highlights

The Acropolis Of Athens Classics

Though one particular architect toyed with the idea of putting a royal palace up there for the new King of Greece, the archaeologists won the debate in the finish. The Acropolis had to be dismantled and rebuilt into a noble ruin, the faded image of the Athens of Pericles and Socrates. Thoughtful, balanced, and wise, it follows the history of the Parthenon from its building through its later incarnations as church, mosque, powder magazine and national monument. Beard is the ideal guide, in no way swayed by the political hysteria which dominates any mention of the temple today. Equally helpful...