For the first time in two decades, the western side of the Parthenon is fully visible. Gone are the towering metal scaffolds that have long framed Athens’ most famous temple. While restoration continues, this brief glimpse of the “liberated” monument has locals and visitors alike stopping in their tracks.

Nine-year-old Andreas noticed immediately. “Where did the Parthenon’s iron bars go, Mum?” he asked his mother, Eugenia, as they strolled along Dionysiou Areopagitou Street the day the scaffolding was removed. Eugenia, who lives nearby in Koukaki, laughed at the reminder of just how long the city has grown used to the temporary metal structures. “Imagine – my son had never seen the monument any other way. When he asked me that question, I realized he didn’t actually know what the temple looks like without scaffolding.”

The change has sparked a wave of delight among Athenians. “I sometimes forget that the scaffolding has gone,” one resident admitted. “When I look up, I think for a second, ‘What’s wrong here?’ It’s like the sky above the city has cleared.”

Tourists, meanwhile, have been quick to capture the moment. Many are seeing the Parthenon as it hasn’t appeared for decades. Giorgos, a tour guide working on the Acropolis, notes that first-time visitors might not notice anything unusual: “In their mind, this is just how the Parthenon looks. But for those of us who have seen it behind scaffolding, it’s as if something has been set free.”

Hidden Details Come to Light

Anastasia, another guide, shared her own excitement. “When I saw the workers taking the scaffolding down, I thought, this can’t really be happening,” she said. With the iron framework gone, visitors can now admire details of the frieze and other architectural elements previously obscured.

The scaffolding removal began in July and was completed on September 26, a date chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the 1687 Venetian bombardment, the single worst destruction the Parthenon has suffered in centuries.

Rozalia Christodoulopoulou, director of the Acropolis Monuments Conservation Service (YSMA), described the painstaking work: “We restored the two corners of the pediment, dismantling and reassembling 120 architectural members. Then came the middle section, with the restoration of the tympanum’s outer orthostat – still ongoing – as well as the internal counterfort wall, now complete.”

This moment of freedom is brief. New, lighter scaffolding will be installed to allow ongoing restoration through spring 2026. “After the first quarter of next year, the western side will be fully restored,” Ms. Christodoulopoulou said. “For the first time in more than two centuries, the public will be able to admire the perfect proportions of the monument’s most iconic façade.”

For now, Athenians and visitors alike can pause, look up, and marvel at the Parthenon in a way many have never seen – its western façade finally revealed to the open sky.

Source: Kathimerini.gr