The Parthenon was the result of single project, directed by Phidias, who was also responsible and in charge of the artistic part of the temple. Iktinos was the main architect of the building, who acted in collaboration with Kallicrates, the secondary architect. The Parthenon was erected as part of the Acropolis Construction programme, instructed by Pericles, in Athens in the 5th century BC. It was built with funds made available from the Delian league, which had been formed by the Greeks to protect themselves from the mighty Persian empire in the East. It was this Greek alliance that protected the grounds on which democracy and freedom of speech, in its institutional form, were first born in the history of mankind.

read more about the story behind the building of the Acropolis Complex in ancient Athens

All the components of the Parthenon - base, columns, architectural parts, sculptures- were purpose-built: to fit exactly the design of the temple. The whole building is characterised by harmonious lines and curves, all the result of precise calculation and application of state-of-the-art architectural designs to achieve the most pleasing, natural ratios and proportions. This is what grants the Parthenon its dynamic spatial presence; the paradigmatically fine design and the advanced mathematics applied to its construction. It is therefore obvious that the Parthenon was not a building on which sculptures were simply assembled. All its sculptures were made with the final result in mind, precisely tailored to the aesthetic needs, visual angles and thematic units of the building. Removing such essential parts from such an elegant creation is a cultural assault - it destroys the integrity, the rhythm, and the meaning of what continues to stand on the Acropolis hill in Athens today.