Read Pausanias 1.24.5–7 on the Parthenon and its image, then 1.26.6–7 on the ancient image of Athena and the lamp made by Kallimachos. These descriptions belong to a visitor writing in the second century CE about a sanctuary with a much longer history.
Learning task
Create two entries in your notebook: the monumental Athena Parthenos and the ancient image associated with Athena Polias. Record the features Pausanias assigns to each. Add the date of his account separately from the date of the classical building program.
Model response
The Parthenos is described through its materials, attributes, and scale. The older image is discussed within a different sacred setting and tradition. Pausanias’s visit occurred centuries after the construction of the classical Parthenon, so he is a later witness to that building’s original period.
Why this matters
“The statue of Athena” can be an imprecise phrase when several images are involved. Identifying the particular image prevents mistakes about textiles, ritual offices, and buildings.
Extend the exercise
Read the Acropolis Museum’s Erechtheion page. Identify one statement about a surviving architectural feature and one about the reconstruction of an ancient function. Both may be valuable, but they are different kinds of claim.