A pioneering researcher has digitally resurrected the Parthenon’s long-lost interior, revealing it as a space not of radiant sunlight, as once believed, but of strategic shadows designed to inspire awe—and even reverence. See the Parthenon as the ancients did in Glorious 3D.
Through a fusion of archaeology and advanced technology, Juan de Lara, an archaeologist at the University of Oxford, has shed new light on how ancient Greeks would have experienced the inner sanctum of the Parthenon—the largest and most iconic temple on the Athenian Acropolis, built in the fifth century B.C.E. and dedicated to the goddess Athena.
Today, the Parthenon survives as a majestic but ruinous rectangle of marble columns. Its interior is bare, open to the elements. But when constructed between 447 and 438 B.C.E.—partly under the direction of renowned sculptor and architect Phidias—it housed a colossal 40-foot-tall statue of Athena, gilded and awe-inspiring.
For years, historians imagined that the temple’s interior was brightly illuminated by the Athenian sun. De Lara’s new research, however, challenges this assumption. As published in the Annual of the British School at Athens, his high-fidelity 3D reconstruction demonstrates that the inner chamber was, in fact, “quite dark and dim”—a deliberate architectural choice that enhanced the temple’s spiritual atmosphere.
“Imagine stepping into the Parthenon, your eyes adjusting from the blinding sunlight outside,” says de Lara. “As the light filters through the doorway, it catches the gold robes of the goddess with a vertical shaft of brilliance. This was a theatrical effect—intentional, magical, and deeply symbolic.”
De Lara spent four years meticulously modelling the temple using advanced simulation tools. He recreated not only the physical structure, but also how both natural and artificial light would have behaved within the sacred space. His model accounts for architectural openings, reflective marble, pools of water, and the golden surfaces of Athena’s statue.
“I’ve always been fascinated by spaces that no longer exist, and by imagining how they might have felt,” de Lara told classicist Jeremy Tanner in a Cambridge Core blog interview. “With my background in 3D modelling and CGI, this was a unique opportunity to bring history to life.”
The resulting simulations are remarkable. They show that the interior was engineered for visual impact: the golden statue emerging from semi-darkness like a divine apparition.
“The architects were essentially working with ancient special effects,” de Lara told IFLScience’s Russell Moul.
His research also charts the light’s movement throughout the day and across the seasons. In summer mornings—particularly during the Panathenaea, the grand festival in honour of Athena—the sun would strike the statue directly, transforming it into a dazzling beacon at dawn.
Though the Parthenon is the most famous of the Acropolis’ temples, it is one of many. The site also includes the Temple of Athena Nike, a tribute to victory and divine power, and the Erechtheion, dedicated to Athena, the mythical king Erechtheus, and Poseidon.
Each temple offered a distinct sensory experience. As de Lara notes, temple interiors were “staged religious environments”, with spatial and atmospheric design tailored to the deity being worshipped. Yet much remains a mystery.
“We still don’t fully know what rituals took place inside the Parthenon,” he told Artnet News. “Who entered? When? What did they do?”
What is clearer is the sensory richness of the experience. Ancient inventories list items such as incense burners, sacred offerings, and precious objects—suggesting the temple functioned almost like a spiritual museum, guarding items of both material and emotional value.
“Given that the Acropolis and Parthenon are among the most visited monuments in the world,” says de Lara, “it’s essential to offer visitors a fuller vision of what once stood there. A more accurate image transforms a tour into something far more meaningful.”
