ATHENS, Greece — For the first time in approximately 220 years, visitors arriving at the Acropolis in Athens are getting a view of the Parthenon’s western side that appears whole and complete.
The restoration milestone was officially revealed Thursday, as workers had carefully fitted two newly crafted marble blocks into spaces that had sat empty for generations along the upper portion of the temple’s western end — the very face that greets visitors as they enter the ancient site.
The 2,500-year-old structure towers over the Greek capital and drew roughly 4.6 million visitors last year alone. Ongoing restoration work has focused on repairing the toll taken by centuries of war, weather, and looting — including the long-fractured appearance of the western facade.
Greece’s Culture Minister Lina Mendoni offered a glowing assessment of the completed work, calling the result “truly stunning.”
She explained that the two newly placed stones carry significance beyond simply closing a gap in the structure.
“They allow the unique proportions and the geometric perfection of the Parthenon’s western face to be seen once again,” she said.
Funding for this phase of the project came through a European Union program. The work is one piece of a much larger restoration initiative that first launched in 1975.
