# Persian Destruction and Reconstruction of the Acropolis Persian forces damaged the [[wiki/Acropolis of Athens|Acropolis of Athens]] during the invasion of 480 BCE. The Athenians later built the classical monumental ensemble, including the [[wiki/Parthenon|Parthenon]], during [[wiki/Periclean Athens|Pericles' era]]. Destruction and reconstruction are historical episodes; the idea that this sequence instructs a present civilizational renewal is a later interpretation. Rubio's [[research/Secretary Rubio Delivers Remarks from the Acropolis in Athens|Pnyx address]] places this sequence near its opening. It supplies an unusually concrete historical bridge between loss, rebuilding, and [[wiki/Neo-Westernism|McGill's renewal thesis]]. ## Source - [Greek Art from Prehistoric to Classical](https://resources.metmuseum.org/resources/metpublications/pdf/Greek_Art_From_Prehistoric_to_Classical.pdf), Metropolitan Museum of Art.