June 20, 2009

Dear Brits






Support the Repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles!

Υou can contribute to the efforts for the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles in Greece. Please, copy the following text-letter and send it, through email, to the administration of the British Museum, to the British and Greek Ministries of Culture as well as to the E.U. Commissioner for Culture:

- British Museum: communications@britishmuseum.org
- EU Commission for Culture: eac-culture@ec.europa.eu
- Ministry of Culture, United Kingdom: enquiries@culture.gov.uk
- Ministry of Culture, Greece: dpse@hch.culture.gr


Dear Sir/Madam,

You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name . They are the essence of Greekness". Melina Mercouri, speech in Oxford Union, 1986.

The ancient sculptures of Parthenon, which today are exposed in London's British Museum, consist an important part of the Athens Parthenon; a major and symbolic landmark of the Western civilization. Moreover, some of the sculptures themselves are essential not only for the external appearance, but also for the static suffiency of the ancient building, according to recent restoration works on the Acropolis.

Since the decade of 1980s, when the then Greek Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri had demonstrated the demand for the repatriation of the marbles, the various administrations of the British Museum continue to deny any proposal for dialogue on this matter. Nevertheless, there are specific arguments which enpower the support for the restoration of the Parthenon Marbles back in Greece:

First, because in Greece the sculptures will be exposed near the Parthenon facing the Acropolis and therefore giving to the visitor the opportunity to have a more concrete idea of the whole ancient monument.

Second, because the Parthenon Marbles consist an integral part of the monument-landmark of the Greek classical civilization. The repatriation of the marbles would support the idea of Parthenon's complete design and its architecture will be restored.

Third, because the New Acropolis Museum is now complete - and therefore the Parthenon Marbles could be exposed and presented there, with equal and even bigger safety than in the British Museum.

During the ages of Lord Elgin, Britain was a world imperial power and Greece just a part of the then Ottoman Empire. Today, 200 years later, the two countries are two developed democratic European Union members, having co-operation in most fields. There has been a big change since then. In the name of Justice and Morality, in the name of appreciation for the world cultural heritage, we call the British government and the administration of the British Museum to work towards the restoration of the Parthenon Marbles. Such an action would, indeed, honour the name and history of the United Kingdom.


12 comments:

  1. Τίποτε δεν αποκλείεται..
    Ωραία η νέα καλοκαιρινή μαρκίζα !

    ReplyDelete
  2. @L' Enfant de la Haute Mer: Θα ήθελα να είχα τη δική σου, έστω και μέτρια, αισιοδοξία. Το χειμώνα σκέφτομαι ν' αλλάξω τη μαρκίζα. Το φουσκωτό σε χιόνια...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Προσποιητή ήταν,
    άλλο ήθελα να γράψω, αλλά
    είπα να δημιουργήσω κλίμα
    (γιατί σε διαβάζω
    κι ας μη σχολιάζω πάντα)
    Καλή σου μέρα !

    ReplyDelete
  4. @L' Enfant de la Haute Mer: Μάλιστα, τώρα ήρθα στα καλά μου. Καλό Σ/Κ!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Καλημέρα.
    Η ελπίδα πεθαίνει τελευταία.
    Και ο άνθρωπος προτελευταίος.
    Ίδωμεν.

    Πως πάει ο rebel;
    Ο δικός μου τα κατάφερε και μηδένισε τον δείκτη.
    Εύχομαι, όπως και τρεις δικοί μου, τα ίδια και καλύτερα στον rebel.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Ο νοών νοείτω: Xαίρομαι για τους δικούς σου, εμείς συνεχίζουμε να το παλεύουμε. Σ' ευχαριστούμε!

    ReplyDelete
  7. καλησπερα Σουελ,

    αν βασιστουμε στα λογια της μελινας, το χασαμε. Ξερεις κανεναν ελληνα να ταυτιζεται με αυτα;

    ReplyDelete
  8. @Cynical: Καλησπέρα σου, όσο κι αν σκέφτομαι, δεν βρίσκω κανένα...

    ReplyDelete
  9. @swell: Πολύ καλή δουλειά σε αυτό το post!

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Paratiritis: Καλημέρα, όντως έτσι είναι. Δεν είναι δικό μου πάντως. Αυτό για την περίπτωση που δεν το κατάλαβες.

    ReplyDelete
  11. "The thieves of Baghdad: a new way of looking at the unification of the Parthenon sculptures Matthew Bogdanos

    As the head of the US government’s investigation into the looting of the Iraq Museum in 2003 and as an American of Greek descent, Matthew Bogdanos suggests that the tragedy of Iraq’s lost heritage can be used in three distinct ways to add perspective and poignancy to the discussion of the unification of the Parthenon sculptures. First, he suggests that all those involved in the debate should enlist the interest and support of mainstream society through a more broad-based use of the media, on the basis that publicity means greater awareness – leading to increased scrutiny, pressure and resources brought to bear on the issues of recovery and repatriation. Second, he argues that if mainstream society were to see the removal of cultural property in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, not through the hazy distance of centuries long past, but through the lens of April 2003 and the Iraq Museum, then the average citizen, voter and taxpayer might modify their traditional view of those who removed that property as benign gentleman adventurers. Finally, and fully acknowledging that it is not a perfect analogy, Colonel Bogdanos highlights the international outcry that would ensue if countries were to refuse to return any antiquities located in their country that were stolen from Iraq in 2003, noting that many of these countries are silent on the return of the Parthenon sculptures."

    Excerpt from Museum International #241-2

    Βρήκα την τοποθέτηση πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα...

    - Πώλα

    ReplyDelete
  12. @Πώλα: Καλημέρα, είναι όντως πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα οπτική. Είναι γνωστό, το ξέραμε ότι οι Αμερικανοί είχαν "γδύσει" το μουσείο της Βαγδάτης, αλλά δεν το σκεφτήκαμε.

    ReplyDelete

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