The Parthenon: Power and Politics on the Acropolis

by David Stuttard

The Parthenon is one of the world’s most iconic buildings. Today its silhouette symbolizes Greece. In fifth century BC Athens it was the proud embodiment of the power not only of that city’s empire, but of the politicians who had commissioned part war memorial, part treasure trove of some of the most outstanding art of its age. This book tells the dramatic story of the conception and creation of the Parthenon, setting it against a turbulent historical background and rooting the building firmly in the real and mythological landscape of Athens. Featuring a cast of memorable characters, this beautifully illustrated book features atmospheric site photography and rich details from the Parthenon sculptures and other related artworks.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2013

About the author

David Stuttard is a British theatre director, classical scholar, translator, lecturer on classical literature and history, and author, primarily of historical works on the ancient world.

Reviews

[David Jacobson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, which I purchased as a souvenir of my visit to the Elgin Marbles at the British Museum, gives an accessible overview of the Parthenon's construction and the broader historical context of the time (circa 450 BC). The short book is divided into the three sections: the first covers the history that proceeded the Parthenon's construction—that of the Persian War—, the second deals with the construction and architecture of the temple itself, and the third compares the Parthenon with other contemporary structures built elsewhere in Greece.

The history is well-described, but goes by a little fast at times. I understand that this is not supposed to be a text on Greek history, but if the author feels it is worth devoting the first 75 pages to historical context, he might have made it less a parade of names. This treatment is in contrast to the discussion of the Parthenon's adornment, which is overly comprehensive—the reason for this being obvious: it is this adornment that constitutes an important part of the collection of the British Museum, the publisher of this book.

[Alastair · Rating 4 out of 5]

It likely reflects my preferences, but this book about the Parthenon was at its best when it wasn’t really about the Parthenon. The first 100 pages of this brief, 200-page book is really a history of the Ancient Greeks: David Stuttard punchily takes us through the key events, from the earliest flowering of democracy in Athens, its rivalry with Sparta, their union to withstand the Persian threat under Darius then Xerxes, all culminating in Athens’ hegemony after the Persian wars.

It is during this time that Pericles took to rebuilding the temples on the Acropolis, decimated by Xerxes in 480 BC. Central among these is, of course, the grandest of them all: the Parthenon. In doing this, Pericles was making use of the huge amount of money Athens was taking in from the other Greek states (the Delian league) by having them pay for protection by the superior Athenian fleet.

This description of the events leading up to the building of the Parthenon is heavily reliant on Herodotus but, having read that work recently, this is a far easier and quicker introduction than the man from Halicarnassus’ tome. Even in the brief space Stuttard affords himself, historical figures are well characterised (“cunning Themistocles” or “flamboyant Peisistratus”) and, for a book about a building, the history really pulls you in and brings the world in which the Parthenon was built to life. As a 100-page tour of this period it really can’t be beaten, though there is of course a fair amount of foreshadowing of the fabled building itself which would be a little peculiar if taken out of context.

In a similar manner the final thirty-odd pages of the book are well edited, engagingly written history too. This covers the downfall of Athens at the hands of their Greek neighbours in the Peloponnesian war, something Stuttard at any rates almost relishes as deserved by the Athenians’ arrogance and hubris during their period of money-making - ‘lord-it-over-their-neighbours’ - dominance.

It is in the main event, however, that the book falls down. I probably could have overlooked the lengthy descriptions of the building itself and the onerous attention to detail (exceptionally lengthy descriptions of metopes anyone?). This was all anticipated, but the level of detail is a little much, particularly as so much imagery is repeated around the Parthenon and the wider Acropolis site, meaning you will hear about Theseus and the Amazons and other Athenian favourites time and again in different architectural settings.

This, as I say, could have been overlooked if the author did a better job of actually illustrating what he’s talking about. I spent the majority of time with barely a clue where what was being discussed was actually located on the temple itself. All that would have been required was a simple diagram of the Parthenon, some arrows pointing at the key bits and definition of key terms (I refer you back to my use of the word ‘metope’, a rectangular decorative panel above the columns, between the – sigh - triglyphs).

This singular diagram would have done wonders. Throw in zoom outs from a full image of the Parthenon showing the specific metopes or triglyphs or whatever else is being discussed so the reader knows what’s what, and the architectural portion of the book could have been a nice complement to the dynamic, concise history Stuttard has offered up in Parthenon: Power and Politics on the Acropolis. As it is, I ended up floundering in the middle of the book, becoming increasingly annoyed I couldn’t follow the discussion. This book is still worth reading for its great overview of a major period in Greek history, but it could have been perfect with just a few adjustments in its central, eponymous section.

[Nick H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed and well-organized. The writing style feels more like a story than traditional historical works, which lends the whole thing an unexpected ‘page-turner’ feel. That together with the copious excellent photos made this a recent favorite of mine!

細かくて面白い歴史。歴史よりもっと話みたいな書き方。すごく読みやすくてわかりやすい！色んなめっちゃいい写真もある

[Arjen Taselaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

General introduction to the Parthenon, with much attention paid to the civic-political background of Periclean Athens. The account is well written but rather traditional and doesn't enlighten the reader on controversies surrounding the meaning of the building and its sculpture. But a good read.

[Tarek Bouri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to follow along at times.

[Noah Boylen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style kinda threw me off

[anbrs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hyper intéressant ! En plus le fait de l’avoir acheté après avoir fait l’Acropole ça ajoute un truc en plus !