Explosion of the Parthenon Powder Magazine

Timeline

1. 1687Athens · GreeceVenice, within the framework of the Holy League, had already taken most of the Morea. Morosini and Königsmarck marched north to eliminate the Ottoman bases at Thebes and Negroponte; the Ottomans abandoned the lower town and withdrew to the Acropolis, while Venice emplaced artillery on high ground such as the Hill of the Nymphs and had already blown up a magazine at the Propylaea.
2. 1687Parthenon · GreeceThe Ottomans stored large quantities of gunpowder in the Parthenon. A Venetian mortar shell fell through an opening in the roof, causing a massive explosion: the cella walls burst, the roof was destroyed, and many columns of the north and south colonnades collapsed, crushing architraves and reliefs. Morosini later called the shot a "lucky hit"; about three hundred people sheltering in the temple died, and the fire spread to houses on the Acropolis.
3. 1687Acropolis of Athens · GreeceAfter Königsmarck repelled reinforcements from Thebes, the Acropolis garrison surrendered on 29 September on condition of being sent to Smyrna. Venice held Athens for less than a year before abandoning it to an Ottoman counterattack; the Parthenon has survived as a ruin ever since, and the Treaty of Karlowitz assigned the Morea to Venice.