Parthenon (Nashville)

statue|274x274px Nashville's nickname, the "Athens of the South", influenced the choice of the building as the centerpiece of the 1897 Centennial Exposition. A number of buildings at the exposition were based on ancient originals. However, the Parthenon was the only one that was an exact reproduction. It was also the only one that was preserved by the city, although the Knights of Pythias Pavilion building was purchased and moved to nearby Franklin, Tennessee. Major Eugene Castner Lewis was the director of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition and it was at his suggestion that a reproduction of the Parthenon be built in Nashville to serve as the centerpiece of Tennessee's Centennial Celebration. Lewis also served as the chief civil engineer for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad. Originally built of plaster, wood, and brick, the Parthenon was not intended to be permanent, but the cost of demolishing the structure combined with its popularity with residents and visitors alike resulted in it being left standing after the Exposition. In 1895, George Julian Zolnay was "employed to make models for the ornamentation" for the building. Within the next 20 years, weather had caused deterioration of the landmark; it was then rebuilt on the same foundations, in concrete, in a project that started in 1920; the exterior was completed in 1925 and the interior in 1931. Local architect Russell Hart was hired for the reconstruction. The 1914 production, The Mystery at Thanatos, had a similarly mythological plot, but was shorter and better received. A copy of the script is on file at the Nashville Public Library. Both shows featured displays ranging from chariot races to large dance numbers to thousands of live birds to set pieces that shot flames, all set against the backdrop of the Nashville Parthenon. ==Current use==

As an art museum, the Parthenon's permanent collection on the lower level exhibits 63 paintings by 19th and 20th century American artists, donated by James M. Cowan in 1927–1929. In the summertime, local theater productions use the building as a backdrop for classic Greek plays such as Euripides' Medea and Sophocles' Antigone, performing (usually for free) on the steps of the Parthenon. Other performances, such as Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, have been held inside, at the foot of Athena's statue. In 2001, the Nashville Parthenon received much-needed cleaning and restoration of the exterior. The exterior lighting was upgraded to allow the columns of the building to be illuminated with different colors than the facade. ==In popular culture==

The Parthenon served as the location for the political rally in the climactic scene of Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville. It was used as a backdrop for the battle against the Hydra in the 2010 film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. It features in the title and lyrics of the song "Nashville Parthenon" from the album Etiquette, by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, as well as the song's 2011 sequel "Goodbye Parthenon". It was used in the 2000 PBS series Greeks: Crucible of Civilization. A poem titled "Ganymede" in Heather Ross Miller's Celestial Navigator: Writing Poems with Randall Jarrell features the Parthenon. The structure figures in the climax of the Hector Lassiter novel Three Chords and The Truth, by Craig McDonald. ==Gallery==

File:Statues at Parthenon, Nashville, TN, US.jpg|Statues File:Statues (center) at Parthenon, Nashville, TN, US.jpg|The center of the statues File:Athena's Shield Detailed.jpg|A closer look at the Shield of Athena Parthenos File:Mrs. McMillin in Greek Play, Nashville LCCN2014700085.jpg|Greek play, circa 1913 or 1914 ==References==