Revised and updated to include the story of the New Acropolis Museum and the controversies surrounding it. The ruined silhouette of the Parthenon is one of the world's most famous images, and its looted Elgin Marbles a global cause celebre - but what exactly are they? Beard, a leading Cambridge classicist, tells the history and explains the importance The ruined silhouette of the Parthenon on its hill above Athens is one of the world's most famous images. Its 'looted' Elgin Marbles are a global cause celebre. But what actually are they? This work tells the history and explains the significance of the Parthenon, the temple of the virgin goddess Athena, the divine patroness of ancient Athens.
