The Parthenon used about 22,000 metric tons of Pentelic marble in its construction.
The marble came primarily from Mount Pentelicus, northeast of Athens, roughly 16–17 kilometers from the Acropolis. Pentelic marble was prized for its fine grain and pale appearance, which could develop a warm golden tint as iron-bearing traces oxidized.
Construction began in 447 BC under the architects Ictinus and Callicrates, during Athens’s powerful fifth-century building program. Quarry workers cut the stone into blocks, while teams transported it by carts, ramps, sledges, and other mechanical aids before masons shaped and fitted it on the Acropolis.
The figure refers to an estimated quantity of building marble, not merely the surviving stones. The temple also contained elaborate sculpture and once housed Phidias’s colossal statue of Athena, made from gold and ivory rather than marble. The Parthenon’s marble was joined without modern mortar, using carefully prepared surfaces, dowels, and metal clamps protected by lead.