Parthenon may have served as treasury of Athens

The Parthenon’s attic may have been the storage place for ancient Athens’ vast cash reserves.

New research indicates millions of silver coins, the reserves of 
ancient Athens, were once kept in the attic of the Parthenon 
[Credit: Anastasios71/Shutterstock]

Researchers including McMaster archaeologist Spencer Pope have found evidence that the famous Greek temple may have housed millions of coins, functioning as a sort of Fort Knox for the wealthy city-state.

The cash would have first been stored there around 434 BC and would have been well protected: the Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena, and thefts from the temple would have been considered thefts from the goddess herself.

A silver 'tetradrachm', found in the McMaster Museum of Art's collection. The coin, 
which dates to after 449 BC, is worth four drachmae. It features a helmeted Athena
 on one side, and an owl and the inscription AOE - an abbreviation meaning
 'of the Athenians - on the other [Credit: Nasreen Mody]

Evidence suggests that such reserves could have, at times, reached a weight of 260 metric tons.

The attic area is now destroyed, but the researchers estimate that its floor would have spanned an area more than three times that of a tennis court.

Because the ancient economy was so different than today’s, estimating the value of the drachma is difficult.

Source: McMaster University [July 08, 2015]