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What was the cella in the Parthenon used for?

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The Parthenon temple in Athens, Greece, is illuminated at night, showing its iconic Doric columns and partially ruined structure atop the Acropolis. — Parthenon Night view of the Parthenon, Athens.

The cella of the Parthenon served primarily as a shelter for the cult image of the goddess Athena, rather than as a space for mass worship.1

In 438 BCE, a monumental gold and ivory statue of Athena, created by the sculptor Phidias, was dedicated within this interior chamber. Architecturally, the cella was a walled rectangular space enclosed by the temple's colonnade and was originally divided into three aisles by two smaller Doric colonnades. While the building functioned as a chief shrine to Athena, it also served as the treasury for the Delian League.2