Greek Aussie MP’s fight for Elgin’s stolen marbles

By on November 11, 2009 in News

Australian MP’s of Greek Heritage met in Perth last week, as part of the annual meeting of the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association (WHIA-Oceania Region). Their purpose was to raise awareness concerning the rightful ownership of the Parthenon marbles –kept in the British Museum- by Greece.

The MP’s of Greek heritage addressed other Australian parliamentarians as part of their campaign, as they had all gathered for the separate Conference of the Australian branch of the CPA. (Commonwealth Parliamentary Association).

WHIA President, John Pandazopoulos MP, said that the opening of the new Acropolis Museum removes a major obstacle in Britain’s argument that there was no suitable venue to exhibit the famous sculptures.

George Souris MP, Oceania representative said that brochures and representation were made as a prelude to the campaign to engage all Australian MP’s in the ultimate goal of restoring the sculptures to their rightful home.

Source: www.whia.gr

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  • Peter Hancock, PhD

    Whilst agreeing in principle that the Parthenon sculptures should be returned to Greece (without prejudice to the rights of ownership pro, or con); I believe that the New Acropolis Museum (NAM) presents a new problem for the return of the sculptures. That is, on architectural, environmental and cultural grounds.

    Firstly, the ancient Greeks loved SPACE; and their buildings were, accordingly,
    surrounded by space, like the Parthenon, on the Acropolis. The NAM is closely surrounded by buildings on three sides, and is totally out of scale (i.e. too big) for the site on which it is built.

    Secondly, the fact that the top storey, specifically designed to house the Parthenon sculptures (the metopes in particular and the pediment sculptures), is set skew, in relation to the building below : something the architects of the Parthenon, Callicrates and Ictinus would NEVER have done.

    Thirdly,the Parthenon frieze, metopes and pediment sculptures were designed and created to be seen 11 metres above the peristyle floor level. In the NAM, they are seen, inappropriately, at eye level.

    Fourthly, on the lower floors, the internal reinforced concrete circular columns
    (“pilotis”), dominate the sculptures now located amongst them.

    Fifthly, there is little if anything expressive of Greek culture in the design of this Cubist modern box, with its almost total lack of sensitivity to its urban environment.

    Lastly, so what’s the solution ? This could be to have a NEW PARTHENON MUSEUM, specifically designed to house the Parthenon sculptures, so that they are seen in their correct contextual settings, and in which both the building and the sculptures are seen in the context of a structure, which is both expressive of Greek sculpture, architecture and culture, on a new and more appropriate site, possibly with a view of the Aegean sea.

  • Capt. Leonidas Frangelakis

    If we lived in a perfect world, then all art treasures would be displayed in their land of origin. But we don’t. Aphrodite of Milos is displayed in the Louvre, Paris; Berlin hosts some of the largest collections of ancient Greek art and St Petersburg is home to one of the largest collections of ancient Greek treasures ever seen. Let’s face it, the Greek government wants to boost tourist revenues by displaying the Parthenon Marbles in Athens (in a museum that now costs 5 euros to visit and is prone to strike action). The British Museum may not be the ideal home for the Parthenon Marbles, but visitors pay nothing to enter, they enjoy excellent labelling and can enjoy a cultural and historical experience by placing ancient Greek art in historical context, given the British Museum’s collections of Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian and Roman art. Let’s put nationalism to one side for a moment and let’s not forget that more people will see the Marbles in Bloomsbury than Athens. Yes, it’s true that the great Lord Byron was apalled at Lord Elgin’s actions in removing the marbles, but we are where we are. Why not let the great museums around the world spread the world about ancient Greek civilisation? After all, listening to nationalist and bigoted Greek politicians go on about the Marbles when all they really want is to whip up nationalist sentiment rather than give people around the world maximum opportunity to experience ancient Greece seems to me barbarism of the worst kind. The British Museum isn’t making a profit from the Marbles, it’s promoting ancient Greek culture in a far better way than the Modern Greek state has been able to do. Even the new Acropolis museum, built with European tax payer funds (mostly from the UK ironically) has already courted controversy by censoring a Museum movie directed by noted director Costas Gavras for simply telling the truth: that Christian zealots caused more damage to the Marbles than Elgin. Given that the Greek government spent millions on an unnecessary project at a time when the Greek economy is virtually bankrupt and 25 per cent of Greeks are living on the breadline, it seems to me that Athens should abandon nationalism and attempts to distract attention away from its status as the European Union’s most corrupt nation (yes, it pains me to say it, but it’s true and all of us Greeks know it’s true) and focus instead on improving the lot of its fantastic, dedicated but cash-starved archaeological service. So let’s start a campaign not for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, but for decent treatment for Greece’s wonderful archaeological service. Believe me, these dedicated people need all the help they can get.

  • carlinat

    Firstly, the “robbers of the temples” can only be described as “tyranny”, to quote Thrasymachus in Plato’s Republic (ch 344,345), “that highest form of injustice in which the criminal is the happiest of men, …which by fraud and force takes away the property of others not little by little but wholesale; which acts of wrong, if he were detected perpetrating any one of them singly, he would be punished and incur great disgrace.” Socrates then responding, “for granting that there may be an unjust man who is able to commit injustice either by fraud or force, still this does not convince me of the superior advantage of injustice and there may be others who are in the same predicament with myself.”
    Secondly, when King Solomon was presented with a dilemma as to who was the real mother of a baby, and suggested to “divide” it (kill it), truth prevailed when the real mother agreed for the child to live- even if that meant far from her. And, as the wisest king that ever lived, King Solomon presented the (whole) child to its rightful owner.
    Thirdly, when the Australian government took a large number of Australian Aboriginals to raise by social services, becuse their upbringing was judged to be unfit and their environments unsuitable, they had obviously not forseen their future Prime Minister s apology to that “stolen generation’ and their rightful owners.
    But, personally, I don t mind the Marbles staying in London. They only belong to Greece s pagan past and , if ever returned, will only contribute to Greece s pride and neo paganism, (not that these two are directly interrelated) and none of that is necessary.