marble of a compact crystalline structure and of dazzling whiteness.  Long exposure has not availed to destroy its lustre, but only to soften its tone.  The visitor, planting himself at the western front, is in a position to gain some adequate idea of the perfection of the noble building.  The interior and central parts suffered the principal injury from the explosion of the Turkish powder magazine in 1687.  The western front remains nearly entire.  It has been despoiled, indeed, of its movable ornaments.  The statues which filled the pediment are gone, with the exception of a fragment or two.  The sculptured slabs have been removed from the spaces between the triglyphs, and the gilded shields which hung beneath have been taken down.  Of the magnificent frieze, representing the procession of the great quadrennial festival, only the portion surrounding the western vestibule is still in place.[B]

[Footnote A:  The latter contains, among other relics of a balustrade which protected and adorned the platform of the temple, the exquisitely graceful torso of Victory untying her sandals, of which casts are to be seen in most of the museums of Europe.]

[Footnote B:  Among the figures of this bas-relief, twelve are recognized by their lofty stature and sitting posture as those of divinities.  One group is represented in the engraving.]

[Illustration:  VICTORY UNTYING HER SANDALS.]

[Illustration:  TEMPLE OF VICTORY]

[Illustration:  THE PARTHENON.]

Still, as these were strictly decorations, and wholly subordinate to the organic parts of the structure, their presence, while it would doubtless greatly enhance the effect of the whole, is not felt to be essential to its completeness.  The whole Doric columns still bear the massive entablature sheltered by the covering roof.  The simple greatness of the conception, the just proportion of the several parts, together with the elaborate finishing of the whole work, invest it with a charm such as the works of man seldom possess—­the pure and lasting pleasure which flows from apparent perfection Entering the principal apartment of the building, traces are seen of the stucco and pictures with which the walls were covered when it was fitted up as a Christian church in the Byzantine period.  Near the centre of the marble pavement is a rectangular space laid with dark stone from the Peirseus or from Eleusis.  It marks the probable site of the colossal precious statue of the goddess in gold and ivory—­one of the most celebrated works of Phidias.  The smaller apartment beyond, accessible only from the opposite front of the temple, was used by the state as a place of deposit and safekeeping for bullion and other valuables in the care of the state treasurer.

[Illustration:  BAS RELIEF OF THE GODS (FRIEZE OF THE PARTHENON).]