Older Parthenon

It was begun shortly after the battle of Marathon (c. 490–88 BC) upon a massive limestone foundation that extended and leveled the southern part of the Acropolis summit.

This picture was somewhat complicated by the publication of the final report on the 1885–90 excavations indicating that the substructure was contemporary with the Kimonian walls [further explanation needed], and implying a later date for the first temple.

However the excavations of Bert Hodge Hill led him to propose the existence of a second Parthenon begun in the period of Kimon after 468 BC.

One difficulty in dating the proto‐Parthenon is that at the time of the 1885 excavation the archaeological method of seriation was not fully developed: the careless digging and refilling of the site led to a loss of much valuable information.

[11] This inspired American archaeologist William Bell Dinsmoor to attempt to supply limiting dates for the temple platform and the five walls hidden under the re‐terracing of the acropolis.

The Older Parthenon (in black) was destroyed by the Achaemenids in the Destruction of Athens , and then rebuilt by Pericles (in grey).