Editing Parthenon (section)

===Late antiquity===
[[File:Attica 06-13 Athens 50 View from Philopappos - Acropolis Hill.jpg|thumb|The Parthenon's position on the Acropolis dominates the city skyline of Athens.|upright=1.2]]
A major fire broke out in the Parthenon shortly after the middle of the third century AD.<ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction to the Parthenon Frieze |publisher=[[National Documentation Centre (Greece)|National Documentation Centre]] (Greek Ministry of Culture) |url=http://www.ekt.gr/parthenonfrieze_text_version/introduction/history.jsp?lang=en |access-date=14 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028205240/http://www.ekt.gr/parthenonfrieze_text_version/introduction/history.jsp?lang=en |archive-date=28 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Freely |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QME9WXUnookC&pg=PA69 |title=Strolling Through Athens: Fourteen Unforgettable Walks Through Europe's Oldest City |date=23 July 2004 |publisher=I. B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-85043-595-2 |pages=69 |language=en |quote=According to one authority, John Travlos, this occurred when Athens was sacked by the Heruli in AD 267, at which time the two-tiered colonnade in the cella was destroyed. |access-date=23 February 2016 |archive-date=28 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628091648/https://books.google.com/books?id=QME9WXUnookC&pg=PA69 |url-status=live }}</ref> which destroyed the roof and much of the sanctuary's interior.<ref name = "Chatziaslani">{{cite web |last=Chatziaslani |first=Kornilia |title=Morosini in Athens |publisher=Archaeology of the City of Athens |url=http://www.eie.gr/archaeologia/En/chapter_more_8.aspx |access-date=14 August 2012 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927091215/http://www.eie.gr/archaeologia/En/chapter_more_8.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Heruli]] pirates sacked Athens in 276, and destroyed most of the public buildings there, including the Parthenon.<ref name = "O'Donovan">{{cite web |last=O'Donovan |first=Connell |title=Pirates, marauders, and homos, oh my! |url=http://www.connellodonovan.com/heruli.html |access-date=10 December 2015 |archive-date=22 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222154148/http://www.connellodonovan.com/heruli.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Repairs were made in the fourth century AD, possibly during the reign of [[Julian the Apostate]].<ref name = "AcropolisRestoration">{{cite web |title=The Parthenon |publisher=Acropolis Restoration Service |url=http://www.ysma.gr/en/parthenon |access-date=14 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828211740/http://www.ysma.gr/en/parthenon |archive-date=28 August 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A new wooden roof overlaid with clay tiles was installed to cover the sanctuary. It sloped at a greater angle than the original roof and left the building's wings exposed.<ref name = "Chatziaslani"/>

The Parthenon survived as a temple dedicated to Athena for nearly 1,000 years until [[Theodosius II]], during the [[Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire]], decreed in 435 that all [[pagan]] temples in the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman Empire]] be closed.<ref name="Freely69">{{Cite book |last=Freely |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QME9WXUnookC&pg=PA69 |title=Strolling Through Athens: Fourteen Unforgettable Walks Through Europe's Oldest City |date=23 July 2004 |publisher=I. B. Tauris |isbn=978-1-85043-595-2 |pages=69 |language=en |access-date=23 February 2016 |archive-date=28 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240628091648/https://books.google.com/books?id=QME9WXUnookC&pg=PA69 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is debated exactly when during the 5th century that the closure of the Parthenon as a temple was put into practice. It is suggested to have occurred in {{circa|481}}–484, on the order of [[Zeno (emperor)|Emperor Zeno]], because the temple had been the focus of Pagan Hellenic opposition against Zeno in Athens in support of [[Illus]], who had promised to restore Hellenic rites to the temples that were still standing.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Trombley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HZefAwAAQBAJ&dq=statue+allat-athena&pg=PA145 |title=Hellenic Religion and Christianization c. 370–529, Volume I |date=1 May 2014 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-27677-2 |language=en |access-date=14 March 2023 |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117082923/https://books.google.se/books?id=HZefAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA145&lpg=PA145&dq=statue+allat-athena&source=bl&ots=J8DvCAWQZN&sig=6CwrxUq7hCUokhhLY5j60U_yebU&hl=sv&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi11Zq2o6fbAhXkIJoKHU-fB3EQ6AEITTAM |url-status=live }}</ref>

At some point in the fifth century, Athena's great [[cult image]] was looted by one of the emperors and taken to [[Constantinople]], where it was later destroyed, possibly during the [[Sack of Constantinople (1204)|siege and sack of Constantinople]] during the [[Fourth Crusade]] in 1204 AD.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cremin |first=Aedeen |title=Archaeologica |publisher=Frances Lincoln Ltd. |year=2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0llBlzF6UgC&pg=PA170 |page=170 |isbn=978-0-7112-2822-1}}</ref>