Parthenon, Art museum and replica temple in Centennial Park, Nashville, United States

The Parthenon is a full-scale replica of the Athenian Parthenon, designed by William Crawford Smith and built in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. It has a stepped base, a colonnade of tall fluted columns, a carved frieze, and a pediment with sculpted figures. Rebuilt in concrete between 1920 and 1931, it now serves as an art museum.

Nashville's Parthenon was built in 1897 as the centrepiece of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition, designed by architect William Crawford Smith at the suggestion of Major Eugene Castner Lewis. Made of plaster, wood and brick, it was meant to be temporary, but demolition costs and its popularity kept it standing. Rebuilt in concrete on the same foundations from 1920, the exterior was finished in 1925 and the interior in 1931 under local architect Russell Hart.

Nashville's nickname, the "Athens of the South", led to the Parthenon being chosen as the centrepiece of the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Since 1990 the naos has held Alan LeQuire's 42-foot Athena Parthenos, gilded in 2002 with over 8 pounds of gold leaf; some followers of Goddess Spirituality leave ritual offerings near it. In summer, local theatre companies stage Greek plays such as Medea and Antigone on the steps.

The Parthenon stands in Centennial Park, just west of downtown Nashville, with its entrance facing the park lawn. The main level holds the Athena statue and the Treasury Room, while the lower level holds the Cowan painting galleries. The building is a stop on the city's greenway and is used as a backdrop for free Greek plays on its steps in summer.

The Athena Parthenos by Alan LeQuire, completed in 1990, stands 42 feet (13 m) tall and was gilded in 2002 with more than 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of 23.75-karat gold leaf. She holds a 6-foot (1.8 m) Nike in her right palm, and a serpent rears between her and the shield. Some visitors leave ritual offerings at her feet.