The Parthenon

Nashville’s Parthenon stands as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, Nashville’s premier urban park, and is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon built in Athens, Greece. Nashville’s version was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, the choice for building the replica in Nashville was influenced by the cities moniker as the “Athens of the South”. Inside, The Parthenon hosts Nashville’s art museum with the centerpiece being, just like in ancient Greece, the Athena statue which stands 42 feet tall and contains more than 8 pounds of gold leaf.