In which ancient city is the Parthenon located?

The Parthenon is located in Athens, on the Acropolis of Athens in Greece. The Acropolis is a fortified limestone hill rising above the city and was the religious and civic heart of ancient Athens.

Construction of the present Parthenon began in 447 BCE during the leadership of Pericles, when Athens was at the height of its power within the Delian League. The temple replaced an earlier structure destroyed during the Persian sack of Athens in 480 BCE. It was dedicated to Athena, the city’s patron goddess.

A frequent mix-up is confusing the Parthenon with other important Greek sites. Delphi was famous for Apollo’s oracle, Corinth was a major commercial city, and Sparta was the militarized city-state in the Peloponnese. The Parthenon, by contrast, belongs specifically to the Athenian Acropolis, alongside monuments such as the Propylaea, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike.