoming events: We’re bringing inspiring stories of humanity’s shared histories and cultural achievements to millions of people online. Your support ensures that we can continue to make the collection and videos like this one available to as many people as possible. If you can, please donate today: or you can text BMLEARN to 70085. Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message. Please see our social media code of conduct: Image credit: Marble relief, Slab V from the East Frieze of the Parthenon, designed by Pheidias (a. from 438 BC), Greece, 438–432 BC. View on Collection online: