The Parthenon

By the late nineteenth century Nashville had earned the nickname the Athens of the South for its concentration of colleges and universities and its embrace of classical education and culture. When the state held a great exposition in 1897 to mark a century of Tennessee statehood, the planners chose to celebrate that reputation by building a full-scale replica of the Parthenon, the crowning temple of ancient Athens, as the centerpiece of the fair.

The original building was meant to be temporary, made of plaster and wood like the other exposition structures, and was not built to last. But Nashvillians loved it so much that they could not bear to tear it down, and the city kept it standing for years even as it slowly crumbled. In the 1920s the city rebuilt the Parthenon in permanent concrete, faithfully reproducing the dimensions and details of the ancient temple, and that is the building that stands in Centennial Park today.

The result is a landmark unlike any other in the country. Where the ancient Parthenon in Athens survives only as a majestic ruin, Nashville's version shows the temple as it might have looked when it was new and whole, columns intact, pediments filled with sculpture, a window into the classical world set incongruously in a Tennessee park.

The most breathtaking feature waited decades to arrive. In the ancient Parthenon stood a colossal statue of Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of Athens, sculpted in gold and ivory and long since lost to history. In the 1980s and early 1990s a Nashville sculptor re-created her at full scale, a figure of the helmeted goddess rising nearly forty-two feet, holding a winged Nike in her outstretched hand, later covered in gold leaf to approximate the dazzling original.

Standing beneath her is an overwhelming experience, a rare chance to sense the scale and splendor of the ancient temple's centerpiece. The reproduction was based on careful study of ancient descriptions and fragments, an act of scholarship as much as art. Around her, the temple's other galleries house Nashville's art museum, with a permanent collection of American paintings and rotating exhibitions, so the building is at once monument, statue, and gallery.

The Parthenon anchors Centennial Park, a large, beloved public green space just west of downtown Nashville. The park grew out of the same 1897 exposition grounds, and today it offers lawns, walking paths, a small lake, and gardens, a favorite spot for locals to picnic, exercise, and gather for festivals and concerts through the warmer months.

The setting makes the temple all the more striking, a piece of ancient Greece reflected in a city pond, framed by trees, with joggers and families passing by. Together the park and the Parthenon form one of Nashville's great public spaces, a place to slow down and take in a bit of grandeur close to the bustle of Music City, and a green escape near the campus of Vanderbilt University.

Spring brings the park to life with blossoms and green lawns, a lovely time to admire the temple's columns against fresh foliage and to enjoy the gardens.

Summer is warm and busy, when Centennial Park hosts festivals and outdoor events and the shaded lawns fill with visitors, though the temple's cool interior offers relief from the heat.

Fall paints the park in color and brings crisp, clear weather ideal for photographing the Parthenon and strolling the grounds.

Winter is quiet, and the temple's stark columns can look especially dramatic against bare trees or a dusting of snow, while the indoor galleries and statue stay welcoming whatever the weather.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.