The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Built during the peak of the Athenian Empire under the leadership of Pericles, it is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece. Designed by architects Ictinus and Callicrates, it is famous for its Doric order columns and its sophisticated optical illusions. The architects used 'entasis'—a slight swelling of the columns—and curved the base of the building upward to make the structure appear perfectly straight and harmonious to the human eye. The temple originally housed a massive chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue of Athena Parthenos. Despite being damaged by explosions and looting over the centuries, it remains an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, democracy, and Western civilization.