Every period has its own style. The ancient Egyptians had pyramids. In the Middle Ages, many castles were built. The Greeks, too, are famous for their buildings.
Do you know what this building is? This is called the Parthenon. The Parthenon was built in ancient Greece. It was built as a temple. It was built to honour the god Athena.
The Parthenon is part of the Acropolis of Athens. An acropolis is a group of buildings built on an area of higher ground. The higher ground keeps the acropolis safe from attackers. It is hard to reach.
There are many acropolises around the world. The Acropolis of Athens is the most famous. It was built in the city of Athens.
It took almost ten years to finish building the Parthenon. The people of Athens thought of Athena as their guardian. They wanted to build the Parthenon and dedicate it to her.
The ancient Greeks were building the Acropolis more than 2,000 years ago! Back then, they had no safety gear to help them. But they did have some machines.
The ancient Greeks were good at math. They invented lots of new things. They made simple cranes to help them. The cranes picked up the heavy blocks.
Today, many people go to Athens to visit the Parthenon. You can see the huge columns and sculptures that the ancient Greeks built. You can see the decorative frieze.
The frieze tells a story. It tells the story of a festival in Athens. It is the work of skilled craftsmen.
The Parthenon was built by Pericles. He was a famous ancient Greek General. Pericles was one of the wisest leaders in Athens. He wanted Athens to be the greatest place in all of ancient Greece. He built the Parthenon to show how great Athens was.
He sought the help of architects to design the building. Two main people designed the building for him. They were Iktinos and Kallikrates.
But the Parthenon is just one example of ancient Greek architecture. They made thousands of buildings. Their theatres were impressive too. The ancient Greeks had no microphones. The theatres were built with acoustics in mind. The shape of the theatres meant that sound could be heard by everybody!
Ancient Greek buildings were influential. The Greek style can be seen in many styles today. Some Roman buildings had the same style. Some American buildings have the same style. Many modern European buildings have the same style. They truly were creative.