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Parthenon marbles and Greek identity by Natalie Fisher


ABSTRACT

In this extended essay I will discuss the importance of the Parthenon, and the Parthenon Marbles in particular, as symbols of Greek national identity. The essay discusses the role of artefacts in defining cultural identity that describes a whole nation in view of its past. It also introduces the events that led to the removal of the marbles by Lord Elgin, as well as the perennial argument about their return to Greece. I will discuss the significance of the Acropolis to the Greeks throughout the centuries and the reaction of both nations (Greece and Britain), concerning the removal of the sculptures. The need of national identity and the effect of the artefacts on Greek nationalism from ancient times to the resent is also discussed.

Furthermore, I will present the argument of today's controversy of whether the Parthenon marbles should remain in Britain, or be returned to Athens by referring to the Greek government's claims, and specifically, Melina Mercouri's statements.

Following that, I will discuss the meaning of world heritage for all cultures, the creation of the new Acropolis Museum and the impact of the loss of the marbles to the Greek nation.

The scope of this essay is to investigate how important the Parthenon sculptures are in defining the Greek national identity through the events that occurred before and after the removal of the marbles from the Acropolis, their role as international symbols, and why they should be returned to Greece.

I will conclude by saying that the return of the marbles would mean the completion of the sense of identity for the Greek nation, as they play significant role to modern Greek identity, and thus, symbolise the country's past, its accomplishments and its culture.

Contents :

Introduction

- Definition of cultural characteristics

- National symbols and their importance.

- How does an artefact define a culture.

- Lord Elgin and the removal of the Parthenon Marbles.

- Today's argument for the return of the marbles to Greece.

Main Body

• The commission of the building of the Acropolis of Athens

- Golden Age, Athenian glory

-The Parthenon as an official symbol of identity for the ancient

Athenians

• Description of the marbles

• Removal of the marbles by Lord Elgin, the reaction of two nations

- The historical events that led to the damage of the Parthenon

- The need for a national identity

- Lord Elgin and his actions

- 19th century England

- Melina Mercouri's actions as the Minister of Culture

• World Heritage

- The Acropolis Museum

Conclusion

- Marbles reflect the Greek culture

- The meaning of the return of the Greek marbles to Athens

Bibliography and Illustrations

 

Introduction

The basic characteristics that define a culture very often can remain intact through centuries of change. In the case of Greece, despite the multiple invasions that it has sustained over the time, its people have managed to maintain some basic characteristics that they share with their ancestors. Traits and values, such as national pride, the worship of dialogue, the sanctity of hospitality ('philoxenia') and intense interest in politics have been common in both ancient times and in modern times, respectively.

Artefacts are an immediate expression of a culture, the refection of a mentality through art and utilities, that symbolize the elements of identity. They are given an identification by visual aspects, they represent their maker, and the culture itself. They sometimes serve as national symbols. “National symbols are meant to unite people by creating visual, verbal, or iconic representations of the national people, values, goals or history.” 1

The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens has served as such a symbol for the last 2500 years. During these years, despite consecutive enemy attempts of destruction that have stripped it of its initial glory, it has managed to survive and continues to stand as an emblem of freedom and democracy to this day.

One such issue of foreign looting of the Parthenon’s artefacts, namely, the removal of the frieze of the temple by Lord Elgin in the 1800s, has taken great dimensions and continues to this day. Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire,2 removed the frieze of of the Parthenon with the consent of the Turks 200 years ago. It is said that his intentions were to save these artefacts from certain destruction, since Greece was undergoing many destructive events at the time. 3 During the removal, many sculptures from the frieze were heavily damaged or destroyed, and as a result, Lord Elgin was charged with vandalism. Nevertheless, the marbles ended up as a possession of the British Museum.

The return of the Parthenon marbles to its rightful home has been a cause of a constant debate between the Greeks and the British, since there was never any official clarification on the rights of ownership. Lately it has also attracted world attention as they were expected to go back to their native land in time for the 2004 Olympics. Despite all efforts for their return, they still remain as a major display in the British Museum to the dismay of many who would prefer to see them in their natural context - the new Athens Museum - which was specially built to house the Acropolis artefacts.

New arguments are being made by both sides, with no actual consideration, nor actions upon them. But what defines national identity? Does an artefact always belong to its place of origin? In this essay, what is going to be discussed is the identity of the Parthenon marbles and their symbolic significance to Greece in view of their requested return in Athens.

1 National Symbol, Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_symbol , date accessed 8/11/09

2 Info : http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/parthenon_debate_01.shtml , date accessed 31/10/09

3 Info : http://www.parthenonuk.com/DynaLink/ID/377/newsdetail.php ,date accessed 31/10/09

 

Chapter 1 The commission of the building of the Acropolis of Athens

There are two reasons why the Parthenon was built. Pericles was the general and orator of Athens during the Golden Age (495 – 404 BC)4 . The Golden Age began after the end of the Persian Wars, and lasted until the Peloponnesian War. What basically happened during that era was a small “Athenian renaissance”, when Pericles influenced the lifestyle of the Athenians by helping the development of arts and literature, and also contributing to various projects, in order to make Athens a better place to live in. 5 One of these projects was the Parthenon.

He wanted to build the Parthenon in honour of the goddess Athena, the patron and protector of the city, and second, he and the Athenians wanted to demonstrate their economical power at the time and to enhance their pride in religion after the Persian wars, as a war memorial.

Pericles managed to build a temple of architectural magnificenceee and perfection with the help of two top architects, Iktinos and Kalekrates, and the famous sculptor Phidias.

The two main themes of the temple's sculptures was the Panathinea on the frieze, the biggest Athenian festival that took place every four years to honour goddess Athena. The second theme depicted the twelve gods of Olympus on the pediments.

The temple symbolized Greece's tradition of the Panathinea, their myths, their gods, and most importantly victory against the Persians, therefore, became a national symbol of identity, that gave to the Athenians national pride, and reminded the union and cooperation of the city-states with the purpose of defeating the common enemy.

The Parthenon’s frieze, which was created in 442 BC and finished in 438 BC, is an archetype of the classical style. It was 160 meters in length and 60 cm in width.6 There are many interpretations of the event of the frieze, but what is mostly believed to be depicted is the Panathenaic procession, it is composed by human figures moving to one direction, men on horses, musicians, and animals that are prepared for sacrifice. The movement of the figures (Figure 1) move towards one scene that works as a central point, and that is the folding of

4 The Golden Age : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Pericles , date accessed : 2/11/09

5 "Pericles" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pericles , date accessed 31/10/09

6 www.e-yliko.gr (Greek Ministry of Education) “The history of the Parthenon, the history of Greece” page 6, date accessed 3/11/09

the “peplos”, a piece of cloth that was used during the procession, dedicated to Athena. There is also the depiction of the gods in their normal human forms, seated seen for example in figure 1 there is Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis. That reminds the ideal of the “dodecahedron”, that the twelve Olympic gods were among the mortals, the gods were human-like, and had mortal and divine characteristics that allowed them to behave on their emotions, common sense and also power which did not make themselves feared in a big extent by the mortals as opposed to other religions where the gods are depicted in a more supernatural way (ex. Aztec’s) 7

The metopes around the exterior of the temple were blocks that depicted scenes which were divided by “triglyfa”, three engraved vertical lines. The metope in the east side depicted the Gigantomachy. On the west side of the temple, the metope depict the Amazonomachy. The metope in the south depicted the fight between the centaurs and Lapiths after a wedding. This scene of the frieze is one of the most popular scenes of the metope. (figure 2) 8

The sculptures can be described as liberated, since the human bodies depicted are very natural, realistic and spontaneous concerning movement. Three-quarter postures, postures (Figure 2) of the turn of the torso only, etc., contribute to a harmonious series of scenes with a lively movement throughout the whole frieze. Details such as the clothing of the figures give out an ideal of realism and perfectionism, to create an impressive and life-like decoration around Athena's temple. 9

One of the most popular sculptures from the east pediment (figuree 4) is the Horse of Selene figuree 3). The east pediment is of a triangular shape, composed by various figures in order to fill in the triangular space in a natural way. The theme is the birth of Athena from Zeus's head. Her birth is witnessed by other figures, dividing two parts of the pediment. One resembles the day, lead by the chariot (figure 3). 3

7 The frieze : http://ancient-greece.org/art/parthenon-frieze.html, date accessed : 8/11/09

8 The metopes : http://www.classicbuildings.net/index.php?page=viewbuilding&id=15 , date accessed : 8/11/09

9 “L'Acropole – Le sacre d'Athenes”, Excelsior Publications S.A. In Greek : Orfeas Publications June 2009, page 116

of Helios (god of the sun) and the other side resembles the night, depicting the chariot of Selene (goddess of the moon) symbolizing the dawn and the dusk respectively. 10The horse's head was removed from the chariot of Selene. It can be seen (figure 3) that there is a perfect cut from its neck, indicating that the head was cut of from its body during the removal of the marbles. The horse's head is full of details that can easily be observed, such as the veins and eyes, its mouth and muscular structure that render it strikingly realistic The cleaning in the 30's damaged its surface, making it rough. Due to the damage, there has been a change of colour in specific areas. (figure 4)

On the east pediment the birth of goddess Athena is depicted, and the chariots, where the horse of Selene used to be. Beneath it the east metope that depicted the Gigantomachy. In smaller scale, the frieze is seen which was placed behind the structure of the pediment towards the interior. From what remains today of the Parthenon, the east pediment is naked, without sculptures, but still has the marble background.

Greece in general, and Athens in particular, as mentioned before, has undergone many wars for centuries. In 200 AC a fire occurred in the temple, destroyed its interior, and also the statue of Athena. It was then repaired (around 160 AC) and a new sculpture replaced the burnt one. 4

10 The British Museum http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/h/head_of_a_horse_oselene.aspx , date accessed : 7/11/09

In the Byzantine period (330-1453) 11, the Parthenon was turned into a Christian church, dedicated to Saint Sophia. There were many structural additions to the temple, and as a result, six plaques of the frieze were damaged. During the Ottoman empire, it was turned into a mosque. 12

In 1687, when the Venetians attacked 13, a cannon hit the Parthenon, and therefore created a massive explosion which destroyed big parts of the Temple and of other structures around it. That was an irreversible damage, and the Parthenon had still more damage to undergo.

During the Greek War of Independence, (1821-1833), the Turks stored their ammunition and gun powder inside the Parthenon. During these years of the Greek Revolution which resulted in the termination of the Ottoman rule of Athens, the Acropolis was besieged twice. Once by the Greeks and once by the Ottoman forces. During the siege the Greeks found themselves faced with a dilemma:

When they saw that the besieged Ottoman forces were about to melt the lead in the columns of the Parthenon in order to cast bullets as they were out of ammunition,they offered the Turks bullets of their own in order to leave the monument undamaged. 14

Lord Elgin, (the seventh earl of Elgin, (1766- 1841) 15 was a noble man highly passionate about ancient artefacts16 . He took permission from the Ottomans to gain access in the Acropolis, by getting a fir-man (an official decree) from the sultan of Constantinople asking permission to make moulds out of the sculptures, sketch and take anything of interest around the temple. He was accompanied by Giovanni Battista Lusieri, a highly competent artist to sketch the designs, and William Hamilton, Elgin's secretary, and later on an administrator of the British Museum17. Elgin realized the ignorance that the Turks had about the Parthenon, as they considered it a pagan temple since their religion forbade the depiction of religious figures and realistic images. He saw it as an opportunity to actually remove the metopes, and the other sculptures of the frieze. During the process, many parts of the frieze were severely damaged by careless workers. The total removal of the sculptures finished 11 years later, in 1812. Lord Elgin removed 75 meters of the Parthenon's frieze, 15 metopes, 17 pedimental sculptures, one Caryatid from the Erecthium, and other sculptures that had already fallen from the small temple of Niki. 18 He then brought the marbles back to Britain.

There are many theories of why he removed the frieze, but what he said was that he removed them in order to provide Britain with “good taste” and to decorate his country house in Scotland. After being accused of looting and vandalism, he later stated that his intentions were to save the marbles from further destruction, 5

11 Byzantine Period dates : http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/byza/hd_byza.htm The Metropolitan Museum of Art,

date accessed : 5/11/09

12 Info : www.e-yliko.gr (Greek Ministry of Education) “The history of the Parthenon, the history of Greece” page 9,

date accessed 3/11/09

13 Venetian Attack : www.e-yliko.gr (Greek Ministry of Education) page 9, date accessed 4/11/09

14 Info : “Parthenon marbles : Return these exiles to Greece” ,

http://www.mjourney.com/news/News_from_Greece/643.return_marbles_to_Greece.shtml, date accessed : 8/11/09

15 Lord Elgin's dates : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bruce,_7th_Earl_of_Elgin date accessed : 5/11/09

16 Lord Elgin : http://www.parthenonuk.c om/DynaLink/ID/377/newsdetail.php , date accessed 31/10/09

17 The Elgin marbles : “Should they return to Greece?” page 25 ,author: Christopher Hitchens, Robert Browning,

Graham Binns, Verso publications 1997

18 What was removed : http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Elgin_Marbles%23Damage_to_the_Marbles ,

date accessed : 8/11/09

due to the ignorance of the Ottomans for the ancient Greek antiquities. 19 During the 19th century, England was undergoing a new and big phase of art appreciation, like a small renaissance. Since England was a powerful and prosperous empire which occupied many territories such as India, South Africa etc., it was in the position to enrich its artistic influences to a high level. The ancient Greek culture of the classical period was a valuable base for the sciences and arts, and had previously propelled Europe out of the Middle Ages into Renaissance.

Art from all over Europe and elsewhere would be brought to England by men who travelled around this continent, especially to places of rich culture and traditions, and would be bought by other aristocrats that were art collectors, and in that way, many artefacts from various cultures were accumulated to one place.

After bringing the marbles to Britain, Lord Elgin stored them in a humid basement for years, until he could finally sell them to the government in 1816 because of his big debts. The government then, gave them to the British museum.

This vandal act of Elgin triggered many reactions that were in their majority negative. It was described as an act of imperialism, vandalism and moral corruption. A new term was created due to his act, 'Elginism'.

The marbles were not immediately appreciated by the public, since they had no important role in England's economy and political status, but later on the artistic groups such as painters, writers and poets were inspired by them, by their symbolism of classicism and ideal beauty, and thus, played an important role in the later period of Romanticism. 20

Lord Byron, (1788-1824)21, a famous noble man and philelline from Britain that fought along the side of the Greeks against the Turks during the Greek Revolution got inspired by Elgin's “vandal” act to write a poem titled “The Curse of Minerva” and “Childe Harold”.22 He expresses his anger towards Lord Elgin and the grand damage that he caused to the Parthenon and to the Greek nation.

The Greek Revolution started in 1821, inspired by the preceded French Revolution (1789-1799) 23 which had raised the hopes for freedom and equality among the nations that had been under tyrannical regimes by occupant enemies. The Greeks had suffered under the Ottoman regime for nearly 400 years. The principles of the French Revolution that declared the concept of self-disposal and national conscience, dictated the need of preservation of a nation's historic memory, culture and identity through a common language.

After the Greek revolution ended in 1828, the Greeks finally regained their independence, became a sovereign state again. The need for a national identity surfaced again stronger than ever.

With the advent of the 20th century, and without any solution to this claim, Melina Mercouri, (1920-1994)24 a Greek actress and Minister of Culture from 1980 until 1990, took the initiative to bring the issue forward again, and made an 6

19 Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_a1tIL_DNs , Eleni Cubbit, Secretary of the British Committee, extract from Atheatos Kosmos, television show, shown at 16/6/09, “Alter” channel. Date accessed : 4/11/09

20 Foundations “Broken noses and missing limbs” article : http://ww2.jhu.edu/foundations/?p=8 date accessed : 8/11/09

21 Lord Byron's dates: “The Life and Work of Lord Byron” : http://englishhistory.net/byron.html , date accessed : 6/11/09

22 Info : http://atravelerslibrary.com/2009/06/19/traveler-lord-byron-parthenon/, date accessed : 4/11/09

23 French Revolution dates : Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution , date accessed : 8/11/09

24 Melina Merkouri's dates : Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melina_Mercouri , date accessed : 8/11/09

appeal to the British to simply give the marbles back with a speech she gave at Oxford Union.25 The British museum refused, their basic argument being that Athens didn't have a big and decent enough museum to present and store the marbles properly. They claimed that the marbles legally belong to Britain, that such a move would have a negative impact on British tourism, since these artefacts are the most important pieces of the British Museum's exhibition. They also presented the argument that the polluted air of Athens would damage the marbles. It is common knowledge, however, the marbles had been exposed to London’s polluted air already since the 18th century, during the early industrial revolution. Further damage also took place, when in 1938, the British Museum attempted to clean the sculptures with inappropriate substances and techniques, leading to damaging the artefacts even more. Anthony Snodgrass, the President of the British Committee, stated, from official information received, that some of the marbles changed colour, there was loss of details from their surface, pieces were broken, and that one millimetre of their surface was actually “worn out”, due to the cleaning that took place in 1938. 26

Melina Mercouri believed that the return of the Parthenon marbles to their homeland was the final and ultimate destination for them, “an act of homage to Greece as the cradle of democracy at a time when the country had only just recovered its own democratic principles” 27

All wondrous human accomplishments are considered to be owned by all cultures with the ideal of global unity. In the case of the Parthenon:

“The Parthenon has come to symbolize the democratic ideals founded by the ancient Greeks, and is therefore a structure that is not only close to the heritage of a nation, but that of all democratic societies throughout the world.” 28

The opening of the Acropolis Museum refired the discussion around the topic of the return between the two countries. After many debates and conversations, there haven't been any decisions on what should happen with the case of returning their return. The argument of the British now does not stand, for there is a new modern museum of the Acropolis, right opposite the big monumental hill. It now houses all the artefacts that remained in Greece, and still waits to fill its gaps by restoring the Parthenon marbles.

The Acropolis Museum is specially designed to present the sculptures as if they were on the actual temple which is just a few meters away. All the artefacts have a specific post in the museum that face the Acropolis where there is visual contact with the Parthenon, and visitors can see the artefacts as a continuation of the 7

25 Info: workmanlike (Greek Ministry of Education) “The history of the Parthenon, the history of Greece” page 13, date accessed 2/11/09

26 Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_a1tIL_DNs , Anthony Snodgrass, President of the British Committee, extract from Atheatos Kosmos (television show) shown at 16/6/09 “Alter” channel, date accessed 4/11/09

27 Quote : http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2004/jan/19/art.parthenon (article) “History in the making”, published: 19/1/04, date accessed : 2/11/09

28 “The Repatriation of the Elgin Marbles” by Sara Anderegg, published : June 2004, link : http://www1.american.edu/TED/greekmarbles.htm , date accessed 3/11/09

temple. Thus, the architecture of this accomplishment can be admired as a whole. The artefacts in the Acropolis Museum are placed in a way that they allow space for the missing pieces that are located in the British Museum. That is a deliberate statement from behalf of the museum and the Greek government for the return of the marbles.

"Cultural property constitutes one of the basic elements of civilisation and national culture and that its true value can be appreciated only in relation to the fullest possible information regarding its origin history and traditional setting” 29

(Unesco, 1970)

According to the British, the Elgin marbles are considered world heritage, and should remain in Britain, because the marbles represent a universal paradigm of human accomplishment. That argument can stand for all other artefacts from around the world, such as the famous Benin statuettes, or other major artefacts of Egypt. But the case of the Elgin marbles is different; they are pieces of a whole structure that is incomplete without them. For example, the statue of Aphrodite of Milos in the Louvre is an individual piece of art that is meant to be admired by itself. But the whole frieze of the Parthenon is meaningless without its original background. It is a solid piece of a series of sculptures that belong to the Parthenon, and therefore, cannot be admired as a whole at the same level as they would be if they were placed in their original context, amongst the rest of the sculptures in the Acropolis Museum.

The British Museum also houses artefacts from other important cultures, such as Egypt, or Benin. Another argument made by the British Museum on keeping the Parthenon marbles is that if the marbles were returned to Greece, then the rest of the artefacts would be asked by all the other countries to go back home also. But what can be argued against that is the fact that the marbles are unique sculptures that come from a unique structure of architectural perfection. There is a big collection of mummies in the British Museum, and other artefacts that are many in kind. The same with the Benin sculptures that are meant to stand individually.

On the contrary, the Parthenon marbles are parts of an unrepeated accomplishment, that make no sense if removed from their context. Imagine if the Tour Eiffel had been divided into pieces and sent miles away from Paris; or the Sphinx without its tail; these structures are meant to be viewed as a whole, not divided and disassembled.

Conclusion

Every country and nation has a symbol that represents their culture. One of them is the Parthenon, a symbol that does not only represent Greece; it represents the whole western civilization. It represents the cradle of Democracy, sciences, the arts and philosophy.

The loss of the Parthenon marbles means loss of identity and heritage to the Greeks. Even though, today's Greeks do not have a direct biological connection with the ancient Greek descendants, since it was around 2500 years ago, and also due to the invasions that Greece has undergone, the marbles still mean heritage 8

29 Quote : Unesco 1970, http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/repat.html , date accessed : 8/11/09

to today's Greeks, since they shared that common ground, ideals and mentality. Artefacts and ancient monuments are vital for the identity of a nation, since they represent antiquity and a nation's past that make a culture what it is today. The Parthenon and, by extension, the Parthenon marbles, reflected, in part, the Greek culture of the time. This culture is shared, to a certain degree, by the modern Greeks. Therefore, they also reflect the modern Greek’s identity. These marbles are especially important, because they are part of a symbol that defines the idealized version of this identity.

The return of the marbles to Athens would symbolize the ideal of a unfed nation with a strong symbol of identity that has been incomplete for hundreds of years.

“Greece has the lead role for culture. That is what Greece is, its heritage, its legacy, and if this is lost, it loses its identity.“ 30 - Melina Mercouri 9

30 Melina Mercouri on Parthenon marbles :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEs3379slrw&feature=related date accessed : 4/11/09

 

Bibliography

Books :

• “L'Acropole – Le sacre d'Athenes”, Excelsior Publications S.A. Various authors (not written in the Greek publication) In Greek : Orfeas Publications June 2009

• “The Elgin Marbles: Should they return to Greece?” author: Christopher Hitchens, Robert Browning, Graham Binns, Verso publications 1997

Links:

• “Age of Pericles”

The Golden Age : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Pericles , date accessed : 2/11/09

• “Architectural drawings of historical buildings, Parthenon, Athens ”

The metopes : http://www.classicbuildings.net/index.php?page=viewbuilding&id=15 , date accessed : 8/11/09

• “Broken noses and missing limbs”

Foundations http://ww2.jhu.edu/foundations/?p=8 date accessed : 8/11/09

• “Byzantium “

Byzantine Period dates : http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/byza/hd_byza.htm The Metropolitan Museum of Art, date accessed : 5/11/09

• “Elgin Marbles”

What was removed : http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Elgin_Marbles%23Damage_to_the_Marbles , date accessed : 8/11/09

• “French Revolution”

French Revolution dates : Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution , date accessed : 8/11/09

• “ Head of a horse of Selene from the east pediment of the Parthenon”

The British Museum http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/h/head_o f_a_horse_of_selene.aspx , date accessed : 7/11/09

• “History in the making ”

Quote : http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2004/jan/19/art.parthenon (article) “History in the making”, published: 19/1/04, date accessed : 2/11/09

• “ The history of the Parthenon, the history of Greece”

Greek Ministry of Education

www.e-yliko.gr (fle), page 6, date accessed 3/11/09

• “Lord Elgin - Saviour or Vandal”

Info : http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/parthenon_debate_01.shtml date accessed 31/10/09

• “The Life and Work of Lord Byron”

Lord Byron's dates:: http://englishhistory.net/byron.html , date accessed : 6/11/09

• “Melina Mercouri”

Melina Mercouri's dates : Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melina_Mercouri , date accessed : 8/11/09 10

• "Melina Mercouri on Parthenon marbles"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEs3379slrw&feature=related , date accessed : 4/11/09

• "National Symbol"

Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_symbol date accessed 8/11/09

• "The Parthenon Frieze"

http://ancient-greece.org/art/parthenon-frieze.html date accessed : 8/11/09

• “Parthenon marbles : Return these exiles to Greece”

http://www.mjourney.com/news/News_from_Greece/643.return_marbles_to_Greece.shtml , date accessed : 8/11/09

• "Pericles"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pericles date accessed: 31/10/09

• “Pos eklepse ta marmara tou Parthenona o Elgin”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_a1tIL_DNs , Eleni Cubbit, Secretary of the British Committee, extract from Atheatos Kosmos, television show, shown at

16/6/09, “Alter” channel. Date accessed : 4/11/09

• “The Repatriation of the Elgin Marbles ” by Sarah Anderegg, published: June 2004 http://www1.american.edu/TED/greekmarbles.htm , date accessed 3/11/09

• “Reversing the Flow of Traffic in the Market of Cultural Property”

Quote : Unesco 1970, http://saiic.nativeweb.org/ayn/repat.html , date accessed : 8/11/09

• “Safeguarding the world's ancient treasures”

Info : http://www.parthenonuk.com/DynaLink/ID/377/newsdetail.php ,date accessed 31/10/09

• “Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin”

Lord Elgin's dates : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bruce,_7th_Earl_of_Elgin date accessed : 5/11/09

• “Traveller Lord Byron Speaks Out about Parthenon Marbles”

http://atravelerslibrary.com/2009/06/19/traveler-lord-byron-parthenon/, date accessed : 4/11/09

Illustrations :

Cover image:

Reuters

Link :

http://www.cardozo.yu.edu/life/summer2000/elgin/display.jpg

(Figure 1)

Link :

http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=1643

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(Figure 2)

South metope

Link:

http://www.classicbuildings.net/uploads/images/image/Anton%20tekeninge/Metope%20south

%2027%20Lapith%20fighting%20a%20centaur.jpg

(Figure 3)

Horse of Selene on east pediment:

Link :http://www.flickr.com/photos/haberlea/2850249605/

(Figure 4)

East pediment:

“Reconstruction of East Parthenon: Pediment, Metopes, and Frieze”

Link: http://www.utexas.edu/courses/introtogreece/lect20/img25Eparthrecons.html

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