like the parthenon it's constructed in the simple doric style. it housed big, bronze statues of hephaestus -- the blacksmith god -- and athena patroness of the city. greek architecture evolved in stages. the capitals or tops of the columns were both functional and decorative. while just the tip of the architectural iceberg, these are handy indicators helping us identify the three main architectural orders, or styles. the earliest style doric, has flat, practical plates as capitals. in the next order, ionic the capitals are decorated with understated scrolls. the final order, corinthian popular later on with the romans, features leafy capitals -- boldly decorative, with no apologies necessary. how to remember all these? as the orders evolve they gain syllables -- doric, ionic corinthian. but for most travelers the agora is more than an architectural review. strolling in the footsteps of socrates is your best opportunity to commune with the epic greek past. >>> this week on "moyers & company" -- >> we in america have a higher opinion of ourselves t

they'd pass through this imposing entryway in the parthenon. the parthenon was perhaps the finest temple in the ancient world. valiantly battling the acidic air of our modern world, it still stands, with the help of ongoing restoration work. it was constructed in the 5th century b.c. and dedicated to the virgin goddess athena. seeing it today is awe-inspiring but imagine how striking it must have looked when it was completed, nearly 2,500 years ago in all its carved and brilliantly painted splendor. the adjacent erechtheion is famous for its porch of the caryatids -- six beautiful maidens functioning as columns. dedicated to athena and poseidon this was one of the most important religious buildings on the acropolis. this, rather than the parthenon, was the culmination of the panathenaic procession. at the foot of the acropolis the ancient agora, or marketplace sprawls out from its surviving temple. this is where, for 3,000 years, athenians gathered. while the acropolis was the center of ritual and ceremony the agora was the beating heart of anc

the parthenon and its sku s scus were looted.but the british museum, which has housed the marbles since 1816, is standing by its decision. loning one of its prized possessions into a russia increasingly at odds with the west, it says was the right thing to do. >> they asked for one of these pieces. we felt, one, it was sensationally amazingly beautiful. two, it was fit and safe to travel. it's a sturdy piece. and three, it also tells a story about liberal open democracies, which are important in difficult times. >> reporter: the museum believes cooperation between institutions must continue in spite of political disagreements between governments. but this controversial loan of one greek sculpture to russia may create more rifts than it heals. matthew chance, cnn, moscow. >> now retired retired soccer legend pele shares some words during his hospital stay. that's just ahead. they challenge us. they take us to worlds full of heroes and titans. for respawn, building the best interactive entertainment begins with the cloud. this is "

the greeks lost their marbles to lord elgin, who took a bunch of them from the parthenon 200 years ago when he was an ambassador. the british say they weren't pillaged but protected and they're staying where they are, in britain. to the greeks, the 2500-year-old marbles are stolen property. they've even hired george clooney's wife, amal clooney, high high-powered international lawyer to fight their case that the marbles need to be returned and reunited. >> a horseman has his head in athens and body in london. the greek got poseidon has his torso separated between greece and the u.k.. >> reporter: the british museum has offered to loan some of the marbles to greece, but they claim they've never receive aid formal request, but for greece, the idea of having to borrow something that is already theirtheirstheirs is nothing sha greek tragedy. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. >> axelrod: and that's the cbs evening news for tonight. later on cbs, two editions of "48 hours." for now i'm jim axelrod in new york, and for all of us here at cbs news, thanks for joining us, and good night. captio

the ancient model statues decorated the parthenon temple in athens.re removed 200 years ago and they've been at the heart of a 40-year dispute between greece and britain over their rightful ownership. >>> just want to remind you of the breaking news we've had in this bulletin, which is ash carter, previously deputy secretary of defense from 2011 through 2013, he has been -- or looks as if he's about to be named as president obama's choice for the next secretary of defense, replacing chuck hagel. that's the latest news coming out of washington. thanks for watching "bbc world news." protected. given new hope. during the subaru "share the love" event, subaru owners feel it, too. because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. we'll have given 50 million dollars over seven years. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. yeah so with at&t next you get the new iphone for $0 down. zero down? zilch. nothing. nada. small potatoes. no potatoes. diddly squat. big ol' goose egg. the new iphone, zero down. zero. zilch. sai

the parthenon and sculptures were looted adding that greeks identify with their history and culture which can't be frag mentioned loans or bestowed. but the british museum has housed the maurnls since 1816 is standing by its decision. there was as empty plingt in the public gallery where the river god is usually displayed loaning one of its prized possession to russia at odds with the west was the right thing to do. >> they asked for one of these pieces. we felt one, it was sensationally amazingly beautiful. two, it was fit and safe to travel. you know, it's a sturdy piece. and three it also tells a story about liberal open democracies which are important in difficulty times. >> the museum says it believes cooperation between institutions must continue. in spite of political disingredients between governments. but this controversial loan of one greek sculpture to russia may create more rifts than it heals. matthew chance, cnn, moscow. >> dear, oh dear. the news continuous in a moment as we pick up coverage from london. we'll have the latest on typhoon hagupit as the storm heads for the ph