After reading several greek plays about the Trojan War and other historical and literature materials, this is the first book that makes the entire concept clear, in easy-to-understand English prose! And it's amazing how well Ms. Woodford ties the art into the mythology/history. Absolutely fabulous book!

Susan Woodford's contribution to the Cambridge Introduction to the History of Art series, Greece and Rome, is a relatively inexpensive introduction to the arts of this period. It covers the main historical style periods of both Classical Greece and Rome, with brief but interesting discussions of sculpture, pottery, painting and architecture. However its brevity is also its weakness. There are only oblique references to the Parthenon and Pantheon, two of the most important buildings in the ancient world, and barely any mention of the earlier Aegeans cultures: Minoan, Mycenaen and Cycladic nor the pre-Empire Villanovans and Etruscans in Italy. This book could work in an Ancient to Modern art history survey course when it isn't possible to go into great depth, but would still need to be supplemented with further information on the cultural, decorative and structural importance of both the Parthenon and Pantheon.

The Parthenon, built by the Athenians in the mid-5th century B.C.E., is widely considered to be the most important architectural achievement of the ancient world. Susan Woodford has managed to capture the building's history in just 48 pages, detailing the historical and social context of its creation, a basic description of its architectural structure, and the history of the monument through the present day. The work is concise, well-illustrated, and perfectly suited to non-specialists interested in understanding the building without learning precise details of history or architecture.

In fact, one problem with the book is that it seems to assume that the reader does not want to learn anything more about the subject. The lack of bibliography is incredibly disappointing, especially since the book gives only a sketch of the subject. The reader interested in further pursuing the subject will be forced to seek out sources on her own.

The real trouble with this book, though, is the price. At [$$.$$] for only 48 pages (about [$$] cents a page!), the depth of your pocketbook begins to become a factor in the decision. Though the book is of a high quality, the price will be prohibitive for many potential readers. There are few general introductions to the Parthenon, however (so far as an Amazon search reveals), and so anyone truly interested may be left without a choice.