In 1687, the Parthenon was partially destroyed when a gunpowder depot inside it exploded
The ancient Parthenon stood largely intact for two millennia until a single 1687 explosion during a Venetian siege transformed the iconic temple into the world-famous ruin we recognize today.
During the Morean War in 1687, Ottoman forces used the Parthenon as a gunpowder magazine, believing the Venetians would never target such a historic treasure. This proved to be a fatal miscalculation. On September 26, a Venetian mortar shell struck the temple, igniting the ammunition stored inside.
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