Ruins of the Parthenon, seen from the southwest corner, at the Acropolis, Athens, Greece
The Parthenon was finished in 432 BC and there's not one truly straight line in it. Every surface curves imperceptibly to counteract optical illusion; every column tapers and leans by fractions of an inch. It's been a treasury, a church, a mosque, and a powder magazine. In 1687 a Venetian mortar hit stored gunpowder and blew the interior out. What's standing is ruin. It's still the most-visited ancient monument on earth. © Laurens R. Krol, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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