A greek temple painted in red and blue and gold. The columns are left white.

The Parthenon painted in colors

The Parthenon and the Acropolis in Athens just unveiled a new lighting system, which you can admire here:

Acropolis light show video

To join in the celebration, I’ve pulled together all our Parthenon articles for you to read:

What is the Parthenon?
Parthenon columns and optical illusions
Parthenon triglyphs and metopes
The Parthenon’s frieze
The Parthenon’s pediment
The Parthenon blows up!

Parthenon frieze (Athens, Greece, 440s BC)

Parthenon frieze (Athens, Greece, 440s BC)

It’s probably uncivil to comment that I wish they hadn’t designed the lights to emphasize the Parthenon’s whiteness, because it was not designed to be white, and racists use the whiteness of ancient buildings like the Parthenon as a subtle way to suggest that white skin is better than darker skin. Which I’m sure is not what the Athenians meant by choosing white lights for the Parthenon.

Metope from the Parthenon

Metope from the Parthenon

Anyway, you can read more about Greek architecture here:

and here: