Date built: 447 – 438 BC (decorations continued till 432 BC)

Height: 18 m

Base Area: 69.5 x 30.9 metres

Dedicated to: Goddess Athena

Material: Marble and limestone

Located on the Acropolis of Athens, Parthenon was built in the age of Pericles between 447 and 432 BCE and was dedicated to the Goddess Athena. It was constructed to show the world the power of Athens as leaders of the coalition of Greek forces after defeating the Persian armies of Darius and Xerxes. It was also used to house the statue of Pheidias. After its construction, the temple was used for more than a thousand years. Even after the effects of time, explosions, pollution damages and looting, it still stands tall today in the city of Athens, a magnificent testimony to the glory and success the city has endured throughout its time.

The Parthenon became the largest Doric Greek temple. It integrated the two architectural styles of Doric and newer Ionic. The temple spread to a 30.88 by 69.5-meter ground coverage and was constructed using the 4:9 ratio in many ways. The space between the columns with respect to their diameter, the height of the whole building as compared to its width, and the width of the inner cella in relation to its length are all designed according to this ratio. The brilliant architects of the time realized that anything perfectly straight of this magnitude would seem curved from afar. To cater to this problem and give the illusion of perfectly straight and symmetrical lines, the columns bend slightly inwards. This also provides an impression of a lifting effect on the structure, making it seem lighter than what the building materials portray. Adding to this, the stylobate of the temple’s floor is slightly curved and rises from the centre. The columns also thicken ever so slightly at the centre, and the four corner columns are imperceptibly wider than the rest. All of these traits contribute to its incredible grand and symmetrical appearance and give the impression of it being perfectly straight.

The columns were made of Pentelic marble, whereas the foundations were made of limestone. These columns were Doric with 8 in number when seen from the front and back and 17 from the sides. This was unusual as the more traditional design was six by 13 Doric arrangement. In the interior, the cella was outlined by six columns at the front and back. A grand door leads to this space with decorations lined with bronze, ivory and gold. It consisted of two rooms, the smaller of which, was supported with four columns and was used as the city’s treasury. The larger room housed the statue and was surrounded by columns on three sides. The roof of the temple was made from cedar wood and marble tiles. Palms and figurines towards the corners decorated these. The edges of the roof also incorporated lion-head shaped water spouts for drainage.

The so-called Mohs scale is a scale ranging from 1 to 10, with ten being the hardest. This scale is a relative one; a stone with a higher Mohs grade will be able to scratch one with lower hardness.

The hardest known stone is diamond, with a Mohs grade of 10. But what about those natural stones that we typically use for our building projects?

Marble, for instance, is a relatively soft stone. Its hardness, according to Mohs, is around 3 – just a bit harder than gypsum or alabaster. This is one of the reasons marble is also one of the favourite natural stones for sculpting. Along with marble, travertine also has a hardness of 3. A copper penny will thus scratch these stones! In general, limestones have a hardness of 3 or 4 on the Mohs scale.

Basalt, however, is a much harder stone. It reaches a hardness of at least 6, sometimes 7 Mohs, and so sturdy metal equipment is needed to work with it. Another stone in the same range in terms of hardness is andesite.

Last but not least, there is granite. Granite has a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale, and to work this stone, machines and tools equipped with corundum or diamond must be employed. Of course, these stones will also work on stones of lower hardness

Marble is what we call a metamorphic rock. That means marble does not start as marble itself but has a so-called parent rock.

In the case of marble, the parent rock is limestone or dolostone. Both these rocks are chemical sedimentary rocks (and not igneous rocks) that have themselves undergone the process of lithification.

How do these turn into marble, then? Under conditions of high pressure and temperature, the minerals of limestone and dolostone are compressed; however, foliation, i.e. the process of reshaping the minerals into elongated, linear forms, does not take place; instead, they become harder and form a smooth, continuous body: marble.

Vratsa is a very robust and frost-resistant stone, a fact that explains why it is so often a familiar sight in many countries of central and northern Europe. Engineers and architects have been using it as construction and facing stone since the late 19th century.

Its real boom, however, started in the 1990s, and it has been exported all over the world since then. Many famous, official buildings employed the stone, among them, for example, the Leopold Museum in Vienna, Bulgaria’s National Bank, or the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple in London.

Geologically, Vratsa is a cretaceous, siliceous limestone. Typical colours are cream and beige, often with slightly darker patches scattered across the stone. Its characteristics make it an excellent choice for both indoor and outdoor applications, such as flooring, cladding, sculptures, monuments, and more.

Kallisthos offers Vratsa stones directly from the quarries and factories, so do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your needs and requirements!

Use nowadays: As a tourist attraction
Material: Marble and limestone

The tower of Pisa is amongst the four structures that make up the cathedral complex of Pisa, Italy, called Campo dei Miracoli or Piazza dei Miracoli, which translates to Field of Miracles.

With 207 columns and eight stories, it was a medieval architectural and construction marvel. Its original use was as a bell tower for the whole complex. However, now it has become one of the most visited tourist destinations of Italy due to its staggering 4 degree lean, hence termed ‘the leaning tower of Pisa’.

The tower of Pisa started to sink to the ground from one side when the construction had progressed to the second floor in 1178. It was mainly due to its 3-metre foundations that were set in weak, unstable soil. However, the construction was halted for almost a century due to the outbreaks of wars in the region. This gave time for the ground to settle and is the only reason it still stands today. Many restoration attempts have been made to keep the tower standing, and it is because of this that the tower of Pisa is said to be stable for at least another 200 years.

The tower was built mainly from white marble imported from regions on the Mediterranean Sea including Africa, Greece and Turkey. A local marble stone by the name of Carrara was also used due to its staggering white colour. However, marble was not the only building material used due to the expensive cost of the material. Limestone was used in parts of the towers that were not visible. That is one of the factors that lead to the tower not toppling over.