Zeus, king of the Greek gods

The Athenians experimented with democracy and voted to build the Parthenon. But what would have happened of they decided not to build the Parthenon?

Athens spent most of the money in the treasury on building the Parthenon and the statue of Athena. If Athens had not built the Parthenon and the statue of Athena, what would Athens have done with all that extra money? Would Athens have saved it for war as planned? Would Sparta have been afraid to go to war if it knew Athens had a full treasury? And would twenty- first century humans still study Athens if there was had been no Parthenon?

What has learning about democracy in ancient Greece taught you about democracy today?