Perceptive as always, Mann not only examines the construction of the Parthenon in this new entry in her Wonders of the World series, she also discusses what decorating this glorious, no-expenses-spared, holy temple with statues not of gods but of mortals reveals about how Athenians regarded themselves. She actually begins at the beginning, with the birth of Athena from Zeus’s forehead, then goes on to deliver a rousing account of the victories at Marathon and Salamis (the booty from which largely financed the grand construction), plus a glimpse of how the Athenians’ radical method of government actually worked. Capped by an eye-filling, double gatefold cutaway, the clear illustrations provide easy-to-see views of the early Acropolis and of the Parthenon in various stages of construction. Though the author ends abruptly with the catastrophic explosion of 1687, she once again will leave readers buzzed about one of the great works of architecture, and more deeply aware of the ways in which it reflects its builders’ beliefs and attitudes. (bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-12)
