Ancient Athens was known for its academia, arts and philosophy. Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Pericles, and Sophacles are a few names you might recognize - all coming out of Athens.
Athens was known as the cradle of Western Civilization and the birthplace of democracy.
Nashville earned the nickname "Athens of the South" way back in the 1850s thanks the number of universities and colleges in the area.
Nashville was known as one of the most educated and culturally refined cities in the South before the Civil War.
Back in the day, Nashville's places of higher education included Fisk University, Montgomery Bell Academy, Meharry Medical Colelge and Vanderbilt University.
These days you can add Tennessee State University, Lipscomb University, Belmont University, Trevecca Nazarene University, Draughons Junior College, John A. Gupton College, Aquinas College and an ITT Tech campus.
Even with all these colleges in the city, the one thing that has to remind Nashvillians of their Athenian past has got to be the full-scale replica of the Greek Parthenon.
The Parthenon - Nashville's Parthenon - was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition (World's Fair).
The Parthenon sits in the middle of Centennial Park and features a 42-foot tall statue of the Greek Goddess Athena inside the structure.
This building has got to be one of the coolest features of Nashville. It really is a treasure. I'm surprised more isn't done to tell tourists about the Parthenon.
The original Parthenon was built in the 5th century BC and most of it sits in ruins. The cool thing about Nashville's replica is that they were able to replicate almost everything to the exact specs of the original. The only acception is the statue of Athena, which was rebuilt using a pretty detailed description.
There were several other building replicas that were also built, but the Parthenon is the only one still standing. Memphis also built an equally impressive replica of an Egyptian pyramid. (Memphis built the Pyramid Arena off the bank of the Mississippi River in the 1990s.)
The original Nashville Parthenon was just a temporary structure. It was reconstructed with permanent materials in the 1920s.
Check out the Parthenon.
Athens was known as the cradle of Western Civilization and the birthplace of democracy.
Nashville earned the nickname "Athens of the South" way back in the 1850s thanks the number of universities and colleges in the area.
Nashville was known as one of the most educated and culturally refined cities in the South before the Civil War.
Back in the day, Nashville's places of higher education included Fisk University, Montgomery Bell Academy, Meharry Medical Colelge and Vanderbilt University.
These days you can add Tennessee State University, Lipscomb University, Belmont University, Trevecca Nazarene University, Draughons Junior College, John A. Gupton College, Aquinas College and an ITT Tech campus.
Even with all these colleges in the city, the one thing that has to remind Nashvillians of their Athenian past has got to be the full-scale replica of the Greek Parthenon.
The Parthenon - Nashville's Parthenon - was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition (World's Fair).
The Parthenon sits in the middle of Centennial Park and features a 42-foot tall statue of the Greek Goddess Athena inside the structure.
This building has got to be one of the coolest features of Nashville. It really is a treasure. I'm surprised more isn't done to tell tourists about the Parthenon.
The original Parthenon was built in the 5th century BC and most of it sits in ruins. The cool thing about Nashville's replica is that they were able to replicate almost everything to the exact specs of the original. The only acception is the statue of Athena, which was rebuilt using a pretty detailed description.
There were several other building replicas that were also built, but the Parthenon is the only one still standing. Memphis also built an equally impressive replica of an Egyptian pyramid. (Memphis built the Pyramid Arena off the bank of the Mississippi River in the 1990s.)
The original Nashville Parthenon was just a temporary structure. It was reconstructed with permanent materials in the 1920s.
Check out the Parthenon.
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