The Athena Parthenos statue was housed in which temple?

The Athena Parthenos statue was housed in the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens. It stood in the temple’s eastern inner chamber, or naos, where the colossal image dominated the sacred space.

Sculptor Phidias created the statue in the fifth century BCE during Athens’ rebuilding program after the Persian destruction of the Acropolis. The Parthenon was constructed between 447 and 438 BCE, and the statue was dedicated around 439 or 438 BCE. Its name means “Athena the Virgin,” distinguishing this aspect of the goddess from other forms of Athena.

Athena Parthenos was a chryselephantine sculpture, made with gold elements over a wooden framework and ivory for the flesh. Ancient descriptions portray Athena standing armed, with a shield and spear, while a small figure of Nike represented victory. The statue itself is lost, but its appearance is known through literary accounts, coins, vase images, gems, and later copies.

A common mix-up is to treat the Parthenon as merely a modern name for the whole Acropolis. The Acropolis is the hill and sanctuary complex; the Parthenon is the temple that housed Athena’s great statue. The nearby Erechtheion and Temple of Athena Nike served different religious and architectural functions.