Parthenon

"Now, the Parthenon is the most perfect building ever created."

- Henry Jones, Sr.

"I don't see what's so perfect about it. It ain't even finished yet."

- Indiana Jones

The Parthenon was a temple to the Greek goddess Athena, built in the fifth century BC. Located on the Acropolis hilltop of Athens, Greece, it contained a statue of the goddess, and the building was also used as a treasury. In later centuries, the temple was later coverted and used as a Christian church, then an Islamic mosque, and even an Ottoman ammunition storage - which was bombarded in 1687, causing serious damage to the site. In the early 1800s, some of the marble statuary was removed and sold to the British Museum. Today, the Parthenon is considered one of the world's finest cultural monuments, and a symbol of Athenian democracy and Greek civilization.

In 1910, Indiana Jones arrived in Athens, with his father, mother, and tutor. On one of their first days in the city, the Jones family went up to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon, which was a common tourist attraction. Climbing through the ruins on the hill, they finally beheld the ancient temple. However, Anna Jones was concerned over the health of Miss Seymour, who had stayed behind at the hotel with a migraine. She prevailed upon her husband the need to return, and so the family was not able to explore the ancient structure itself.

Behind the scenes
In an establishing shot of the Parthenon used in Travels with Father, several modern structures are seen in the background, and modern scaffolding is seen on one column of the ruin, corresponding to the modern project to rebuild the ancient structure.

Appearances

 * Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father Travels with Father