It was, rather, an old olivewood statue of Athena called Athena Polias, referring to Athena as the guardian of the city. This little olivewood statue eventually inhabited the Erechtheum ...

(The word parthenon in its Greek form means "of the virgins.") A similar cult of girls lived at the temple of Athena Polias, "Athena of the City." The Parthenon remained a temple for a millennium ...