The Parthenon

Wonders of the World

by Elizabeth Mann, Yuan Lee (Illustrator)

"The story of an inspired building and an inspirational civilization."

The Parthenon is more than a magnificent building. Every marble statue, every graceful column, is an expression of a civilization whose three great values still speak to us today: "Democracy." At a time of godlike rulers, ordinary citizens voted to build the Parthenon. "Humanism." The Parthenon's art honored Athens' water carriers as well as its gods. "Balance." The Parthenon's aesthetic brought lightness and grace to height and mass.

The Parthenon tells of the rise of Athens -- from the religion that nurtured it, through the wars that tested it, to the democracy that ennobled it -culminating in the construction of the great temple on the Acropolis. The book not only captures the human stories, but also vividly illustrates the technical details behind the construction, from quarrying of the marbles to carving of the exquisite frieze. To look at the Parthenon is to see Athens. To see Athens, is to see ourselves.

"Wonders of the World" series

The winner of numerous awards, this series is renowned for Elizabeth Mann's ability to convey adventure and excitement while revealing technical information in engaging and easily understood language. The illustrations are lavishly realistic and accurate in detail but do not ignore the human element. Outstanding in the genre, these books are sure to bring even the most indifferent young reader into the worlds of history, geography, and architecture.

""One of the ten best non-fiction series for young readers."" - Booklist

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Ancient History, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 11, 2006

Reviews

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

As part of our first grade homeschool study of Ancient Greece, we tried reading Anne Rockwell's Temple on a Hill: The Building of the Parthenon, but I found that it didn't engage my daughter at all, despite how much she loved Filippo's Dome by the same author, so we decided to switch to this book instead. It was much more concise and therefore easy to follow. My daughter was able to keep track of the events leading to the building of the Parthenon and she enjoyed the diagrams showing where the different pieces of art created for the temple were placed. I didn't think The Parthenon was quite as good as this author's The Great Pyramid, but it was the exact book we needed at this point in our school year.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of the Parthenon. This is a children’s book but the drawings and timelines put the buildings in a perspective unavailable in adult books

[Ningyu Wu]

This book s about the history of the parthenon, the parthenon is a big and long history country in the world. but now this country is destroy and no one is know this country now, so today we talk about the history about this long history's country, first the parthenon' people is the ape in that place, then they were make the country and fight with the other country and got lots place and destroy lots of country and the country near it is very scary and all Surrender to the parthenon, and the parthenon was building lots of beautiful building and they was very enjoy the farming, in that time the country is very strong and rich. But the parthenon' king is also very Greed and stupid, the king only play with his wife and he don't care about his country. so, the country is change to the low and the country who Surrender the parthenon is Rebellious to the parthenon and the parthenon solder is very scary because
after country is turn in big the country never fight to now so the parthenon solder is lose and the country is destroy

[Tracy Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended! We used this along with our homeschool study of Ancient Greece.
It was recommended for grades 7-9, but I used it for my seventh-grader as well as my fourth-grader and it was great for both of them!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book discussing hte history of Athens and the building of the Parthenon.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author's books are awesome!

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative. Not a fan of Yuan Lee's illustrations, particularly those of people. They look mass produced.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

used as part of our homeschool study on Ancient Greece