Athens Imposters
Monday, 13th August 2007 by James Turnbull
There are 21 cities worldwide that have at sometime been nick-named "Athens of the (something)". However, two of these cities have taken the name even further and built replicas of Athens' most famous landmark, the Parthenon.
Nashville, Tennessee acquired the nickname “Athens of the South” in the 1850s by the creation of numerous universities and colleges and being the first southern US city to establish a public school system.
So as the centrepiece of the 1897 World's Fair, Nashville built the World's only complete, full scale replica of the Parthenon. The building was originally a temporary structure but they liked it so much it was re-built on proper foundations in the 1920s.
Today the Parthenon serves as an art museum and even features plaster-casts of marble sculptures which adorned the original Parthenon (which are presently held in the British Museum).
In the late 1700s many of Edinburgh, Scotland's public buildings were built in the Greek neo-classical style, giving rise to the nickname "Athens of the North".
Then, in 1882, construction began on a Parthenon replica named The National Monument as a memorial to those who died in the Napoleonic Wars. You can clearly see that the structure is only half completed, perhaps due to lack of funding, but some say it was an intentional design.
In stark contrast to public feelings of Nashville's replica, the locals of Edinburgh generally dislike the Parthenon and it has often been described as "Edinburgh's Disgrace".
Previously on Google Sightseeing: Ancient Greece.
Wikipedia Links: Parthenon, Nashville and the National Monument, Edinburgh.
Thanks: Taylor Nelson & James Turnbull
On the subject of Greek temples, can’t miss the oporetunity to add a Partenon like temple in Sicily, at Segesta https://www.googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=&c=&t=k&hl=en&ll=37.940712,12.837889&z=16 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Segesta-bjs-1.jpg Actually, a short walk up the hill to the theatre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Segesta%2C_Teatro_greco_%282%29.jpg give you one of the most stunning and peaceful places in Italy
Segesta looks like an incredible place Ben – but why is the motorway up on stilts?
(I noticed it in the photo you linked to taken from the theatre)
Even stranger to the west the motorway seems to disappear underground for about three quarters of a mile. Is there something of archaeological importance above the tunnel?
Hi there. I’m a long time reader, first time commenter.
I read this site primarily through an RSS reader (bloglines to be exact). I’ve noticed that your posts get-reposted a lot, which means that even after I’ve read a post, I end up seeing it show up in my RSS reader over and over again. For example, this post has shown up about three times so far.
I also run a website, and I’ve found that this occurs when I go back and edit a post. When I hit save, the already posted article gets re-posted to the RSS feed.
I just thought I’d give you a heads up in case you did not know that this was occurring. Thanks, and keep up the great work.
@Matt: Apologies, I made two (rather stupid) typos in this post so had to go back and edit them, which will have resulted in your RSS reader thinking the post was updated. Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell RSS feeds not to update on a minor change.
I’ll try and make sure to better proof-read my own posts!
Anyway, thanks for commenting. Please feel free to comment again 😀
A lot of Italian motorways are that way, to reduce impact in rural areas for farmers and land owners. Even though ugly to the eye, in these places where the land is still owned by hundreds of smallholders, it’s simpler for access to have a pillar now and then (and some welcome shadow) than a ground level motorway. Actually, the footprint is also a lot smaller.
As for the tunel – that is just a gradient issue, if I remember correctly.
Finally, yes, it’s a spectacular place. I was there for open air theatre (the biblical Job story with Ugo Pagliaia) and it was a step back in time.
While we’re on the subject, there’s also the Penshaw Monument near Sunderland: “[…] modelled on the Thesion, the Temple of Theseus in Athens.”
Google Maps link.
In Nashville we think our Parthenon is better than that other one over yonder in Greece–it’s already fallen apart…