The Parthenon is an incredible example of ancient Greek architecture and while it is in ruins (comparatively speaking) today, it was once one of the most impressive structures on the planet. Even today it draws in millions of visitors each year to witness the incredible structure that was built between 447 and 432 BCE.

If you visit today, you would see the massive columns, but the roof is completely gone. This has left historians and other experts wondering exactly what it would have looked like to visit this place in its prime.

For a long time, researchers assumed that the temple was illuminated through large openings in the roof, giving the entire environment a bright and impressive view. The temple was built to honor the goddess Athena and it sits on top of the Acropolis at Athens, so it was reasonable to think that they wanted to use the natural light to brighten things up.

A new paper has been published in the Annual of the British School at Athens, however, that suggests that the roof was solid and the whole Parthenon was actually much darker and more ominous than previously assumed. Dr. Juan de Lara works with the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford. He has used advanced digital rendering and other tools to create what the study suggests what the structure would have actually looked like to people visiting years ago.

The first obstacle to overcome was to show that previous assumptions about the brightly lit structure were due more to the standards of more modern Europeans. Dr. De Lara talked with IFLScience about this, explaining:

“If you look at most 3D visualisations or illustrations of the Parthenon interior around, you will see that they are often treated as highly illuminated, highly rational, pristine spaces, with unbroken daylight – the canonical structures of Western civilisation and European Enlightenment.

Now this research shows this is not the case, in fact, such an image is a trope of past eras, projected onto ancient Greek realities. They are [a] remnant from a time in Europe, the 18th century, when architects and archaeologists thought that temples were white and had no colour. We now know that temples were dark, eerie spaces, filled with incense, with occasional singing, laden with treasures. And if you looked carefully, you would notice that emerging from that darkness, was the deity that resided therein.”

So, to put it simply, the aesthetics of Western civilization were not the same as the aesthetics of the ancient Greeks. But what did the temple actually look like.

De Lara used advanced 3D rendering to show what it would have looked like based on the sun’s position throughout the day and even throughout the year. The result was something very different than what most people would expect, but also very impressive. de Lara explains:

“Imagine entering the Parthenon – your eyes, still weary from the bright sun outside, slowly adjusting to the gradual darkness within. As sunlight filters through the temple’s doorway, it strikes the gold of the goddesses’ robes with a luminous vertical beam. This was the effect the architects and Phidias intended to create. It must have been magical!”

Do you wish you could see it for yourself? While, unless you are able to invent a time machine, it will be impossible, but a video was made using a powerful graphics engine that is often harnessed in the most advanced video games of today to simulate what they would have seen. Take a moment to watch this video that explains how it was done, and shows what the ancient Greeks would have seen:

It was impressive to say the least. This type of work is important as it helps to give a more accurate view of how civilizations of the past actually lived. Also, it shows just how impressive the structure was given the tools they had available to build it.

In my opinion, this darker Parthenon is more impressive than one that is all lit up.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about the mysterious “pyramids” discovered in Antarctica. What are they?