06 March, Melina Mercouri passed away on this day and yet decades later she stands as a beacon for those campaigning for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. During her time as Minister of Culture, her determined effort to reunite the Parthenon Marbles started a global quest.
It was Melina that agreed to James Cubitt's suggestion to set up a British Committee (1983) to campaign for the reunification in the UK and it was Melina that inspired Emanuel Comino too, who went on to set up the first Committee in Australia (1982).
Quote from Melina's Mercouri speech at Oxford Union in London in 1986:
"And the Parthenon Marbles they are. There are no such things as the Elgin Marbles.
There is a Michael Angelo David.
There is a Da Vinci Venus.
There is a Praxitelles Hermes.
There is a Turner "Fishermen at Sea".
There are no Elgin Marbles!
You know, it is said that we Greeks are a fervent and warm blooded breed. Well, let me tell you something – it is true. And I am not known for being an exception. Knowing what these sculptures mean to the Greek people, it is not easy to address their having been taken from Greece dispassionately, but I shall try. I promise.
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.
We are ready to say that we rule the entire Elgin enterprise as irrelevant to the present. We say to the British government: you have kept those sculptures for almost two centuries. You have cared for them as well as you could, for which we thank you. But now in the name of fairness and morality, please give them back. I sincerely believe that such a gesture from Great Britain would ever honour your name. Thank you."
At some point she was asked if she really believed that the Marbles would be returned in Greece and her reply continues to resonate, especially today 06 March:
"I hope that I will see the Marbles back in Athens before I die; but if they come back later I shall be reborn"
18 Oct 1920 - 06 Mar 1994
Radio interview with Dame Janet Suzman, current Chair of the BCRPM and when she was inspired by Melina Mercouri
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