The Parthenon - Tapa dura

An extremely entertaining read ... a book that is both learned and eloquent (Erich Segal)

Sophisticated, engaging ... she unravels the intricacies with the light and deft touch which characterises the whole book ... something for classicists and laymen alike (Gavanndra Hodge Independent on Sunday)

She succeeds brilliantly in bringing back [the ruins of the Parthenon] to imaginative life (Joan Smith Financial Times)

A classic in every sense of the word: scholarly, informative, but with a laugh - or at least a broad smile - on every page. I loved it - and so will you (John Julius Norwich)

Wry, lively ... entertaining, provocative ... highly readable (Alexander Masters Times Literary Supplement)

The classical world still rouses fierce passions, and books like this help to make the study of ancient Greece urgent and relevant (Tom Holland New Statesman)

If you're planning a trip to Athens - or to the British Museum - this ... is a must-read; but armchair travellers will be equally enthralled (Andrew Crumey Scotland on Sunday)

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 celèbre. But what actually are they? In the first of an occasional 'series' on wonders of the world - such as the Colosseum, Stonehenge, the Pyramids, the Alhambra, Mary Beard, biographer, reviewer and leading Cambridge classicist, tells the history and explains the significance of the Parthenon, the temple of the virgin goddess Athena, the divine patroness of ancient Athens: