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The Parthenon Marbles -- Missing since 1801 "We demand the return of the Parthenon Marbles,
"It particularly affected me when I saw the destruction made to get down the basso-relievos on the walls of the frieze. Each stone as it fell shook the ground with its ponderous weight, with a deep hallow noise; it seemed like a convulsive groan of the injured spirit of the temple." -- Sir Robert Smirke; witness of the stripping of the Parthenon by Lord Elgin, Sir Smirke was the most renowned architect of the time and a champion of the Greek Revivalist style INV International Ltd. -- owner of the INVgr portal -- fully supports the international campaign to return the Parthenon Marbles to Athens through banner campaigns on INVgr and by informing INVgr's subscribers and visitors about links, speeches, news, meetings, actions, campaigns and the latest developments in Greece and around the world.
Archbishop asks Pope to return Parthenon piece December 15, 2006 -- Greece's top religious leader asked Pope Benedict on December 14 to return a piece of the Parthenon in the Vatican Museums, Greek officials said. Christodoulos, Orthodox Archbishop of Athens and all of Greece, made the request during a visit when he and the Pope signed a join declaration on issues of common concern, such as the defence of life. According to spokesmen for Christodoulos, the Pope was a bit perplexed by the request, perhaps not knowing that the vast museums he technically owns as sovereign of Vatican City have a fragment of the 5th-century BC structure. He said he would consider the request, they said. Greece has been campaigning for decades to get back all pieces of the Parthenon held in museums and private collections around the world. The 2,500-year-old Acropolis monument is seen as the epitome of the Golden Age of Athens. Source: Reuters.
Missing their marbles By Helena Smith (New Statesman) October 23, 2006 -- Helena Smith’s article for the New Statesman ("Missing their marbles") looks at the benefits of the new Acropolis Museum and considers various reasons why the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece. This is how Ms. Smith's feature article begins: As Greece puts the finishing touches to a building fit to hold the Parthenon sculptures, museums around the world are giving their fragments back. How much longer can the British Museum cling on to Lord Elgin's loot? Helena Smith reports Imagine a giant room, with giant glass windows, filled with sculptures of such beauty that they are hailed as one of mankind's highest achievements. Imagine this capacious space facing one of the world's exquisite monuments of classical art. Now place it against an Attic sky, a sky so bright that it not only illuminates the monument's marble surfaces, but floods the room with natural light. You have just imagined the Parthenon Gallery of the New Acropolis Museum in Athens, at the foot of the masterpiece that epitomises the Periclean age. After more than 30 years of preparation, procrastination and acrimonious debate... [more...]
Parthenon 2004 campaign In the past, the debate about return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece has focused on legal and historical wrangles. But now one should be concentrating on the future, and restoring the Marbles to their authentic setting. The primary objective of the British-based Parthenon 2004 -- The Campaign to Return the Parthenon Marbles to Athens -- is to persuade the government of the United Kingdom to make a commitment to enable the Parthenon Marbles to be displayed in Athens. Thus reuniting the sculptures with the remaining 40% in Athens, to restore the unity of the monument. Unfortunately, the British government did not make an imaginative and generous contribution to world heritage by returning the Parthenon Marbles to Athens before the start or even during the 2004 Olympic Games. It was a missed chance for the UK to demonstrate just how forward looking, internationalist and progressive it really is.
International Organisation for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles Twelve out of fifteen committees supporting the Greek demand for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to their place of origin conferred in Athens on November 25, 2005 following an invitation by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and Deputy Culture Minister Petros Tatoulis. Committee representatives from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Italy, Russia and Germany, among others, agreed to proceed in the founding of an International Organisation for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, which will act as a co-ordinating body. Australia's David Hill was appointed as the organisations's president. Hill emphasised the committees' goal to increase their pressure on the British to allow the Marbles, which were removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, to take their rightful place at the new Acropolis Museum in Markiyianni, Athens. Designed by US-based architect Bernard Tschumi and Greece's Michael Photiades, the museum will be completed by the end of 2006, Tatoulis confirmed. Anthony Snodgrass, Professor of Archaeology in Cambridge and president of the British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles, pointed out that while all political confrontation with the British Museum (where the Marbles are currently housed) has been abandoned as unproductive, all efforts should target Britain's cultural world which has already started to turn former enemies into supporters of the artefacts' homecoming. He cited the example of the United Kingdom's Museums Union, now among the supporters of the Marbles' repatriation. Greek President Karolos Papoulias said that the sculptures were seized at a period in time when "the strong had the power of life and death over the weak. Now that time is gone. Now we serve other moral values and I believe that it is our moral duty to bring those treasures back to their homeland." Among the guests was 88-year-old Birgit Wiger-Angner, who handed over to the Swedish authorities a fragment from the Erechtheion that she had been keeping in her house for years. The piece, donated by the Swede to the new Acropolis Musuem, will be returned to the Hellenic Ministry of Culture in October 2006. Source: Combined reports.
"Marbles with an Attitude" cartoon series and global initiative
A recently launched Web site -- http://marbles.apokrisi.net/ aims at promoting the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures and to "help as much as possible to achieve a positive outcome". What's unique about this relatively new initiative by Lazaros Filippidis is that it is trying to communicate its message in a witty and humorous way by using a series of cartoons called "Marbles with an Attitude". These depict the characters of the sculptures "thinking, talking and expressing their feelings". You can view them by visiting http://marbles.apokrisi.net/ and then clicking on "Cartoons". Marbles with an Attitude: Reunite the Parthenon Marbles A new Web site has just gone on-line, which is dedicated to the cause of the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. Scattered and fragmented, the Parthenon Marbles are mainly split between Britain and Greece. As an unsurpassed work of art they could only be fully appreciated as a whole. We believe that the Marbles should therefore be reunited in one location. This location cannot be other than their homeland, the Acropolis of Athens. A continuous campaign is running for many years now with the aim of reunifying the Parthenon Marbles. The aim of this new web site is to contribute to this effort by increasing the public awareness on this issue employing a witty and humorous method. Thus, we designed a short series of funny illustrations: the Marbles with an Attitude. Now the Marbles talk and express their feelings. We can find out what they want and what they are thinking about. We can now clearly read what the Centaur and the Lapithe want, how the Cariatid feels or what Selene's Horse is pondering about. To allow their message to reach even more people we have designed some special T-shirts that depict the Marbles with an Attitude as prints on the front of these T-shirts. Finally, all those who wish to help our cause will find that there are many ways of doing so. The options are discussed on the web site and can range from simply printing some flyers to helping with the dissemination of the material to the public. Feel free to explore the site, check out the Links page where you will be able to find other sites that are dedicated to the same cause. You will also be able to read there the official position of the Greek Government which has recently changed and doesn't talk anymore about the return of the Marbles, but rather, the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles For detailed information visit the Web site http://marbles.apokrisi.net/. Best wishes, Lazaros Filippidis
Elginism: cultural mutilation For or against? The denuding of the Parthenon by Lord Elgin at the beginning of the 19th century has led to the association of his name with the mutilation of cultural treasures -- the so-called "Elgin Marbles," better know as Parthenon Marbles. Elginism does not apply only to the Parthenon. Elginism applies to the countless incidents of cultural vandalism that continue to this day. [more...]
Melina Mercouri
"... We see ancient cultural chains broken, past traditions crumble and wonderful special characteristics wither away. Our common memory is threatened, our soul shrivels, our creativity is stifled, our present becomes rootless. 'He who has nothing old has nothing new', says an Arab proverb. This past must emerge from the museums in order to become a source of inspiration and creativity, to become the instrument and the joy of the people..." -- Melina Mercouri (1923-1994), Mexico City, July 29, 1982 at the World Conference on Cultural Policies, organised by UNESCO
Melina Mercouri Foundation
By Jules Dassin, President, Melina Mercouri Foundation In the first years of the 19th century, the Parthenon temple was desecrated. Greece was under Turkish domination. The then British Ambassador to Turkey, Lord Elgin, was the culprit. Britain was a valued ally to Turkey in the wars against Napoleon. Lord Elgin, a treasure hunter, did not hesitate to abuse his office as Ambassador. He managed to get from the Ottoman authorities a permit called a firman. This is what it said: "That the artists meet no opposition in walking, viewing, contemplating the pictures and buildings they may wish to design or copy; or in fixing scaffolding around the ancient temple; or in modelling with chalk or gypsum the said ornaments and visible figures; or in excavating, when they find it necessary, in search of inscriptions among the rubbish. Nor hinder them from taking away any pieces of stone with inscriptions and figures." The imperative question is, can this document, by any measure of veracity be interpreted as permission to use giant saws to tear from the temple (and causing terrible damage to the edifice) half of the sculptures from the temple frieze. Greeks say no. Archaeologists and historians, British among them say no. By an overwhelming vote, UNESCO [United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation] says no. 347 members of the European Parliament signed a petition saying no. 57% of the British Labour party says no. The Melina Mercouri Foundation is grateful for this support. Melina in her tireless campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to their home in Athens, in an address to the British authorities, wrote, "You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name. They are the essence of Greekness." Melina said, " I hope that I will see the Marbles back in Athens before I die; but if they come back later I shall be reborn."
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