I believe that the refinements were made to give the Parthenon an impression of being a living mass that responded to its own weight. For example, each column has a slight swelling at its center ...

Eventually, gunpowder the Turks had stored in the Parthenon ignited, blowing out 28 columns, damaging several internal rooms, and killing up to 300 people. In the ensuing century and a half ...

I hardly recognize The Parthenon these days, but, to be honest, that’s a really good thing. When I joined the paper back in ...