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The scene was 5th century B.C. Athens in ancient Greece. The Athenians had just defeated the Persians in an impressive defense of their great city. An overwhelming sense of pride and victory permeated the minds of every loyal citizen. Cultural and political achievements had reached new heights. Pericles, a fiery orator and elected statesman, had proposed a massive resurrection of the Athenian temples long since destroyed by the Persian invaders. Perhaps the crowning achievement …

…the Venetians caused most of the damage we see today was she really disrespected and unprotected. We now know that the Athenians of Pericles' time were successful in bringing "everlasting glory" to their culture; their achievements both culturally and politically are known and praised worldwide and have been now for almost two and a half millennia. The Parthenon, temple to the goddess Athena, stands a symbol of their influence which has reverberated throughout the ages.