Who were the architects of the Parthenon?

The architects of the Parthenon were Ictinus and Callicrates. They designed the temple during Athens’ major rebuilding program in the 5th century BCE, under the broader direction of the statesman Pericles.

Construction began in 447 BCE and the building was substantially complete by about 438 BCE, although work on its sculpture and decoration continued for several more years. Ictinus is also associated with the Temple of Apollo at Bassae and projects at Eleusis, while Callicrates is known from ancient references as a collaborator on major Athenian building works.

Phidias is often mistakenly named as an architect because he supervised the sculptural decoration and the wider artistic program. He was principally a sculptor, not one of the Parthenon’s two credited architects. Mnesicles, another important architect, designed the Propylaea, the monumental gateway to the Acropolis, rather than the Parthenon itself.