The Parthenon by Mary Beard

The Parthenon Reviews

• 
  Warwick

  A characteristically brisk and intelligent overview of the Parthenon from Mary Beard, which darts back and forward in time a little, but stuffs you full of information in a very enjoyable way. When you emerge from the gates of the Propylaia at the top of the Acropolis, and see that iconic structure there on the hilltop, it's natural (once you've recovered from your awe) to dream nostalgically about what it must have looked like in its glory days of the 5th century BCE. But perhaps the overriding point of this book is that, in a way, the fifth century is an arbitrary point to choose: the Parthenon spent longer as a church than it ever did as an ancient temple, and almost as long as an Ottoman mosque – layers of its story that have been rigorously stripped away (much as the sculptures were stripped by Elgin's agents) under the impulse of a determined classicism. (She is, incidentally, more pro-British Museum in her discussion of the marbles than I was expecting, or than I think her arguments justify.)
  
  The version I read was from 2010, an update from the original 2002 version, so it's all a little out of date now and presumably even more details have been turned up by the ongoing restoration work. I can't remember if I was able to go inside the Parthenon when I first visited in the late 90s, but you can't now – and won't be able to ‘much before 2020’, Beard wrote hopefully. As it turns out, those plans have been rolled into the general project to restore the whole structure, which isn't expected to be finished before the mid-2030s. Too late for my holiday, but for the Parthenon, of course, it's the blink of an eye.
• 
  Roy Lotz

  This is a splendid book of tourism: short, easy to read, and full of interesting tidbits. I now understand how Beard, a classical scholar, has topped best-selling lists: her style is pleasant and snappy, and she is skilled at finding new takes on very old things. It seems difficult to find anything novel to say about the Parthenon; yet Beard manages to break the mold by emphasizing the monument’s non-Greek history—under the Byzantines, the crusaders, and the Turks. In her hands, the Parthenon is not simply the symbol of some idyllic distant past, but a silent witness to the ever-shifting tides of history.
  
  Beard, however, is no mere revisionist. She also gives us what we likely came for: a description of the building's art, and an account of how it was first built and seen by the Periclean Atheneans. What is striking is how little we can say for certain about this icon. We do not, for example, know with any certainty what the main frieze represents. And since the oldest written accounts of the building come from Pausanias and Plutarch, who both wrote half a millennia after the Parthenon was built, we have little reliable information about many fundamental data. Though Phidias is normally credited with overseeing the construction, for instance, this assertion was made by Plutarch and cannot be verified.
  
  Of course, one can hardly write about the Parthenon without addressing the Elgin Marbles and the repatriation controversy. For my part I thought that Beard’s handling of this sensitive issue was light-handed, mainly reporting the facts without coming down on either side. No choice on this issue would satisfy everyone; but I think her strategy will probably upset the fewest number of readers.
• 
  Steve

  Mary Beard is a wonderful writer, who has written extensively on the Classical World. So, the subject of the Parthenon would seem at natural one for her. For the first 100 pages or so, that is the case as Beard tells the history (as much as we know at least) of the famous 5th Century Athens temple. It’s amazing that there is even a building left. It’s been hit by 700 cannon balls, blown up, shot at, and, in more peaceful times, turned into a Christian church and, later, Muslim mosque. Over the years it’s been chipped at, defaced, painted, and robbed. Beard tells this story with economy and humor. It’s incredible how she covers so much ground so quickly.
  
  It’s the second hundred pages where my interest waned. It’s here the reader gets caught up in the controversy regarding the Elgin Marbles. Briefly, Lord Elgin, in the early part of the 19th Century, ripped off big chunks of the Parthenon’s sculptures. Some of them were simply on the ground, others were located on the building’s frieze (hammer and chisel time). In fairness to Elgin, Greece as a country back then was a sketchy concept. Athens was something of a backwater, and the Parthenon was teetering on the edge of non-existence (it was a ruin in the full sense of the word). Elgin shipped the good stuff back England, and eventually he would (due to financial problems) sell them to the British Museum.
  
  Now, understandably, Greece would like them back. The Parthenon is currently being restored (there have been several restorations – some of them unintentionally destructive), and a museum built to house the artifacts. It’s here that Beard comes down strongly on the side of the British Museum’s continued retention of the Marbles. I simply can’t wrap my mind around her argument that a “greater [World History] context” is created by the Marbles being in the British collection. (There’s also a bit of unattractive snark as she suggests that the Greek museum looks a bit like an airline terminal.) As far this short book goes, a disproportionate number of pages are spent discussing (arguing?) on the controversy. It mars the book. The question (now) of ownership seems to me to be a moral one. Beard’s argument is very British, very Empire, and very weak.
  
• 
  Nikola Jankovic

  Ne mogu da oprostim hrišćanima iz 5. veka, koji su se sa dletom u rukama sistematski okomili na skulpture na Akropolju. Lice po lice, glava po glava, uklanjamo paganske ikone.
  
  Ne mogu da oprostim Mlečanima, koji su bombardovali Partenon 1687. Oko 800 topovskih đuladi je završilo na njemu. (Da li je među njima bio i neki "naš" hajduk?)
  
  Ne mogu da oprostim lordu Elginu, koji je od 1801. do 1811. poslao čitavu ekipu - istesterimo friz sa Partenona i odvezemo ga u London.
  
  I nemam nimalo razumevanja za najrazličitije izgovore Britanskog muzeja koji najveći deo tog friza ne vraća ni 200 godina kasnije. Ja svakako znam
  gde ću biti na dan kada se to i desi.
  
  Istoričarka antike, Meri Berd, ima više razumevanja, pogotovo za Britanski muzej (na kraju, nisam ni siguran za šta se lično zalaže, ali pokušava da izloži argumente obe strane). Ostatak ove kratke knjige priča o istoriji Partenona, ali i o ljudima koji su ga posećivali kroz vekove. (Novinar: "Da li ste za vreme posete Atini posetili Partenon?" Šekil O'Nil: "Ne mogu da se setim imena svih noćnih klubova u koje su nas vodili.")
• 
  Nicky

  I enjoyed Mary Beard’s book on Pompeii, so when I spotted The Parthenon in a deal, I figured it’d be an interesting one. I actually expected it to be a bit more about the Greek context of the Parthenon, rather than going into the afterlife of the building — the use as a church and a mosque, the archaeology and tourism, even the literary responses to it, which is what it actually did. It seemed quite inconclusive about what the Parthenon actually was, though the evidence that might tell us about that is more scarce than you would think. It’s unsatisfying — it doesn’t have an altar, so it’s not a temple? But maybe it is? But?
  
  Still, it is interesting to read about the history of the building as a church and a mosque, as well as a temple. I wasn’t even really aware of how much destruction the Parthenon went through: the iconic modern look is actually due to a lot of restoration.
  
  It was very interesting to read the part about Lord Elgin and the issue of the British Museum’s possession of the marbles he took from Athens. On the one hand, it manifestly helped preserve the sculpture: that which remained in situ is in much worse state. But it’s also so… ugh, so imperial and condescending, to assume that Britain is the best guardian. Paternalistic. And while I like Neil MacGregor’s outlook on the British Museum (at least as expressed in A History of the World in 100 Objects), I’m still torn on the subject of the Elgin Marbles. I love the idea of a world museum, and I like the idea of it being in London — because I can conceivably take a weekend off and go there. That doesn’t mean it’s actually the best location, obviously. Just convenient to me. Not that I can think of anywhere notably better, either; I can’t think of a genuinely neutral, international space.
  
  This book really emphasised that the problem of the Parthenon for us is one of cultural ownership, just as Pompeii can be seen as one of preservation. I wanted more about the Acropolis and the original purpose/usage of the Parthenon, but it seems we just don’t know. Which is kind of fascinating in itself…
  
  
  Originally posted here.
• 
  Ezgi Tülü

  Mary Beard'ın kalemini seviyorum. Başka bir yazar anlatsa sıkıcı olabilecek ya da beni açmayabilecek bir konu, tek bir binanın tarihçesi, onun kaleminden son derece keyifli ve besleyici geldi bana. Keşke rafımda da olsaydı da, altını çize çize okuyabilseydim.
  
  Sonunda da hem kaynakça, hem de giriş seviyesinde bilgi alınabilecek çeşitli kitaplar listelemiş, zamanım/imkanım olursa onlara da bakmak istiyorum.
  
  ¹
  The Athenian Acropolis
  ²
  Classical Art: From Greece to Rome
  ³
  Classical Greece: 500-323 BC
  
  Bundan önce
  Women & Power kitabını okumuştum, bundan sonra da
  SPQR okumayı umuyorum.
• 
  Lou Robinson

  Struggled with this a little.....as I don't really "do" non-fiction (too much reading of text books for exams I think). The last section was quite good though, a synopsis of the recent wranglings between Greece and the UK over the Elgin marbles. I can't say I'm any more decided on what the right answer is.
• 
  icaro

  La prosa sciolta di Mary Beard per una narrazione discorsiva della storia del monumento. Entry level , come si dice ma, in quanto tale piacevole lettura.
• 
  Sue

  While the book is about a famous work of art, Mary Beard’s story of the Parthenon takes us through almost 2500 years of history. At the height of Greek power, the Athenians venerated – who else? – Athena by building the Parthenon. The Romans adopted the building as the suitable venue to exalt its own leaders. The Christians turned it into a church. During the Ottoman empire, the building, now a mosque, was mostly treated with benign neglect – until the Ottomans stored gunpowder there. Thus, when the Venetians fired on the Acropolis, they succeeded beyond their wildest imagination in wreaking total havoc. Lord Elgin sought to “rescue” the beautiful frieze by taking it home to England. Western European history is practically encapsulated in one iconic building.
  
  When I visited two months ago, Mary Beard’s book tucked under my arm, I encountered a ton of scaffolding on the Parthenon. The 21st century seeks a better restoration than was achieved in the 20th century. The story continues.
  
  "The Wonders of the World" series by Harvard University Press is a new discovery for me. This is a lovely way to study history, and I have put “The Alhambra” and “The Colisseum” on my short list.
  
• 
  Illiterate

  Breezy history of the building and its significance. Gently chides ideas of authenticity.
• 
  C1-10P yana

  Attempt #327 at getting along with Professor Beard: not going well at all. I recommend reading
  The Parthenon Enigma by Joan Breton Connelly for a serious and nuanced discussion instead.
  
  The book's title should have been Grasping for The Parthenon: British Cultural Identity and 'Stewardship'. Or, more accurately, Kicking a Dead Horse While It's Down: British Culture and Anti-Balkan Chauvinism.
  
  As a book about a Greek historical site, there is a conspicuous lack of Greek voices, projects, or connection. Basically, it's a book about why the British feel entitled to others' material history and why that's Good and Fair (as opposed to the Stupid and Uneducated alternative of the locals). Elgin may have kept his favorite friezes in a shed in his garden, but at least he was educated enough to know they're nice!
  
  You'd think there's something interesting to be said about the restoration work and its goals, or perhaps alternatives to the current 'stewardship'... arrangements. Not really, according to Professor Beard; instead, here's a joke about how slowly the Parthenon is being restored, lol Greece. Also did you know that some random petulant British guy sat with his back to it and felt like he made a funny joke that one time? That's way more interesting than whatever anyone else has to say, right?
  
  Sure thing Mary.
  
  The Good:
  There's a few cute speculative flights of fancy, including this image:
  
  'Well into the nineteenth century, it was a favourite Sunday afternoon occupation for the schoolchildren to go up to the Acropolis to hunt for tesserae.' p60
  
  A hilarious dig at 19th century British intelligentsia who insisted that the Golden Age of Athens was the perfect peak of artistic and aesthetic achievement without ever having seen any art from the period. Instead, they just parroted the praise found in historic texts and, since no one could argue otherwise for lack of evidence, they thought themselves supremely clever at affecting an untouchable, more-cultured-than-thou opinion.
  
  Not to be a dick (but I'm going to be one), that pretty much sums up the more rarified echelons of British intelligentsia as a whole, past and present.
  
  The Bad:
  Condescendingly dismissing the suggestion that maybe looting historical artefacts from 'lesser' peoples is problematic AF. She kind of ridicules the superiority with which the British Empire's elite looked down on the 'dirty', 'stupid', 'hairy' Greeks and their 'jumped-up Balkan republic', but never actually says anything that distances her from the views she quotes, refers to, or plays devil's advocate for and platforms uncritically. She basically relies on vocal famous people of the imperial past to get away without having to say anything too concrete (and therefore open to challenge) herself.
  
  Zero comment on how the British Empire wasn't playing at being a steward but actually had the stickiest kleptomaniac fingers of any Empire on Earth. Not to mention how often Britain's 'stewardship' went to shit and how much of it is about milking others' history for profits.
  
  Real bad:
  A total of zero Greek people were quoted in this book. We know that a British poet wrote a steamy poem about getting it on with a statue and that illustrates how passionate the British were about Classical history, but there wasn't any space to ask Greek scholars, historians, writers, or artists about their thoughts or connection to Classical history. But that's OK because the locals were 'stupid' and 'toothless' in the 19th and 20th century anyhow so who cares, right?
  
  Zero awareness shown of ACTUAL Greek history and national identity, instead dismissing modern Greece's claim to the 'Elgin' Marbles (lmao) as political manoeuvring from fake, puffed-up Balkan nationalist politicians. Many lines spent making digs at Greek politicians' alleged shallow investment in the Parthenon Marbles.
  
  In spite of being set in Greece, there is little to no recognition of the present-day state, its people, and their identity-building. In fact, she subtly ridicules any claim to historical identity the modern Greek people might have by denying them their right to the past of the region. That's rich, considering how much of the book she spends defending the sense of entitlement the British elite feels over basically the entire world's material history.
  
  When the argument about the British elite's cultural investment in Ancient Greece falls flat for lack of any real justification, Beard moves on to tear apart various famous figures from Classical Greece and effectively implies that anyone who draws on inspiration or pride from the period and/or region is an uneducated idiot. This pairs delightfully (sarcasm) with the manner in which she fails to even mention the violence and turbulence Greece has endured under a different empire (which the British supported as a means of limiting other growing powers).
  
  Life in Ancient Greece really did suck, but there's more academically and culturally appropriate ways to discuss that, without simultaneously upholding 'Britain' as the paragon of unbiased historical study, cultural achievement, stewardship, and philantrophy (lmao!). The real tragedy of the study of ancient peoples isn't the loss of material as much as how much of our ability to study history has been irreversibly damaged or, in the best case, stunted by previous generations' improper handling of evidence to further personal agendas.
  
  TL;DR:
  All in all, Prof. Beard is first and foremost a celebrity British Classical History scholar and a reactionary against the foibles of her very limited bubble. I'm afraid I no longer believe that her goal is the dedicated study and preservation of history with as little bias as possible; instead, it seems to me that her goals are to maintain a certain social order and division of power in the world, in spite of being an allegedly vociferous feminist.
  
  Disturbingly, if British colonialism and apologism aid her goal, then she takes no issue with making use of it (while tearing into Ancient Greek imperialism). It doesn't hurt to throw in a generous helping of jingoism when describing Greece to bolster her pro-British Museum argument too.
  
  Don't worry about what damage the looting, transportation, and 'cleaning' at the British Museum have resulted in, it's not that big of a deal in comparison to what the 'stupid' Greeks would have done to the marbles. Also don't worry about sources; you don't need that when you're a celebrity academic.
  
  Aye, sure thing Mary.
• 
  Roger Burk

  This brisk little book is mostly about the vicissitudes of the Parthenon since antiquity, as it moved from temple to church to mosque to ruin to monument. When Lord Elgin showed up to remove the sculptures, the Acropolis was not swept clean to the bedrock like it is today. It was built up and filled with housing for the Turkish garrison stationed there. The Parthenon itself was almost completely ruined, only the east and west ends standing and looking like parts of separate buildings. Between the two ends a small mosque had been built. Lord Elgin pried some sculptures off the ruins, but he picked others out of the debris that lay on the ground around them, and yet others he found used as building material in local houses. And the orange or brown patina on the marble sculptures--that's not the result of millennia of smoke or even of air pollution. It's probably the deteriorated result of some wash applied in antiquity.
• 
  Derek

  A wonderful primer for a visit to the Parthenon. Of course, Beard does here what she does in many most of her books; she discusses the way this site of memory has been reinterpreted and reinvented in successive historical epochs. So you learn about the Parthenon in the classical age, but also about the Parthenon under Rome, under the Ottomans, under modern Greece, etc. You learn about archeological and historiographical debates regarding the Parthenon. You also learn a lot about the Elgin Marbles controversy and the impact of Parthenon museum on the way we see the Parthenon. Beard was a real treasure. One note: some of this material roughly matches the material she included in her A Very Short Introduction to the Classics although that short book centers on a different, if similar, temple.
• 
  Ellana Thornton-Wheybrew

  If you want a book about the history of the Parthenon, this is not really it.
  
  The first half of the book is more like a collection of quotes from famous people who visited the area. The second half is about the Parthenon and the Elgin Marbles debate, which then shows Beard's biases.
  
  An interesting book, but not brilliant.
• 
  Sonicniezladupa

  f for Partenon
• 
  Michael Pryor

  Lively, comprehensive, wry.
• 
  Sarah u

  This is a very good book which discusses the Parthenon thoroughly, ranging from the 6th century BCE pre-Parthenon Acropolis, to the Parthenon's use as a cathedral, mosque, and ammunitions store (seriously, what were those people thinking?). The book also addresses the ongoing debates about the Elgin Marbles and other pieces of Ancient Greek sculpture that are now in different countries, and has a new chapter discussing the modern Acropolis museum.
  
  Especially useful is the appendix in the back for readers who are travelling to Athens or the British Museum, which tells you places to visit, points out details to look for, and in the case of Athens, which subway stop you will need for the Acropolis.
  
  All of this is written in easy to digest prose, and the text is supplemented well with many black and white images.
  
  Recommended.
• 
  Henk

  An informative and easy to read book, it’s like Mary Beard is just casually chatting to you about the Parthenon. The chapters about the history and usage of the building (from temple annex treasure trove to church, mosque and army supplies storage) I found most interesting while the more recent, and because of that more documented, controversies we’re less captivating. It’s fascinating how little we know for sure about the construction of such a famous building, which shows the ambiguity of our knowledge of history, being sometimes no more than interpretation and speculation. A good preperation for my trip to Athens and London in a few days!
• 
  Julia Deptuła

  Was a little disappointed, but I might have set my expectations too high. I am very interested in Anciet Greece and read a lot about it in my free time, but I did loose interest a few times reading this book. But then again, one cant expect a book about one building to be jammed with a crazy plot or anything. Another problem was that I didnt learn a lot of new things from it. I would like to compare it to other books of hers, but it was my first. I did enjoy her style of writing, she seems to be very witty :-)! Overall a good & quick read.
• 
  saïd

  Very entry-level, which wasn't precisely what I was hoping for; the first and second half felt disconnected, and a decent portion of the Elgin Marbles section felt overly staid (although that was certainly not helped by the fact that this book was published in 2002).
• 
  Melissa

  4.5
  
  I loved this book!! It was so fascinating and easy to read. Would definitely recommend
• 
  jt

  A dreary diatribe the sole purpose of which is to defend Britain's continued capture of Elgin's spoils.
• 
  ***Dave Hill

  A delightfully charming, wry, and surprising book about the Parthenon -- not just its history in a Greek Antiquities sense, but in the thousands of years since then. It's not so much a book about archaeology as about culture and history. Indeed, the book really starts off with impressions from 19th and 20th Century visitors, drops back to the Late Antiquities and Middle Ages era when the temple was converted first to a Christian cathedral, then to a Muslim mosque, before going back to its origins, and then shooting forward to Elgin, and then to the modern era.
  
  It sounds like a mish-mosh, but it reinforces Beard's theses that the Parthenon is more than just a large example of Periclean architecture, but instead has been seen as so many things by so many people, and that to discount or ignore any of its story is or any of those perceptions is to edit history.
  
  Is the Parthenon a piece of architecture, or of art, or a symbol of what it means to be Greek, and how does that affect how sculpture from it is displayed? Given that it spent nearly as much time as a cathedral and mosque as it did a pagan temple, why is that portion of its history often elided, ignored, or (as is the case of the actual structure) stripped away? How much recreation of the monument is "legitimate," and how much is pushing a particular aesthetic or political agenda? Did Elgin protect art, steal a heritage, or actually make the Parthenon the symbol it became (or all three)? Should the Parthenon marbles in the British Museum be returned, or do they now have their own history and legitimate presence -- and why?
  
  All of this is done with a dry wit and an occasionally opinionated judgment that gives it a nice personal air, especially as narrated by Joan Walker.
  
  Having visited the Acropolis, Parthenon, and the new Acropolis Museum in the last few years, this book both informed me tremendously and made me really want to go back and visit them again with the new perspectives it provided.
  
  Great book, of the sort that had me eager to get back to my car to continue listening to it.
• 
  mysilicielka

  Są książki z opowieściami, są książki o ludziach... a czy książka o budowli może być równie ciekawa co inne? Miałam wątpliwości, ale okazało się, że zupełnie niepotrzebnie.
  
  "Partenon" to fascynująca lektura, chociaż w zasadzie stoimy w niej w miejscu - na najpopularniejszym ateńskim wzgórzu. Autorka prowadzi nas przez wieki, stara się jak najdokładniej przybliżyć, co też działo się ze świątynią Ateny. A może wcale nie świątynią, tylko miejskim skarbcem? Kościołem? Meczetem? Schronem?
  
  Partenon jest cudem świata. Partenon był domem dziewic. Partenon nie byłby tak sławny, gdyby nie był rozczłonkowany. Partenon to symbol greckiego złotego wieku i demokracji. Partenon należy do Greków i do każdego z nas.
  
  Podobała mi się narracja autorki, która często puszczała oko do czytelnika. Kiedy opowiadała o konfliktach związanych z budynkiem, zawsze uczciwie przedstawiała racje obu stron, pozwalając czytelnikowi samemu głowić się nad oceną. Naprawdę momentami czułam się, jakbym siedziała w wehikule czasu i oglądała, co coraz to nowe pokolenia robią z Partenonem - budują, przebudowują, niszczą, bombardują, odnawiają itd.
  
  Polecam książkę miłośnikom ciekawostek historycznych. Tylko uprzedzam, że po lekturze może was najść ogromna ochota kupna biletu do Aten albo Londynu, aby zobaczyć te starożytne cuda na własne oczy.
• 
  Justyna

  Zawiodła mnie Mary Beard ogromnie.
  Byłam ciekawa jej stosunku do Marmurów Elgina i oczywiście, jak większość Brytyjczyków sugeruje, że powinny zostać w UK. Robi to niezwykle subtelnie, poprzez szydercze i ironiczne komentarze względem osób (Greków czy nawet Byrona) zaangażowanych w walkę o ich zwrot.
  Zdecydowana większość kolekcji w MB w Londynie została pozyskana poprzez bezwzględną, imperialną grabież. Niektóre muzea jak np. Luwr powoli postanawiają zwracać skradzione "skarby" prawowitym właścicielom.
  Mary Beard próbuje nam wmówić natomiast, że Marmury Elgina jak i rzeźby z Partnenonu należą do ludzkości, a nie do danego kraju i powinny być prezentowane w jednym z najliczniej odwiedzanym muzeum świata. Serio? Niezła hipokryzja. Szczególnie jeśli zwrócimy na fakt, że brytyjski akcent jest w tymże muzeum bardzo mierny i mizerny.
  Mamy XXI wiek i nadal zamiast wstydu i słowa przepraszam za rozgrabianie świata, dostajemy tłumaczenia profesorów Cambridge dlaczego to złodziejstwo było słuszne....