Wonders Of The World: The Parthenon

The ruined silhouette of the Parthenon on its hill above Athens is one of the world's most famous images. The "looted" Elgin Marbles - in the British Museum, the Louvre, even Copenhagen - are a global cause celebre. But what actually are they?

This engrossing book is the first of a small, occasional "series" on wonders of the world (such as the Colosseum, Stonehenge, the Pyramids and the Alhambra).

Here, Mary Beard, biographer, reviewer and leading classicist tells the history and explains the significance of the Parthenon, the temple of the virgin goddess Athena, the divine patroness of the Athenian empire, and of the great sculptures which adorned it, now dispersed and some like the gold and ivory image of the goddess lost for ever. She tells too the story of its later ruin and the removal of the marbles by Lord Elgin, and offers some stimulating thoughts on the matter.