When I found out that a replica of the Parthenon had been built in Nashville, my first question wasn’t “Where in Nashville is it?”, but “Why?”
Seriously though, why?
Why?
I had been expecting country music themed bars, museums and everything else that can possibly be linked to country music to exist in Nashville, but not replicas of ancient Greek architecture.
Why?
Fortunately, information regarding how it came to be there was readily available in a museum located below the Parthenon (which also houses an art gallery), telling the story of the 1987 Centennial Exposition, complete with relics and photographs of how it looked back when it was built as a temporary structure, its reconstruction and the triumphant building that stands there today.
Statue of Athena – Nike, the figure sitting on her hand, is 6 feet tall
Inside the Parthenon is a rather impressive statue of Athena, apparently another replica based on scholarly descriptions of the time a similar statue was housed in the original Parthenon.. What I found of particular interest, however, was information regarding the replicas of the Pediment sculptures which adorn the building, who created them, and the lengths that had to go to make it as close to the original as possible – considering a lot of the original was in ruins long before they ever laid eyes on it. It was not a sloppy half-assed job, and it shows.
Why is there a replica of the Parthenon in Nashville?
Because why not, that’s why.
The Parthenon, 2500 West End Avenue, Nashville.
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Why not indeed. I had no clue that was even there. That’s one big statue.
There were several buildings at the 1887 Centennial, including a replica of an Egyptian pyramid, but the Parthenon is the only one they kept.
Also when the statue of Athena was unveiled an angry group of protesters with picks and hammers showed up calling for the destruction of the “pagan idol”.
Why? Because it’s the South.
Well fortunately she was looking intact when we saw her!
I HAVE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!
I will likely never see it, but it makes me GIDDY to know that there is a replica of the Parthenon in Nashville, Fucking-Tennessee, US-Fucking-A. Why? Because Why The Fuck Not?
Please don’t tell me any more about shit I will likely miss in my own damn country. Please tell me about all the shit that I will VERY likely miss in yours. Thank you! 🙂
I have been so stupidly busy! I have to catch up on blogs I like, including yours.