It winks at the absurdity of finding an exact, full-size replica of an ancient Athenian temple in a Nashville city park while simultaneously acknowledging the breathtaking grandeur of the building.
By the mid-19th century, Nashville had come to be known as the Athens of the South, a reference to the city’s uncommonly high number of colleges and universities.
Our Parthenon was built in 1897 as a temporary exhibition space in connection with Tennessee’s centennial celebration.
It is now a museum and still stands in Centennial Park, surrounded by 132 acres of gardens and other public spaces.
Like the original Parthenon, Nashville’s Parthenon tells the world something about how the city sees itself, how it hopes to be understood, the truths it values most.
Organizations:
Nashville
Locations:
Nashville, Athens, Centennial