In one of my stays in Athens this year, I had the honour to visit the Acropolis with Engineer Zannis (here with me in the photos). Being an Archeologist and working on the restoration of the Parthenon I had the privileged to hear directly from him, the progress of the restoration work, as well as the insightful stories that surraund the situ. I could see and fully understand the damages and vandalism that Lord Elgin perpetraited in 1801. He removed and cut 1/2 of the frieze metopes and pedimental sculpture, plus a caryatid and a column from the Erechtheion. He use these antiquities to decorate his mansion first and later sold them to the British Museum to repay his debts. It was the British Parliament that bought them for £35,000 and deposited in the British Museum.
Recently we watched on the TV News the ISIS (Islamic State) "soldiers" smashing artworks some more than 3000 year old. This recent events have been condemned as barbarian and inhuman and we all agree. But if we look at the stones that "lord" Elgin left on the ground after cutting the parts of his own interests, it is not too hard to make some similarities between these two barbarian acts. The only difference is that one was made for profit and leisure, the other for ignorance, fanaticism and primitivism.
Let's hope that soon someone will lead by example and return what was taken for pure greediness as Lord Byron said publicly numerous time!
Greece Needs Love
