The Parthenon is a ruin to this day. Some of its sculptures were lost forever when collectors ransacked the site in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many more sculptures lie in museums throughout Europe.
..It was Pericles, leader of Athens from 461 to 429 B.C., who proposed building a majestic new temple to the city’s patron goddess. Athens was the center of an empire, and Pericles was determined that some visible symbol of its wealth and influence be erected. Not only would the new temple house a magnificent gold and ivory statue of Athena, it would also serve as the treasury of the empire.
http://quazen.com/arts/architecture/a-beauty-that-refuses-to-die-the-architectural-of-the-parthenon/
(image credit: Flickr user Great Beyond)
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by MrGhaz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58rbknKBJvc