Nashville!

Nashville’s label and reputation as the Athens of the South served as major inspiration for its people to construct in its own city Greece’s prime attraction, the Parthenon.

Nashville’s Parthenon stands as the centerpiece of the city’s premier, urban Centennial Park, and was built in 1897 as one of the projects for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. This celebration is a World Fair observed from beginning of May until the end of October which marked Nashville’s entry into the union in 1976.

The Nashville Parthenon shares many similarities with its counterpart in Greece. Both structures have become the established major tourist attractions that were created as an inspiration of classical architecture. Both of them took around ten years to be completed; Greece’s Parthenon’s construction dates back from 447-438 BC while Nashville finished rebuilding its own in 1931, an endeavor which was started in 1921. Both of them also face the east, allowing dramatic light penetration.

The most striking similarity of the two Parthenons is arguably its stunning focal point – the statue of Athena who is revered by the Greeks as the goddess of wisdom. Unveiled in 1990, Alan LeQuire’s re-creation of the Athena Parthenos statue in Nashville Parthenon greets its tourists in its breathtaking form just as it was in ancient Greece. The statue of Athena Parthenos within is a reconstruction of the long lost original to careful scholarly standards. She looks as if she sprang out from the encyclopedia that discusses the rich Greek culture. The Athena statue in Nashville is cuirassed and helmeted, and carries a shield on her left arm and a small statue of Victory in her right palm. She stands majestically at 42 feet high and is gilt with more than eight pounds of gold leaf. In the same way, she has colossal serpent that serves as adorment between her head and her shield.

The only known difference between the Parthenon of Nashville from that of Greece lies on its materials; the ancient Parthenon was built in marble while the modern Parthenon was molded from concrete aggregate and brick. The effect however, is just as beautiful.

This building in Nashville also serves as a dramatic backdrop for classical Greek plays performed in the city during summertime. Some of the plays the local people enjoy are Euripdes’ Medea and Sophocles’ Antigone. Usually, the actors perform on the steps of the Parthenon. There is however, one performance that has been conducted inside at the foot of Athena’s statue, Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman.

In film history, director Robert Altman shot some of his clips for  his 1975 movie entitled Nashville in the Parthenon, including the climatic scene that shows a political rally happening.

The Nashville Parthenon today functions also as an art museum. It serves as a permanent repository of about 63 paintings donated by James M. Cowan. These paintings are collections that range from the works representing the 19 th and 20 th century American artists. The building sometimes is also a venue for a variety of temporary shows and exhibits.

The Parthenon is available for public viewing all year round from Tuesdays to Saturdays, 9am to 4:30 pm, except during special holidays such as the Thanksgiving week and the holiday season.