Work begins on a new marble temple to Athena on the Athenian Acropolis as the central monument of the Periclean rebuilding program; architects Ictinus and Callicrates lead the project, with the sculptor Phidias overseeing the sculptural program.
The earliest annual public accounts for the Parthenon project (inscribed and displayed on the Acropolis) date to 447/446 BCE, documenting payments, materials, and administrative oversight—key evidence for the temple’s construction chronology.
The Ionic frieze blocks are installed and finished across the upper exterior of the cella walls (within the colonnade), depicting the Panathenaic procession—a defining element of the Acropolis sculptural program.
Phidias’ monumental gold-and-ivory Athena Parthenos (made for the Parthenon’s interior) is dedicated, marking a major ceremonial milestone in the Acropolis sculptural program and the temple’s ritual function.
The Parthenon’s primary architectural construction is completed (though sculptural and decorative work continues afterward), enabling full use of the temple and its cult installation.
Work proceeds on the Parthenon’s pedimental statuary, typically dated to ca. 438–432 BCE, with mythic themes (east: Birth of Athena; west: Contest of Athena and Poseidon) completing the temple’s major sculptural ensemble.
Construction starts on the Propylaea, the formal entrance complex to the Acropolis, designed by Mnesikles—a major companion project to the Parthenon within the Periclean building program.
The Odeon of Pericles is constructed on the south slope of the Acropolis, forming part of the wider Periclean program and supporting musical contests and civic-cultural life connected to the Panathenaic festival cycle.
Sculptural and decorative work on the Parthenon’s exterior concludes by 432 BCE, completing the core artistic statement of the Periclean Acropolis program just before the intensifying Peloponnesian War period.
Construction of the Propylaea is left incomplete by 432 BCE, with the surviving fabric showing plan changes and an unfinished state—often connected to shifting priorities and constraints as Athens enters wartime conditions.
The final surviving annual accounts for Parthenon expenditures date to 433/432 BCE, closing the best primary epigraphic record of the project’s finances, labor, and material procurement.
Although initiated by decree earlier, the Ionic Temple of Athena Nike is constructed on the southwest bastion of the Acropolis in 427–424 BCE, extending the Periclean-era architectural transformation of the Acropolis entrance zone.
Construction of the Parthenon and the Acropolis Sculptural Program (447–432 BCE)
