30 June 2020, Athens, Greece

As part of 'The Venizelos Library Talks' held by the British Embassy Athens, Bruce Clark gives an online lecture titled 'A personal view of Greece, Britain and the arts', followed by a piano recital by Manos Kitsikopoulos.

Introduced by Kate Smith, HM Ambassador, this lecture is worth watching and we found it inspiration, not least as we too believe that cultural diplomacy needs to be upheld and may it help bring about many exciting new chapters to Anglo Greek relations.

Listen to the full lecturehere.

We pay tribute to all the great musicians also and include violinist Michael Iskas 

and pianist Manos Kitsikopoulos

Festive season at the Acropolis Museum, December 2019

The Acropolis Museum invites visitors to a festive season full of activities during December 2019. Creative mobile workshops for children, gallery talks for adults, Christmas music from the Jazz Octet, famous musical songs from the S.T.A.B. saxophone quartet and special gifts at the Acropolis Museum shops, means there is something for everyone to enjoy during this festive season.

Children’s workshop “Festive stories”

What kind of festivals did the ancient Athenians have and which were the children's favourite? Let’s discover them at the Acropolis Museum and bring to life the emotions that these feasts brought to children and adults alike. 

Days & hours: Saturday 21/12, Sunday 22/12, Saturday 28/12 & Sunday 29/12, 11 a.m., 1 p.m. & 5 p.m. 

Duration: 90 mins

Ages: 6-11 years old

Participacion: Participation for children is free. A general admission fee (5€) is required for parents/escorts

Reservations: For registration, please visit the Information Desk at the Museum entrance on the same day (25 children per workshop)

The workshops are held by the Department of Educational Programme – Acropolis Museum and the Department of Information & Education – Acropolis Restoration Service (YSMA).

Gallery talks “The lost statue of Athena Parthenos”

The Acropolis Museum brings to life, digitally, the statue of Athena Parthenos. Made of gold and ivory, this masterpiece was designed by Phidias for the Parthenon. The Museum invites you on a walk of discovery about its construction materials and techniques, its myths, radiance and adventures.

 Days & hours: Saturday 7/12, Saturday 14/12, Saturday 21/12 & Saturday 28/12, at 11 a.m. in English and at 1 p.m. 

Duration: 50 mins

Participation: The gallery talk is free of charge. Only the permanent exhibition ticket is required (5€). Limited to 30 visitors per session. For registration, please visit the Information Desk at the Museum entrance on the same day.  

Gallery talks at the exhibition “Chisel and memory. The contribution of marble craftsmanship to the restoration of the Acropolis monuments”

Visitors will have the opportunity to attend presentations of an exceptional exhibition of photographs of the marble craftsmen of the Acropolis at work. The temporary exhibition was organized by the Committee for the Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments and the Acropolis Restoration Service (YSMA).

Days & hours: Saturday 14/12, Saturday 21/12 & Saturday 28/12, at 12 noon

Duration: 40 mins

Participation: The gallery talk is free of charge. Limited to 25 visitors per session. For registration, please  isit the Information Desk at the Museum entrance on the same day.  

nSunday 22 December,at 12 noon, the Acropolis Museum will host theJazz Octet of the Athens Military Guardfor a music concertincluding jazz and Christmas world renowned melodies,on the ground floor of the Museum .

On Sunday 29 December, at 12 noon, the Acropolis Museum will host the well-known S.T.A.B. saxophone quartetfor a New Year’s music concert  ncluding renowned musical songs, on the ground floor of the Museum.

 On Tuesday 31 December, at 12 noon, the Association of Asia Minor “Nees Kydonies” will sing traditional New Year’s carols on the ground floor of the Museum.

The Acropolis Museum Charm for 2020
According to myth the tortoise won the race over the hare, the former with his patience and dedication winning over the flippant self confidence of the hare. The ancients considered that the benevolent tortoise protected them from the evil eye and that its blood was an antidote to poison. A tortoise lead weight featuring a tortoise in relief of the 3rd to 1st century BC inspired the Museum’s charm of 2020. You can see the original exhibit in showcase 2 (no.11) of the Gallery of the Slopes at the Acropolis Museum.

Festive meals and Christmas mood at the restaurant

During the festive season, the Museum restaurant will serve traditional festive meals and sweets. Christmas jazz nights are also taking place every Friday night by famous jazz music ensembles. For reservations please contact the restaurant during Museum opening hours on +30 210 9000915.

Thursday 25 April 2019, Cambridge Union Debate 

This House Would Return Looted Art Back to its Country of Origin

Proposition:

Alice Procter:
Alice is an independent tour guide and art historian, best known for running the often sold-out Uncomfortable Art Tours, telling the ‘ugly truth’ about the artefacts in Britain’s museums.

Dame Janet Suzman:
Dame Janet is a renowned actor and director of both stage and screen and an Academy Award nominee. She is currently co-Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, a significant lobby group working to ensure the Marbles’ return to Athens.

Professor Lord Colin Renfrew:
Hailed as, ‘The Great Restitutionist,’ Lord Renfrew is an archaeologist and Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. He is a former Master of Jesus College and a former President of the Union.

Opposition:

Dr. Kevin Childs
Kevin is a writer and lecturer on art history and has recently developed a series of pieces looking at the contribution to culture and history made by LGBT people over the millennia. He writes regularly for Independent Minds and the Independent.

Neil Curtis
Neil Curtis is Head of Museums and Special Collections at the University of Aberdeen. He is Convenor of University Museums in Scotland, Vice President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and a member of the Ethics Committee of the Museum Association.

Lewis Thomas                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Lewis is a third-year historian at Sidney Sussex College.

Below Dame Janet Suzman's prsentation

Mr President,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               The burning of Notre Dame should remind us all how much a building can mean to a people.

               Fellow debaters, ladies and gentlemen,

               I am here pleading for some exquisite pieces of stone to be returned to their birthplace. They have been given shelter for 200 years and now they need to go home. They can no longer be kept hostages to time.

              I am not the first by a long shot -

              In 1986, Melina Mercouri - in a similar debate in what you no doubt call the Other Place - the Oxford Union - was tremendously moving on this special case - specialbecause of what the Parthenon means to the Greeks…

               …means to the world.

               You might say all of Western culture is predicated on this building. It is the logo of UNESCO. Every classical building in the ancient - and modern world - springs from its genius.

               It's where democracy was born.

               And single-mindedly, incomprehensibly, a mere lordling from these isles cut bits off that edifice, which, so perfect in its symmetry, is a work of art in itself.

               The temple tells the thrilling story of the pan-Athenaic procession - carved in relief by Phydias' incomparable team - surging at a gallop round the entire building; Olympians and their creatures once adorned the pediments.

              These marbles were wrenched from a building that belonged - not to 'the one true god', not a tyrant, nor a king - but to the people.

              And there - astonishingly - it still is. After two thousand years plus it still stands atop the sacred rock, bloody but unbowed, and in the eye-line of millions of Athenians going about their business down below. It is embedded in their national identity.

              Imagine the dome of St Paul's sitting in Potzdammerplatz? A Stonehenge dolmen standing in the Tuileries - no, there IS no national equivalent here.

             I was privileged to have had a meeting with His Excellency, President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopios Pavlopoulos in Athens last Monday the 15th April, while I was attending a conference on the subject of these marbles.

               He wanted to make a very clear point - that the Greek government has never asked for any other piece of statuary in any other museum in the world to be returned to them. And that it never would.

               On the contrary, he said - the Greeks are very proud that the Louvre has the Winged Victory of Samothrace - they are happy to see it there.  

              They are NOT happy that Elgin attacked the Parthenon. They want their marbles back where they belong.

               The British Museum, via the Dept of Culture, stays tight-lipped. That insulting silence is way past its sell-by date.

              The reply to the President's latest request to re-consider by the Culture Secretary prompts me to offer him this simple advice: "Do NOT attempt to 'follow the logic of restitution to its logical conclusion', Mr Wright". Museum acquisitions were not exactly logically obtained, why should restitutions follow suit?

No slippery-slope-ism allowed; each case on its merits if you please.

                              --------------------------------------------------------

               A brief reminder: Greece was under Ottoman occupation when Lord Elgin was appointed Ambassador to Athens.  

               Napoleon was invading Egypt. So, on the principle of 'my enemy's enemy is my friend' sacrificing the Parthenon's glories to Elgin's whims was probably for the Sultan a mere bagatelle.

               However, exactly what 'glories' was Elgin allowed to take? Did the Sultanate specifically designate which?

               Proofs, if they exist, have hitherto skulked in murky clouds of smoke and mirrors.

               There is vague wording in an Italian transcript of a 'firman' - an official permission - in the Elgin archives - which give him leave to take 'qualque pezzi di pietra' - the word qualqueindicating 'some' or 'a few pieces of stone'.

               He was permitted to 'copy, draw, mould and dig' around the base of the Parthenon only.

              Dr Tatiana Poulou, an archeologist working on the Parthenon site today likened his depredations to the destruction by ISIS of Palmyra. That is, catastrophic.

               Prof Dimitrios Pandermalis, Director of the New Acropolis Museum, understates these barbarisms of Elgin's as: 'at least surrealistic…' as he wryly points out the upper part of this horse and the lower legs of that.

              Scholars have known, and further Turkish research has confirmed that there exist no permissions to take the friezes and pediments, and none to take down the metopes.

               Hence this headline in the Greek edition of The NY Times: Dated April 16th - the day after my meeting with the President:

               "Acropolis Museum director says Ottoman archives debunk the claim Lord Elgin had permission to remove sculptures".

               The historian William St Clair knows more about the smoke and mirrors than anyone and is soon to publish his further findings, and I think he won't mind if I say that the headline above will not rock his boat.       

                                             -------------------------------------------------

               Ladies and gentlemen - there is far too much to say about the manner of Elgin's acquisitions: his huge bribes to Ottoman high-ups, his trail of 'shattered desolation' - as a witness described the rape of the metopes - the ship that sank with the marbles aboard (Poseidon briefly rejoiced!), Elgin's bankruptcy forcing him to sell to the nation instead of hiding them in his Scottish pile. Yes…he had wanted them for himself!

              Elgin was a terrible imperialist, but the truly colonial-imperial act was that of the British Parliament in 1816 in recognizing Elgin's title to his loot by buying it from him. That Act of Parliament thereby claimed 'ownership'.

               But the BM is not a private company with a board of directors. Trustees are required solely to look after things entrusted to their care, not play at politics.

               Does culture exist outside of politics? I think not.

               Anyway, look, it's done. The BM has them.

               The hornet's nest of Ottoman legalities still unraveling leads me to dwell rather on the NOW, not the THEN.

                                -----------------------------------------------------------

               Post-World War II, international laws should surely persuade parliament to re-think its position?

               Questions arise: does an occupying power have legitimacy to dispose of a vassal nation's heritage for the rest of history?

               Should Britain own a mass of foreign heritage for the rest of time?

               The ownership title that Britain exercises today surely should end at these shores?

              The BM's Director, Hartwig Fischer, has developed a trope about separation being a 'creative act'. Well, he would, wouldn’t he? The Marbles are one of the BM's star attractions.

               The Rodin show last year re-inforced the marbles' supremacy in execution and their diminished meaning in isolation.

               The BM once said the Greeks couldn’t look after their own marbles. The stunning New Acropolis Museum opened all of ten years ago, with the Parthenon serenely in view from every glass-walled gallery. One of them empty of its own. But waiting…

               We can't put Humpty together again but now you can visibly link the two - a revelation for visitors.

              The BM is a great encyclopaedic institution - and the Aladdin's Cave of conquest.

               There's a mood abroad that it must wake up to.

               A revolt against colonialist attitudes.

               The violence of the "Rhodes Must Fall" movement at Cape Town University made sure he did. That's the blunt end of hurt feelings.

              The Museums Association takes a more nuanced and ethical approach. When the balance of power was so heavily skewed towards imperial authority, blunt 'no's are not enough, it says. Polls taken in 2012 are 73% for the return of sculptures to Greece.

               The director of the Rijksmuseum recently said: "It's a disgrace that the Netherlands is only now attending to the return of colonial heritage…We should have done it earlier and there is no excuse".

                Guidelines for their return, he suggests, intend to offer a framework similar to existing directives for Nazi loot claims.

               The V & A is showing an open mind, Macron is thinking out of the box, St Mark's horses are back in Venice, Sweden has returned Icelandic Sagas, Easter Island will have its guardians back, Nigeria its Benin figures - and look! - the heavens have not fallen!

              It is high time the BM showed us a heart within the beast. Make models for heavens sakes! - but do the right thing!

             In the name of fairness and morality' said Melina in 1986 'please give them back. Such a gesture from Great Britain would ever honour your name'.    

A great initiative between the Ministry of Tourism, the Municipality of Athens, and Google has landed and it is promoting Athens as a year-round, sustainable destination.

This new experience is aptly called “Athens. The city is the museum”. Who would want to disagree that Athens is indeed a living, breathing “museum”? We certainly concur that Athens is indeed a living, breathing 'museum'! No matter how often so many of us visit, there's always something both old and new to discover, explore and enjoy.

The series of experiential audio tours invite Athenians as well as visitors, to discover Athens’ street art scene, enjoy its tasteful culinary experiences, immerse themselves in magical music events, look up awesome architecture, and more. The well documented city spots and those located in the lesser-known neighborhoods provide both the old and new aspects of this city that are well worth enjoying, by day and by night.

Athens, through its inhabitants and its rich historical, and cultural identity, itself becomes the museum. It is easily accessible from all over the globe and worth discovering 365 days of the year. 

Visit athens.withgoogle.com to access the campaign video and audio walks. When in Athens, once you selects an audio walk from the webpage (athens.withgoogle.com), a map appears where walk stops are marked with a numbered ‘pin’ as part of a recommended walking route. A dotted line will show you how to make your way to the start of the walk, but at the same time, have the flexibility to select any stop along the route and automatically be re-routed to get there directly. On each stop on the walk, you'll be able to hear stories, interviews, and audio installations connected to the actual place.

Happy visit to Athens!

How the Much-Debated Elgin Marbles Ended Up in England
The author of a new book, Bruce Clarkand his latest article published 11 January 2022, in the Smithsonian Magazine.

When Thomas Bruce, Seventh Earl of Elgin, arrived in the city he knew as Constantinople—today’s Istanbul—in November 1799, he had every reason to hope that his mission as Britain’s ambassador to the Ottoman sultan would be a spectacular success.

A year earlier, Napoleon had invadedOttoman Egypt, and Britain hoped to become the sultan’s main ally in reversing the French conquest. The dispatch from London of a well-connected diplomat descended from the kings of Scotland was itself a gesture of friendship toward the Turks. Then 33 years old, Elgin was an experienced statesman who had previously served as a British envoy in Brussels and Berlin.

As well as competing in geopolitics, the British were vying with the French for access to whatever remained of the great civilizations of antiquity. On this front, too, Elgin was confident of faring well. His marriage in March 1799 to a wealthy heiress, Mary Nisbet, had given him the financial means to sponsor ambitious cultural projects. While traveling through Europe en route to Constantinople, he recruited a team of mostly Italian artists led by the Neapolitan painter Giovanni-Battista Lusieri. Their initial task was to draw, document and mold antiquities in the Ottoman-controlled territory of Greece, thus preserving these ancient treasures on paper and canvas, in part for the edification of Elgin’s countrymen, most of whom would never otherwise see Athens’ statues, temples and friezes.

From the start, though, the artists’ mandate was shrouded in careful ambivalence. Elgin declaredthat simply capturing images of the treasures would be “beneficial to the progress of the fine arts” in his home country. But in more private moments, he didn’t conceal his determination to decorate his home in Scotland with artifacts extracted from Greece. “This … offers me the means of placing, in a useful, distinguished and agreeable way, the various things that you may perhaps be able to procure for me,” he wrote to Lusieri.

The initially cloudy mission of Elgin’s artistic team culminated in a massive campaign to dismantle artworks from the temples on the Acropolis and transport them to Britain. Elgin’s haul—representing more than half of the surviving sculptures on the Athenian citadel—included most of the art adorning the Parthenon, the greatest of the Acropolis temples, and one of the six robed maidens, or caryatids, that adorned the smaller Erechtheion temple. Large sections of the Parthenon frieze, an extraordinary series of relief sculptures depicting a mysterious procession of chariots, animals and people, numbered among the loot.

Among critics, the removal of the so-called Elgin Marbles has long been described as an egregious act of imperial plunder. Greeks find it especially galling that Elgin negotiated the removal of such treasures with the Ottoman Empire, a foreign power that cared little for Hellenic heritage. Calls to return the sculptures to Athens began in Elgin’s own day and continue now: While in London in November 2021, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated plainly that Elgin “stole” the ancient artworks. (The British Museum, for its part, has always insisted that its mandate of displaying its collections for the purpose of public education does not allow it to simply give objects away.)

Does Elgin deserve his terrible reputation? He certainly derived little personal happiness from his antiquarian acquisitions. While making his way back to Britain in 1803, he was detained in France by the government. He returned to his native shores three years later, in 1806, only to find that many of the artifacts he had collected were still stuck in Greece. Getting them to England would take six more years: Beginning in 1807, the earl was involved in acrimonious divorce proceedings that left his finances in ruins, and he had to implore the state to buy the objects whose extraction he had financed. In the end, the government acquired the trove for £35,000—less than half of what Elgin claimed to have spent employing Lusieri and his team, arranging sea transport, and bribing Ottoman officials. He was denounced as a vandal in sonorous verses by the poet Lord Byron, a fellow member of the Anglo-Scottish aristocracy, and the broader British public alike. If Elgin deserved punishment, he got a good deal of it in his own lifetime. But in the eyes of posterity, he has fared still worse.

In blurring the line between documenting the antiquities of Greece and taking them away, Elgin was following a template created two decades earlier by the French. A promising French artist, Louis-Francois-Sebastian Fauvel, received an assignment in 1784 from his country’s ambassador to the Ottoman sultan to make exact drawings and casts of Greek antiquities. By 1788, the French envoy was urging his young protégé, then at work on the Acropolis, to go much further than drawing or molding: “Remove all that you can, do not neglect any means, my dear Fauvel, of plundering in Athens and its territory all that is to be plundered.” After his diplomatic boss fell out of grace amid the French Revolution, Fauvel became an antiquarian and energetic looter in his own right. When Elgin took up his post in Istanbul in 1799, he and his compatriots saw it as their patriotic duty to outdo the French in this race to grab history.

Also of note is the fact that Elgin was often surrounded by people whose zeal for the removal of Greek antiquities outpaced his own. These individuals included his ultra-wealthy parents-in-law, whose money ultimately made the operation possible, and the shrewd English clergyman Philip Hunt, who worked as Elgin’s personal assistant. When he learned of his appointment to Elgin’s staff, Hunt explained to his father that the job seemed a “brilliant opportunity of improving my mind and laying the foundation of a splendid fortune.”

In spring 1801, Hunt went to Athens to assess the progress being made by Lusieri and his artistic team. He realized that simply gaining access to the Acropolis, which also served as the Ottoman garrison, would require a burdensome series of presents and bribes to local officials. The only solution, he concluded, was to secure an all-purpose permit from some high-ranking person in the entourage of the sultan. By early July, Hunt had induced the deputy to the grand vizier to issue a paper that would allow Elgin’s team to work unimpeded on the Acropolis: to draw, excavate, erect scaffolding and “take away some pieces of stone with old figures or inscriptions,” as the permit put it.

Over the following month, the situation devolved rapidly. With Napoleon apparently on the verge of invading Greece, Hunt was sent back to Athens on a fresh mission: to reassure Ottoman officials of British support and ward off any temptation to collaborate with the French. Seeing how highly the Ottomans valued their alliance with the British, Hunt spotted an opportunity for a further, decisive extension of the Acropolis project. With a nod from the sultan’s representative in Athens—who at the time would have been scared to deny a Briton anything—Hunt set about removing the sculptures that still adorned the upper reaches of the Parthenon. This went much further than anyone had imagined possible a few weeks earlier. On July 31, the first of the high-standing sculptures was hauled down, inaugurating a program of systematic stripping, with scores of locals working under Lusieri’s enthusiastic supervision.

Whatever the roles of Hunt and Lusieri, Elgin himself cannot escape ultimate responsibility for the dismantling of the Acropolis. Hunt at one point suggested removing all six of the caryatid maidens if a ship could be found to take them away; Elgin duly tried find a vessel, but none were available.

Still, once back in England, Elgin adamantly claimed that he had merely been securing the survival of precious objects that would otherwise have disappeared. In evidence provided to a parliamentary committee, he insisted that “in amassing these remains of antiquity for the benefit of my country, and in rescuing them from imminent and unavoidable destruction with which they were threatened, … I have been actuated by no motives of private emolument.” Betraying the bigotries of the day, Elgin argued that if the sculptures had remained in Athens, they would have been “the prey of mischievous Turks who mutilated [them] for wanton amusement, or for the purpose of selling them to piecemeal to occasional travelers.” He outlined examples of numerous important Greek monuments that had disappeared or been damaged during the previous half-century. In offering these justifications, he was trying to persuade the committee that he had enlarged the scope of his antiquarian project—from merely drawing or molding ancient sculptures to taking them away—only when it became clear to him that the unique treasures were in danger.

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of these claims. Upon his arrival in Istanbul, the earl had declared an interest in decorating his own house with ancient treasures. But even if Elgin’s argument was dishonest, his point about the likely fate of the artifacts, given the geopolitical situation at the dawn of the 19th century, is a serious one. We can assess its merit in light of what actually happened to the sculptures that stayed on the Acropolis (because Elgin’s people didn’t quite manage to remove them all) versus those that were shipped to England.

Contrary to Elgin’s stated fears, the sculptures that remained in Athens did not vanish. After 1833, when the Ottomans left the Acropolis and handed it to the new nation of Greece, the great citadel and its monuments became a focus of national pride. Protecting, restoring and showcasing the legacy of the Athenian golden age has been the highest priority for every Greek government since then.

 Of course, the monuments and artifacts of the Holy Rock, as Greeks call it, have not entirely escaped damage. Scorch marks from a fire during the 1820s Greek War of Independence, during which the Acropolis changed hands several times, remain visible today. In recent years, the contours of some sculptures have been worn away by air pollution—a problem that was particularly acute in the 1980s. But Elgin’s people also caused damage, both to the sculptures they removed and to the underlying structure of the Parthenon. (“I have been obliged to be a little barbarous,” Lusieri once wrote to Elgin.) Then there were the marbles that sankon one of Elgin’s ships in 1802 and were only salvaged three years later. Even after they arrived at the British Museum, the sculptures received imperfect care. In 1938, for example, they were “cleaned” with an acid solution.

With the benefit of two centuries of hindsight, Elgin’s claim that his removal of treasures from the Acropolis was a noble act, in either its intention or its result, is dubious at best. Still, the earl’s professed concern for the preservation of the glories of ancient Athens raises an interesting line of thought. Suppose that among his mixture of motives—personal aggrandizement, rivalry with the French and so on—the welfare of the sculptures actually had been Elgin’s primary concern. How could that purpose best be served today? Perhaps by placing the Acropolis sculptures in a place where they would be extremely safe, extremely well conserved and superbly displayed for the enjoyment of all? The Acropolis Museum, which opened in 2009 at the foot of the Parthenon, is an ideal candidate; it was built with the goal of eventually housing all of the surviving elements of the Parthenon frieze.

Of the original 524-foot-long frieze, about half is now in London, while another third is in Athens. Much smaller fragments are scattered elsewhere around the globe. The Acropolis Museum’s magnificent glass gallery, bathed in Greek sunlight and offering a clear view of the Parthenon, would be a perfect place to reintegrate the frieze and allow visitors to ponder its meaning. After all, British scholars and cultural figures who advocate for the sculptures’ return to Athens are careful to frame their arguments in terms of “reunifying” a single work of art that should never have been broken up.

That, surely, is a vision that all manner of people can reasonably embrace, regardless of whether they see Elgin as a robber or give him some credit as a preservationist. If the earl really cared about the marbles, and if he were with us today, he would want to see them in Athens now.

Bruce Clark wrote this article for the Smithsonian Magazine and it was published online on 11 Janyary 2022.

22 December 2021, Athens

At a conference organised by the Greek Culture Ministry, Greece presented the Greek edition of the UNESCO Military Manual, addressed to the Greek Armed Forces in the context of the protection of cultural property both in time of peace and war.

The Military Manual, the first international training tool of this kind, was launched by UNESCO on 05 December 2016 and is intended to serve as a practical guide to the implementation by military forces of the rules of international law for the protection of cultural property in armed conflict. It combines a military-focused account of the relevant international legal obligations of States and individuals with suggestions as to best military practice at the different levels of command and during the different phases of military operations, whether by land, sea or air.

Monday 15 April 2019,  Acropolis Museum, Athens.

Maria Vlazaki, Secretary-General of Ministry of Culture and Sports:

"Honourable organisers and participants; dear guests, colleagues and friends, dear campaigners.With great interest and attention, we watched the speakers' presentations and video messages during today’s Conference held at the Acropolis Museum. Each presentation at today's International Conference for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures was an in-depth approach to the quest to reunite the Parthenon sculptures and each one approached this from a different perspective.

Let us recall the main points of today's speeches: During the inaugural session, the Excellency President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos, emphasised that this international conference is yet another link in the long chain of the international struggle for the reunification of this unique cultural collection.He underlined that the fair request for the return of the Sculptures has a long history and began after Greece gained her independence. Moreover, the construction and opening of the Acropolis Museum further weakens the sacrilegious "alibi" of the English side that stated that Greece had no proper place for the sculptures to be exhibited.

(To read the President's full speech, please follow the link here.)

The Minister of Culture and Sports, Ms Myrsini Zorba, stressed that 37 years have passed since the UNESCO Conference in Mexico when Melina Mercouri first formally called for the return of the Sculptures, and referred to their removal as  cultural vandalism, an open trauma for the eyes of all humanity.In the decades that followed, Greece and the Ministry of Culture supported, the return of the Sculptures and their reunification in order for the monument to acquire its integrity - a one-way street, a lasting pledge that ‘we’ have a debt to resolve through dialogue.A pending historical, cultural, scientific, aesthetic, political and ethical quest towards the reunification of the Sculptures continues. The Minister congratulated all who helped, promoted and defended the claim, and in particular the national committees.

The President of the Acropolis Museum, Professor Mr. Dimitrios Pantermalis made a very interesting retrospect presentation of the history of the Parthenon monument, presenting in a way particularly characteristic and explaining the ‘adventures’ of three different parts of the sculptures, to their acquisition by the British Museum. He then noted the need to further investigate the Elgin material.

Mr. Christoforos Argyropoulos, President of the Greek Consultative Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, and President of the Melina Merkouri Foundation, argued that in the discourse related to the repatriation of the sculptures from the Parthenon, the Greek side uses real arguments - whereas the British, deliberately and repeatedly use misleading claims.

Mrs. Marianna Vardinoyianni, UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassador, reviewed her actions and initiatives. She referred to both the national and international dimension of the claim, as well as the legal and ethical aspects of the claim, while she also mentioned her aim to continue to gather signatures from prominent international personalities in order to add to the calls for the return the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens.

Former Minister of Culture and Sports, Lydia Koniordou, stressed the Greek side's insistence for a diplomatic path towards the reunification of the Sculptures without forgoing the possibility of using legal action. She too is keen to raise greater awareness of public opinion, which would act as a leverage to persuade the British Museum. Finally, she praised the effective and fruitful collaboration with the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, while observing that the polls continue to also show support for Greece’s legitimate demand.

The second session was followed by the latest developments in the case of the return of the sculptures, coordinated by the Director of the newspaper KATHIMERINI, Mr. Alexis Papakelas.

Professor Bernard Tschumi, architect of the Acropolis Museum, in a brief video message, presented the architecture of the Parthenon friezeand its exhibition at the Acropolis Museum where the visitor can see the sections of the Frieze as they were intended to be seen on the length and breadth of the Parthenon and not like those that hang in the British Museum. He likened the ones in the British Museum as paintings hanging on a wall. The sculptures, he concluded are the living entity of the Athenian democracy.

Academic Eleni Arbeler, President of the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, presented interesting historical aspects of the issue by analysing the conflict between two British scholars and the Sculptures in the late 19th century, and Cavafy's commentary as a journalist - columnist at that time.

Professor Louis Godart, President of the International Association for the Reunion of Parthenon Sculptures, described Italy's actions to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural goods and that his role as a counsellor to the President of the Italian Republic will continue to help him to help Greece in her quest.He appreciated that England is also unable to support the integrity of this symbol of eternal values ​​and aesthetic excellence, especially today where concepts and symbols such as the European Union are shaken and endangered by extreme populist forces. He concluded by saying that the return of the sculptures to the Acropolis Museum would be a move that would honour England and show respect for the whole of Europe.

Actress Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, spoke of Melina, public pressure and opinion polls too. She apologised for the mess that the UK found itself at this time because of Brexit. She stressed that timing was everything and that young people no longer appreciate colonial practices and policies. In this context, many museums have and will continue to return cultural artefacts to their countries of origin. She finally suggested that the British Museum would soon be marginalized for its choices, namely to own and expose arts from other countries.

The lifelong scholar of the Monuments of the Rock, Professor of the National Technical University of Athens, Mr. Manolis Korres, presented with great emphasis the basic architectural particularities of the monument, as well as the ideological reports of the overall programme of the construction of the Parthenon’s masonry.

This panels presentations were brought to a close by UK journalist Sarah Baxter, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Sunday Times from London. She admitted that England seems to lose the battle in the moral field while expressing the view that the Parthenon Sculptures should be returned to Greece in the same way that the "Coronation Stone" was returned to Scotland.In addition, she expressed the view that the new technologies now make it possible to produce impressive copies of works of art, and that the British Museum could use copies of the Parthenon sculptures and return the authentic ones to Greece.

The third session was dedicated to the discussion of the strategy and the perspectives of the topic, Mr. Nikolaos Stambolidis, Professor of Archaeology, University of Crete, and the Director of the Museum of Cycladic Art, mediated this panel of speakers.

Dr. Tom Flynn, an art historian and writer in his short video message, provided a message for this conference, he expressed the view that public pressure for reunification is increasing, to such an extent that only the "cultural deaf" might not hear it.In addition, he mentioned the 10^th anniversary of the Acropolis Museum, stressed that the international museological tendency for smaller museums linked to archaeological sites, while large encyclopaedic museums represent an outdated imperialist concept.

Professor Paul Cartledge, Professor Emeritus of Greek Culture at the Cambridge University School of Classical Studies and Vice President of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, added that the British side's obsession no longer has any legal or moral support in modern day. He spoke of the firman and the Turkish experts that presented in Athens earlier this year. These experts proved that these were but travel permits. In fact no firman would have granted Lord Elgin the right to take down from the building what he did remove.

Dr. Artemis Papathanassiou, Legal Counsellor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and member of the Greek Consultative Committee for the Reunification of Parthenon Sculptures, highlighted recent developments regarding the return of cultural goods to their countries of origin within the UN and UNESCO, focusing on the emblematic case of the Sculptures of the Parthenon.The most recent development within UNESCO is the adoption of a Recommendation in May 2018 by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Promotion of the Return of Cultural Goods in their countries of origin. In the extremely important recommendation, the Commission first takes into account the historical, cultural, legal and ethical dimensions, while it is recalled that the Acropolis is an emblematic monument of universal scope that has been included in the World Heritage List. In December 2018, the UN Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing the institutional character of the International Conference on Return of Cultural Goods and their final texts, while mentioning once again the request for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures.

Brigadier Fabrizio Parrulli, Commander of the Carabinieri Corps of Antiquities Department, explained that his Department held the world's largest digital database of stolen artworks. He went on to describe the initiative to set up and run the Task Force ‘Unite for Heritage’, which is involved in missions for the protection of cultural heritage in cooperation with local bodies and intergovernmental organisations both within Italy and internationally.He took this opportunity to refer to a similar initiative by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. As early as August 2016, a registry of executives willing to assist businesses to protect the cultural heritage was set up in Italy’s Ministry. Some 51 executives, archaeologists, engineers, conservationists, lawyers, museologists and architects continue to offer their services to international cooperative enterprises under the supervision or invitation of UNESCO or other organisations to record damage, provide know-how and assistance in the protection and recovery of cultural goods. 

Professor Emanuel Papi, Director of the Italian Archaeological School of Athens, referred to the long-standing practice of seizing antiquities as early as Roman times, and just before the start of the struggle for the Independence of the Greek State, Greece was the scene of the ‘important monuments of the ancient cosmos’ (Aphaia in Aegina, Epicureus of Apollo, Parthenon). He concluded his speech by asking the Italian State and the Sicilian region to return a piece of the sculpted decor of the Parthenon, which is now in the Museum of Palermo.

Dr. Elena Korka, Honorary Director-General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, testified the results of the thorough research she conducted in archive material, which reveals both the truth and the fiction that surrounds the removal of the sculpture from the Parthenon, while demonstrating legitimate use by distorting data related to the export of the sculptures by Lord Elgin, and the subsequent acquisition by the British Museum in 1816.

Mrs. Sophia Chiniadou Kambani, Head of Cultural Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic, focused on the erosion of the meaning of the sculptures when viewed away from the context of the monument, and set the goals for the success of the relevant struggle: preventing forgetfulness, the use of diplomatic channel as a main strategy to offer stability and consistency to the campaign, the emergence of the importance of the monument's uniqueness and integrity, as well as the unity and coordination that must identify every initiative, national and international.

The closing session, was co-ordinated by Marlen Taffarello-Godwin, from the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

The Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports, Mr. Constantine Stratis, noted that the Parthenon Sculpture case also raises a series of wider issues pertaining to the perceptions of the preservation, restoration, protection and enhancement of the cultural heritage, as well as the way in which it should be presented to the international community. It highlights the problems surrounding antiquity, the property regime, the commercialisation and trafficking of antiquities.Greece has continued to abolish all the arguments of the British side concerning both the preservation and protection of the Sculptures, as well as their appearance and presentation to the public, while the British Museum's rhetoric is rejected internationally as the remnant of an outdated colonial logic.The interventions of the representatives of the National Committees were then heard. They presented with enthusiasm their campaigning thoughts, some also outlined the efforts they have undertaken or implement in their individual countries, contributing to the swell in public opinion for reunification in many parts of the globe. Greece thanks them from the heart! We keep these great ideas and suggestions and we are committed to working on them and making the right use of them.

Professor Ove Bring, a member of the Swedish Parthenon Committee, Professor of International Law, Swedish National Defense College, Stockholm University, former lawyer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: proposes that the British Museum obtain exact copies and temporary repatriation of the property. He suggested that ownership is shifted to Greece and that Greece then in turn continues to lend the sculptures to the British Museum.

Emanuel Comino, Founder and President of the International Organization of Organizations (IOC-A-RPM) - supports cultural diplomacy, remarking on how it was Melina Mercouri that encouraged him to work with the British Committee, founded by James Cubitt. He added that the two committees had worked closely together for nearly 40 years and that he would continue to give his personal and committee’s support. He mentioned the International Colloquy held in London in 2012 before the London Olympics, the second held in Sydney, Australia in November 2013 and the third held in Athens in July 2015. He also mentioned attending BCRPM’s 200^th commemorative event held at Senate Housewhere Melina Mercouri also spoke, this event was held in London 07 June 2018 to mark 200 years since British Parliament voted to purchase from Lord Elgin his collection of sculpted marbles collected from the Parthenon and elsewhere on the Athenian Acropolis.

George Vardas, Secretary of the International Association (IARPS), Australian Council for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, Secretary of the Greco-Australian Council: analysed the legal dimension of the issue and suggested that the International Court of Justice should be consulted on this matter.

Mrs. Alexandra Pistofidou, Founder and President of the Austrian Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Sculptures, Historian-Palaeographer: presented her Committees use of social media networking as a tool and how these tools might be used to further the campaign of the IARPS.

Professor Maria Guimarães Kangussu, Brazilian Committee for the Reunification of Parthenon Sculptures, Professor of Philosophy, Federal University Ouro Preto: presented the Brazilian activities which included raising students' awareness of the plight of the Sculptures, talked about the website and a photographic exhibition that they will present at their embassy in Athens in November of this year.

Mr Roland Devivier, President of the Belgian Committee, spoke about their new website and facebook page, Mr Pantermalis' lecture in Brussels in January of this year and a Luxembourg decision to set up a committee there too.

Ms Donatella Monterisi Andreani, French Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles, read out a moving letter from Ms Arberler to President Macron requesting the return of the section of the frieze that is currently in the Louvre. The letter also went to the French Ministry of Culture and the Directorate of the Louvre.

Mr Ole Norrback, Finnish Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Sculptures, a former Minister and Diplomat, former Ambassador of Finland to Greece, proposed better co-ordination of the actions of national committees in relation to the International Association. He feels there has to be activities on both national and international level.

Ambassador Krister Kumlin, Swedish Parthenon Committee, former Swedish Ambassador to Greece, supported Professor Bring's statement and spoke of the hope that we may get from a young people’s movement.

Professor Dusan Sidjanski, President of the Swiss Committee, Professor of Political Sciences, Geneva University, Honorary President of the Geneva Cultural Centre: talked about cultural diplomacy, but added the need to exert pressure, rather than a judicial claim, and analysed his thoughts on Greek culture and democracy, bringing the value of history and people. Without the will of people the campaign would have no traction.

In summing up, the return of the Sculptures is also directly linked to the theoretical discussions taking place across Europe on the return of so-called "colonial" cultural goods. This is why the current meeting of the IARPS is important not only for Greece but also for the global community. The Greek claim, a timely and imperative demand, is constantly winning supporters at the level of Civil Society and International Organizations. This is confirmed by the recent developments in both the UN plenary session and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Commission, as well as by the presence here at the Acropolis Museum of the International Association and its member Committees.After all, the arguments of the British side have now been broken down one by one:

• Elgin had no legal authority to remove the Sculptures as he did, as modern archival research has also shown.

• A modern Museum operates in direct visual contact with the Holy Rock and the Parthenon.

• New technologies can provide solutions for visitors to the British Museum by creating three-dimensional digital copies of maximum precision.

• The Greek side constantly declares its intention to collaborate creatively with the British Museum, as it has done with other museums, for the presentation of periodical reports and the development of joint research programmes.To achieve our goal, cultural diplomacy and public awareness remain our main weapons. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports continues to coordinate and process the necessary steps, updating it on the basis of the data, in cooperation with the National Advisory Committee, the Acropolis Museum and, of course, the Presidency of the Republic.

In the above context, having the International Committees and National Committees working alongside us, we believe that it would not be inconceivable to design and implement a campaign that would take place at the same time internationally through modern technologies and social media tools. On behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, we commit ourselves that the relevant department, the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Goods will undertake a public awareness campaign on April 15, 2020, and we call on a similar action on the same day, one year from now. We propose that the Committees discuss the matter at their meeting tomorrow.

We believe that the outcome of this conference is a strong and loud message. In a turbulent period that Europe is experiencing today, the return of the Sculptures from the British Museum will be a gesture of unity and belief in the ideals and values ​​of European culture. As Italy's important institutional representatives are among us, the first step, with the consent of the Italian Government, would be the permanent return of the fragment from the Pietus in Palermo, Italy, and that of the Vatican Museum, with the consensus Holy See. And finally, a larger coordinated effort to return the fragment from the Louvre. Such an achievement would be a decisive precedent for Britain's next moves.                                                                         

Thank you all. 

verage on this, check the articles listed below:

For coverage on the conference, some of the articles are listed below:

Greek president demands UK return Parthenon marbles from ‘murky prison’ of British Museum

Greek president brands British Museum a 'murky prison' for Elgin Marbles

Greece calls on the UK to free the Parthenon marbles from the British Museum's 'murky prison'

Greek president demands UK return Parthenon marbles from British Museum’s 'murky prison'

Interview by Ta Nea, UK Correspondent  Ioannis Andritsopoulos with the Director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer

Mr Fischer, do you think the Greeks are right to want the Parthenon Sculptures back?

I can certainly understand that the Greeks have a special and passionate relationship with this part of their cultural heritage. Yes, I understand that there is a desire to see all of the Parthenon Sculptures in Athens.

Would the British Museum consider returning the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece?

There is a long-lasting debate on this issue. The Parthenon Sculptures in Athens are being shown in a specific context and since 2009 in this wonderful new museum in a very fascinating display. And the Parthenon Sculptures that are in London tell different stories about a monument that has a very complex history. As a temple of Athena, and then a Christian church and then a mosque. It was blown up in the 1687, and abandoned and neglected. And then rediscovered. And the rediscovery is obviously part of European history. We are showing the Parthenon Sculptures which are at the British Museum in a context of world cultures, highlighting achievements from all over the world under one roof, and showing the interconnectedness of cultures. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the monument’s history is enriched by the fact that some (parts of it) are in Athens and some are in London where six million people see them every year. In each of these two locations they highlight different aspects of an incredibly rich, layered and complex history.

Greece says that it’s not just about returning the sculptures. It’s about reuniting the sculptures. Because they are a single work of art that should not be divided and fragmented. What’s your take on that?

People go to some places to encounter cultural heritage that was created for that site. They go to other places to see cultural heritage which has been moved and offers a different way to engage with that heritage. The British Museum is such a place, it offers opportunities to engage with the objects differently and ask different questions because they are placed in a new context. We should cherish that opportunity. You could of course, and with reason, regret that original contexts are dissolved.
When you move cultural heritage into a museum, you move it out of context. Yet that displacement is also a creative act. That is also true for the Acropolis Museum; the sculptures are out of their original context there. Nothing we admire in the Acropolis Museum was created for the Acropolis Museum.

It’s there though. The Museum faces the Acropolis. It’s not the same as being (the Sculptures) here in London.

Absolutely not. You’re right. They are close to the original context but they have still been taken away from it and been transformed through this act.

So the answer to the question if you would consider returning the Sculptures to Greece, is it a no? Is it a yes? Is it a maybe?

The British Museum was created in 1753 and opened in 1759 to allow people to not only encounter world cultures free of charge, but also to draw comparisons between cultures. Parliament who created this institution transferred the responsibility for this collection to the Trustees, stipulating that this collection has to be preserved for future generations. And that fiduciary responsibility the Trustees of the Museum take absolutely seriously. The Trustees feel the obligation to preserve the collection in its entirety, so that things that are part of this collection remain part of this collection. And to share them as much and wherever this is possible. The British Museum lends thousands of objects every year. And we also lend to the Acropolis Museum, we have excellent relations with our colleagues there.

But that is the reason why the Museum will not permanently return the Sculptures? What you just told me about the Trustees.

Yes.

However, the British government has the power to pave the way for the Sculptures’s return. The majority of the trustees (15 out of 25) are appointed by the government. The parliament could also legislate. So there is, in theory, a way for it to happen.

Well, if the British Parliament wants to legislate on this, then it is sovereign in doing so. It would have to pass primary legislation to change the legal basis that we are operating on today.

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to interview the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. He told me that if he became PM he would make sure the Parthenon Sculptures return to Greece. What’s your comment on that?

I think that this is Mr Corbyn’s personal view on the question, that you take note of. Obviously, that is not the stance and the view of the Trustees of the Museum.

And of the Director as well?

And of the Director.

Are there active talks between the Museum and Greek officials or authorities about a possible return of the sculptures?

There are no active talks.

According to all polls, the British people are in favour of the reunification. Does that mean anything to you?

I see the value of the objects that are part of the collection of the British Museum in being at the British Museum in the context that we just discussed.

There is a question over the scultures’s ownership. Would you accept that Greece is the legal owner of the Parthenon Sculptures?

No, I would not. The objects that are part of the collection of the British Museum are in the fiduciary ownership of the Trustees of the Museum.

Would you consider an open-ended loan to Greece?

There are two aspects to this: firstly, there are no indefinite loans. Every thing we lend, even on a long-term basis, will, at some point, return to the British Museum. And then it can go out again. The other aspect is that when we lend, we lend to those places where the ownership is acknowledged.

There were several media reports last month regarding a leak in the Duveen Gallery where the Marbles are housed. As you can imagine there was a negative reaction. What’s your explanation about what happened?

We had a tiny leak in one area of the roof in the Parthenon Sculptures’ galleries. A small quantity of rain entered the gallery, but did not touch any of the Sculptures and this was fixed right away.

But you could see plastic containers collecting water next to the Sculptures. Did you find this embarrassing to the Museum?

Buildings, especially buildings that are of a certain age, have to be taken care of. I don’t want the slightest little leak in any of the roofs of the Museum. We’re all aware of our responsibilities. And that we all have to do the utmost to live up to that responsibility. And that is what we do.

Could you reassure the Museum’s visitors that in the future when it rains again they’re not going to see the same phenomenon?

We will be renovating the building over the next few years. The immediate problem has been solved.

Have you visited the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum?

Of course I have.

Did you like it?

You cannot ask me if I like the Parthenon! 

Why not? Some people might not like it. They have the right not to!

I think it’s one of the miracles of world culture. When you stand in front of it you are filled by awe and admiration. That also goes for the Museum, but in a different way. The Museum is a major achievement. It’s a beautiful museum. It’s very inspiring.

Don’t you think that something is missing there?

Oh, I think that everywhere in the world something is missing. That is our human condition.

What are the chances the Parthenon Sculptures returning to Greece?

I think I’ve answered that question.

You are the first non-British director of the British Museum since 1866. How does that feel, especially in times of Brexit?

I feel, not as a German, but as the person I am, extremely honoured to be the Director of this institution. And to be responsible for the future of this institution, along with all my colleagues and the Trustees and the patrons. I do not assume this role as a German or the son of somebody who was born French or somebody who is married to somebody who was Italian and is now French and in between was Peruvian. I assume this as a European, who is a citizen of the world and who cherishes this.

Do you think Brexit would affect the British Museum’s operation?

Yes. I think that, depending on what kind of Brexit will happen in the end, if it happens, it will have a very strong impact.

Do you fear a no-deal scenario?

A no-deal Brexit would have a more profound impact.

Why did you want to become Director of the British Museum?

It was not my plan from birth, nor when I started my career. But being asked to think about it, I thought that this is the most wonderful place in the world.

Have you thought about what you’d like to do after leaving the British Museum – whenever that happens?

I’ve never thought about those things. I concentrate on the work.

An option would be for you to be the Director of the Acropolis Museum. If you take the Marbles with you!

You are a very creative journalist!

For more on Hartwig Fischer's plans for the Beitish Museum, do read the article by Martin Baily in the Art Newspaper, 01 September 2017, follow the link here.

Delivered at the IARPS Conference, 16 September 2022, in the Pandremalis Auditorium of the Acropolis Museum

Paul Cartledge, Vice-President, of BCRPM & IARPS

‘Just how democratic (in what ways, to what extent) was the (original) Parthenon?’

[Thanks: to Culture Minister Mendoni, to Acropolis Museum Director Stampolidis, to everyone else involved in the organisation of this great conference, and to you, my audience, but above all to Prof. Kris Tytgat, Chair, IARPS.]

‘Ten Things’

It’s often said that the Parthenon – not its original ancient name – is a democratic building, a symbol of ancient Athenian democracy, even a symbol of world democracy. So I thought it might be an idea to dial down the rhetoric (good ancient Greek word!), and to re-examine what exactly democracy meant in Classical Athens in the middle of the 5th century BC/E, and how exactly the Parthenon fitted into that uniquely original political project.

I’ve a little skin in this game of scholarship: in 2016 I published on both sides of the Atlantic a book entitled Democracy: A Life; and two years later, in 2018, the book was re-published in a cheaper, paperback version, but with a crucial addition – an Afterword: in which I traced a brief account of the startling events that had occurred between 2016 and 2018, affecting – sometimes seriously badly - the nature and course of democracy in the contemporary world, again on both sides of the Atlantic (with special reference to the Brexit referendum vote in the UK, the election of President Trump in the US, and the election of Président Macron in France).

My first slide says ‘ten things’, but there are of course many more things than ten that people ought to know about ancient Greek democracy – or rather, since there were many more kinds than just the one – democracies in ancient Greece. But the first and biggest thing of all is this: that no version of democracy in ancient Greece was anything much like any version of ‘democracy’ currently on offer in Europe, the Americas, Australasia or anywhere else in the world today. For this basic, categorical reason: all ancient democracies were direct – the demos, the people, ruled for and by themselves – whereas all modern democracies are representative, indirect, in which the people chooses others – representatives – to rule for them, that is, both in their interest (they hope) and, no less relevantly, instead of them.

As the jacket-image of my Democracy book perfectly illustrates. Of course, it’s not a photo of a meeting of the ancient Athenians’ Assembly (ekklesia) being held on the Pnyx hill below the Acropolis and being addressed by a helmeted Pericles. It’s the idealised vision of a German painter working in the 1840s, within a decade or so of the foundation of the modern Greek state – which looked back to ancient Greece and especially to ancient Athens for validation as well as inspiration. But it was painted when Greece was formally a monarchy, not even a republic let alone any form of modern democracy!

So, how different was the ancient Athenian democracy of Pericles’s time from anything we might recognise as ‘democracy’ today? Let me count the ways!

I’m going to use the text and image of the decree/law shown on this slide as my way in. But first, a word of chronological warning. This decree and this stone date from 336 BC/E, that is, over a hundred years after the Parthenon was first commissioned, in 448/7. And between 448 and 336 a lot of water had flowed under several bridges, so far as democracy at Athens was concerned. In 411 in the midst of a long, expensive and bloody war – with Sparta, then aided by Persian money – the Athenian democracy had been overthrown in a reactionary and violent rightwing coup and replaced with a narrow oligarchy. That narrow oligarchy had lasted only a few months and was replaced with a broader oligarchy, which in turn lasted only 8 months or so, so that by the summer of 410 Athens had regained the democracy it had in 448 (and had had since about 460). Only to lose it again, together with the war itself, in 404, after which Sparta imposed an even narrower and nastier oligarchy, a junta of just 30 ultra-oligarchs. They proceeded to rule very violently, murderously, aided by a Spartan garrison on the acropolis, so violently and so controversially that after only a year even Sparta stood aside when a democratic Resistance defeated the forces of the junta in the Peiraieus, and from 403 Athens was a democracy again.

But not the same democracy again: a new, different and in some ways more moderate or less extreme democracy, one that was moderate enough not to provoke the Athenian ultra-oligarchs into attempting another coup, and one which lasted some 80 years until it was forcibly exterminated by the new Macedonian rulers of Greece, in 322. The document of democracy on your screen belongs to this final phase of democracy, to a very late stage of it, by when the Athenians had been heavily defeated in battle by the Macedonians (Chaeronea, 338), their Theban allies had had their democracy suppressed and a Macedonian garrison installed on the acropolis of Thebes, and the majority of – democratic – Athenian citizens feared that the same fate was about to be imposed on them. Whereupon they passed the Law proposed by Eucrates, a law specifically against not oligarchy but against Tyranny. Here’s a key clause (I paraphrase): If any Athenian should suspect another of trying to bring about the replacement of democracy with a one-man dictatorship, then he might lawfully kill such a traitor without incurring the punishment for culpable homicide.

Why was it against Tyranny? For two main reasons: first, the imposition of a tame local, pro-Macedonian tyrant was how Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander, liked to rule the subordinated, formerly free cities of mainland Greece; second, the Athenians’ own democratic mythology held that their democracy had originally been instituted in the late 6th century thanks to an act of Tyrannicide – it was a myth, it wasn’t true historically, but it was none the less potent for that: in 336, most Athenians automatically identified democracy as non- or rather anti-Tyranny.

So, that tells us what the Law of Eucrates was – it doesn’t tell us how the Law came to be passed, and it doesn’t tell us why the Law was inscribed on a handsome stele of Pentelic Marble with a relief decoration above the text, and set up on public display in the Agora (civic centre) of Athens – where it was unearthed by the American School in the 1930s. Let’s begin with the relief decoration. That was put there partly because not all Athenian adult male voting citizens aged 18 or over (of whom there were about 25,000 in 336) were fully literate. And the image chosen – an image of the Goddess Demokratia crowning an image of Mr Joe Athenian citizen, as if he were a heroic victor at the Olympic Games – was to remind and reassure the Athenians that at least one very important Goddess was on their side. Besides of course Athene Polias (‘of the City’) and all the other Athenas – Promachos, Parthenos etc etc – not to mention Zeus and all the other gods of the official Athenian pantheon, and all the heroes and heroines both local and non-local (some of them depicted on the Parthenon) whom they worshipped. In Classical, democratic Athens religion and politics were inseparable.

OK, so now I want to go right back to the beginning, to the origins, of the Law of Eucrates. He was its proposer and original drafter, but between the moment of proposal and the moment of inscription and public display lay several crucial other moments. First, Eucrates had had to put a proposal in some verbal form to the Council (Boule) of 500, a standing committee of the Assembly (Ekklesia) responsible for managing its business, both preparing it and seeing that its decisions were carried out. The 500 were selected annually, by lot (the democratic mode), to serve for just one year in the first instance – they could serve again, but just once, and not in 2 successive years. It’s possible, even likely, that in 337/6 Eucrates was himself a Councillor – but he didn’t have to be, because ‘any Athenian who wished’ (the democratic principle) could put a proposal before one of the 40 – yes, 40 – pre-Assembly Council meetings, and the Council and its ‘presidents’ could decide either to welcome or to reject or to welcome and then debate/modify its terms. If a majority was agreeable that the Assembly should have a vote on it, then the Council could either send it forward just as the proposer (Eucrates) had formulated it or amend it and then put it forward to the Assembly in amended form – where it could be amended again. By this time it had turned into a probouleuma, something ‘pre-deliberated’.

The time for the next Assembly has arrived – imagine, in the tense situation of early 336, at least 6000 Athenian citizens in good standing (formal checks were minimal, but this was a relatively small, close-knit society) processing up onto the Pnyx and taking their seats on the ground. To hear the herald read out the proposal of Eucrates, now a probouleuma, whether amended or not in Council. The herald would then bellow out – this is in the open air – ‘who wishes to speak?’, implying that any one Athenian citizen who wished might stand up on the bema (speaker’s platform), a very egalitarian-democratic notion of public political freedom of speech (isêgoria). Probably, in actual practice, only known, experienced and authoritative speakers would for the most part have the courage and oratorical ability to do so, and probably there wasn’t much in the way of debate but just speeches PRO and CON – or PRO but suggesting amendments. A vote would then be taken, not a secret ballot but a raising of the right hands, and the numbers for or against would be ‘told’, that is assessed rather than individually counted – unless the voting appeared very close. As it would not have been in this particular case.

However, by 336 the Athenians had for long been cautious about passing any new laws – without the further scrutiny of another, much smaller committee, drawn - again by lot – from the permanent annual panel of 6000 Athenians who served during a year as jurors in the People’s courts. Once that committee had ratified the Assembly’s vote, Eucrates’s proposal was a law, and steps could be taken – by the relevant subcommittees of the Council – to have it inscribed, with accompanying relief decoration, and erected in the Agora.

Now… let’s transport ourselves back a century or more, to 448 BC/E. Then, there was no distinction drawn between a temporary or local decree and a general, permanent law, so there was no need for a further ratifying legislative step after the Assembly’s vote on the probouleuma proposing the (rebuilding of the) Parthenon. But – and it’s a big ‘but’ – implementing the Assembly’s vote on that was far far more complicated; and, secondly, though the Parthenon was visually and financially going to be the biggest thing on the new Acropolis, it was not actually the most important – in religious, cultural and political terms. That was the Temple of Athena of the City (Polias), which eventually was to come into being in the form of the Erechtheion on the opposite, north side of the Rock. And there were other temples and monuments besides the Older Athena Temple and the Older Parthenon that the Persians had destroyed in 480-479 and that the Athenians wanted to resurrect, and others again that the Athenians might want to add, e.g. an Athena of Victory (Nike) temple.

So, whoever was going to be the main or sole proposer of a rebuilt Parthenon was going to have to work out and put forward an immensely complicated proposal, a building programme indeed, and one that had to be costed, and then project-managed. I can’t go into all the finer details in the time available to me, but let’s just say that the ancients’ view – and pretty much the modern view too – is that the chief political architect of the Acropolis (re)building programme from 448 to the early 420s was the man depicted in that 1840s German painting I showed you earlier – Pericles son of Xanthippos of the deme Kholargos, to give him his full democratic name. Surely, though, he needed help – and the evidence suggests he could call on assistance from people who were not just the best experts in all the relevant fields but also personal friends of his. I’m thinking especially of Pheidias. Very very few other Athenian democratic politicians could do the same. And I do want to emphasise that Pericles was a (very) democratic politician. Despite his aristocratic and wealthy background, he devoted himself to what he took to be the best interests of the Athenian people, most of whom were not aristocratic or rich.

So, let us imagine that it was his proposal that in 448 went first to the Council then to the Assembly and received a majority vote in favour. What then? What we Brits call the nitty-gritty – deciding on a ballpark figure for costs (to be met by public not private funds), selecting architects, seeing that the architects got paid, and then that they, together with the contractors, employed all the necessary craftsmen and secured all the necessary materials. A bureaucratic nightmare - but somehow or other it was achieved, together with its cult-statue by Pheidias, and fast (by 432). The ultimate secret, I believe was the appointment of a subcommittee, reporting to the Assembly via the Council, of ‘Overseers’ (epistatai), just half-a-dozen, with a permanent secretary and deputy secretary. Some of their records or accounts – written, public, the democratic way – survive: I’ll cite just IG i3 449 dated 434/3 BC, conveniently available in ‘Attic Inscriptions Online’ with original Greek text and English translation and commentary. Pericles, typically, served his turn as an Overseer.

Nevertheless, Pericles – and the Athenians generally – received what we Brits call ‘stick’, severe criticism – not mainly because the Parthenon was a democratic building (though there were oligarchic critics, Athenians and others, who did badmouth both the Parthenon and Pericles for precisely that reason) but because it seemed out-of-scale, hubristic even, and too self-glorifyingly Athenian. After all, the Athenians – with the Spartans – hadn’t defeated the Persians singlehanded in 480 and 479. And as the Parthenon didn’t function only as a religious building – it became the City’s Treasury, its Fort Knox or Bank of Greece – there were those Greeks who saw it as not so much a symbol of democratic freedom but rather as a symbol of potential political and economic oppression. These were the Greeks who feared and resented what they thought of as an Athenian ‘empire’. Which it was – though it was also, paradoxically, a democratic empire! They did things differently then and there!

And it’s on that paradoxical note that I want to leave you. Yes, the Parthenon was – and is – supremely democratic, but not everyone saw it that way then - or see it that way today.

Worth watching and listening to the many voices that continue to be inspired by the Parthenon and it's unique and iconic location on the Acropolis Hill. The images are arresting, as is the 15 million plus global visitors to date that have discovered the meaning of so many artefacts. The Acropolis Museum is an experience that many more will continue to enjoy for years and decades and centuries to follow.

As the world continues to look to the UK Prime Minister, his government & the British Museum, for the will and understanding that is needed to facilitate the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce hosted an online event on Saturday 10 April 2021, which included a virtual tour of the Acropolis Museum with Professor Pandermalis. The event was beautifully hosted by Chryssa Avrami. You can watch the event by following the link here.

After the welcome to the event, Chryssa Avrami introduced HACC President Markos L. Drakotos, Esq. who noted that “the Acropolis is the heart that breathes life into the Eternal Harmony of this world balancing our existence within time and space." 

Avrami then introduced His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, who also called for the return of the Parthenon Marbles which remain in the British Museum.

Consul General of Greece in New York Konstantinos Koutras, remembered his first visit to the Acropolis at a young age and reminded us all of the sense of pride he feels when foreign dignitaries visit the site and are awe-struck. So many of us can still remember President Obama's memorable November 2016 visit to the Aropolis Hill and the Acropolis Museum before he concluded his term as US President.

Mareva Grabowski Mitsotakis, the wife of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, spoke about the miracle of the Parthenon which saw the birth of democracy and so much more - the 'gifts' of civilization that continue to influence our every day lives even today.

Journalist Nikos Aliagas, academic Byzantinologist Helen Glykatzi-Ahrweiler, Paramount Pictures CEO Jim Gianopulos,Olympic gold medalist Yiannis Melissanidis, Phedon Papamichael, Albert Bourla, John Coumantaros also added insights, as did actress, producer and musician Rita Wilson.

Marianna Vardinogiannis, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador also added her call for the reunification remembering Melina Mercouri's words before she passed away: "when the Marbles will return to Greece, I will be reborn."

Photographer Robert McCabe noted that the Acropolis changes in the light and weather conditions and is a never-ending kaleidoscope for a photographer. When asked to summarize the Acropolis in one word, McCabe said “continuity” as the Acropolis connects the present an ancient Greek civilization and language. We couldn't agree more that the Attica light is such an important element of how the ancient treasures on the Acropolis Hill and the Acropolis Museum are viewed and celebrated by visitors from all over the globe.

Musician George Dalaras, Fashion Designer Mary Katrantzou, Managing Partner IRI/Marshall Islands Registry Clay Maitland, composer Evanthia Reboutsika, Computer Scientist and 2007 Turing Award-winner Joseph Sifakis, Town & Country Magazine Editor in Chief Stellene Volandes, and composer Stavros Xarhakos also shared their thoughts.

A Q&A session with Professor Pandermalis, moderated by Sylvia Papapostolou-Kienzl, followed the virtual tour and concluded the event.

We reflected that the sculptures removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin at the start of the nineteenth century were once referred to by the ame Lord as 'stones of no value'. A man of position and influence, Lord Elgin had paid for the sculptures to be forcibly removed, originally destined for his Scottish ancestral home. A fire sale in 1816 has seen them exhibited the wrong way round in a room that has very little natural light in the heart of Bloomsbury at the British Museum's Parthenon Galleries, Room 18. They have been senselessly divided for over 200 years.

Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles states: "These sculptures are like no other and have done their job in London. It is time for them to join their other halves in the Acropolis Museum's Parthenon Gallery, as it is here, that visitors can have a single and aesthetic experience simultaneously of the Parthenon and its sculptures."

We wish to thank the Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce for today's memorable event, it was uplifting and enlightening to hear so many voices calling for the reunification, there was light, φως...... in the voices and the images of this live event. We especially wish to thank Professor Pandermalis for taking us on this vitual tour, especially as many of us that annually visited the museum, have been unable to do so and cannot wait to return to see that light and those sculptures, the Parthenon Marbles.

Boris Johnson says ‘2021 is a significant year for Greece and a very exciting year for Britain to be invigorating our relationship with the Greek people’. If only. If only that good brain of his endowed with an impeccable classical education would dare to think outside the boring old box. Go on, Boris, reinvigorate the relationship with the one thing that would do it instantly: give back those Parthenon marbles. The old refrain that they were legally acquired is an invention, a factoid; say something often enough and people begin to believe it. Boris is a master of that sort of sell. There never was any proof of permission to export those figures, and the laws of the time have become inappropriate and dated. These sculptures represent the very heart and soul of Periclean Greece and so of the modern Greek state. The Ottomans are long gone. After 200 years the Marbles have done their job of enlightening and civilising the peoples of the West. The British Trustees do not own them they hold them in Trust, and to decide that the Greek people should in their celebratory year of 2021 have a chance to bathe in the aura of the originals would be a magnificent, and wholly decent gesture on their part. Those figures so brutally detached from the building still soaring above Athens, should be back where they belong, in sight of the Parthenon itself. A beautiful museum awaits them.

Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles 

 Now is the time, now is the hour, Prime Minister Johnson, to show that you are a true philhellene. That you truly respect not only what the brave Greeks of 1821 and following accomplished, against huge odds, in the name of liberty, but also what the Hellenes of the 5th century BCE achieved in creating a culture and a civilisation that has been an example and model to the world in the 25 centuries since. Consider what Pheidias, master-craftsman and master-designer, and architects Ictinus and Callicrates, would think if they knew that their masterpiece, the Parthenon, had been torn apart and kept apart - not only by a gunpowder explosion in the heat of battle with Venetians long, long ago but by British hands and minds, from the 7th Lord Elgin to the current Trustees of the British Museum even today. Do your duty by the Greeks, would-be philhellene PM Johnson! Reunify.

Professor Paul Cartledge, Vice-Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) and the International Association (IARPS)

 ‘Our Prime Minister’s comments are very disappointing. He talks of friendship and cooperation with our European friends and claims that the Parthenon marbles were obtained legally. But the permit for their removal from Athens was granted by the occupying Ottoman forces and the Greeks themselves had no say in the matter.

I believe that works of art should not be returned to their country of origin save in the most exceptional of circumstances. In the case of the marbles their ownership is doubtful to say the least, the British Museum only has some of them and there is a rightful place for them at the Acropolis Museum where the surviving sculptures could be displayed in their entirety. If we are not prepared to return them permanently could we at least lend then to the Parthenon for the 2021 celebrations.’

Lord Alf Dubs, Labour Life peer

It is one of the wonders of antiquity and reunifying it would be an act of reverence, writes Alf Dubs.Letter published in the Guardian 27 February 2022.

It was with some surprise that I read the reunification of parts of one of the greatest works of classic antiquity described as a herald of “cultural cleansing” in a letter (16 February) on the question of the return of the Parthenon sculptures.

The removal of 75 metres of the Parthenon’s frieze, 15 metopes and 17 pedimental figures from Athens represents at best an abuse of power by Lord Elgin, and at worst an act of vandalism and spoliation that far exceeded the bounds of the dubious permission granted to him to “take away some pieces of stone” which were “preserved in rubble” around the Parthenon.

Tuesday, 12 August, 2014. The day started with the tragic news that actor Robin Williams had died. He will be remembered by the world for his amazing parts in many iconic firms, when he made so many of us cry and laugh as well as reflect on so many levels - Mrs Doubtfire, how could you leave now? 

The campaign to reunite the sculptures from the Parthenon has lost a great, yet humble supporter. He will be remembered for his love of all things Greek, not least the sculptures from the Parthenon.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.

And we humbly thank Robin Williams for his support. 

...."I go to all the Greek islands... " , said... Robin Williams. " I have seen archaeological sites that made me think: I can not believe that I am in the country that gave birth to everything we know, everything we read in Greek mythology. Greek history is something that the whole of humanity should respect and salute. Perhaps the Greek economy is going to hell, but this does not mean that you (Greeks) are helpless. Economic data is constantly changing and in Europe and in America and around the world. What never changes is the heritage, your identity. The Parthenon is not leaving Athens. It's there to remind that all this progress and prosperity may return. Today I am in England, for example, and I have nowhere to go. What to see? Buckingham Palace?  As and when I go to Germany, I do not care to see the Berlin Wall. But one can not ignore Delos, the Parthenon and Mycenae !", Robin Williams in an interview with Proto Thema newspaper.

Stephen Fry first wrote a wonderful 'Modest Proposal' in support of the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. This came after the campaign lost Christopher Hitchens to cancer.

The ties between Christopher Hitchens and our Committee stretch over considerable time and culminated in the third edition of his book ‘The Parthenon Marbles: A Case for Reunification’. This is available from Verso as a paperback or an ebook, the latter was launched on the 07 June 2016 at the Parthenon Marbles Bicentenary Commemorative Eventheld at Senate House. This edition was dedicated to James Cubitt and has a preface that Nadine Gordimer wrote.

Stephen Fry begins his proposal with these words:"I have a modest proposal that might simultaneously celebrate the life of Christopher Hitchens, strengthen Britain’s low stock in Europe and allow us to help a dear friend in terrible trouble."

Perhaps the most beautiful and famous monument in the world is the Doric masterpiece atop the citadel, or Acropolis, of Athens. It is called the Parthenon, the Virgin Temple dedicated to Pallas Athene, the goddess of wisdom who gave the Greek capital its name."

To read Stephen Fry's 'Modest Proposal' in full, follow the link here. 

Post writing this  proposal, Stephen took part in the Intelligence Squared debate: 'Send them back: The Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Athens',which was won 384 for to 125 against. Then in April 2013 at the invitation by the then Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, Stephen visited Athens, the Acropolis and Benaki Museums. He went on to Delphi, Ancient Olympia and Messini. To read more on this trip, kindly visit the Greek Tourism Organisations web site here. 

On 04 November the Metro carried the story of Stephen asking the UK once again to ‘stand on right side of history’ and return the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum to the Acropolis Museum in Greece. More on this Metro article by Mel Evans here.

There are a few points to raise on the article in the Metro including the fact that the Greek government's request first started after Greece gained independence and susequent requests culminated in the 1980's when iconic Melina Mercouri visited London and made her appeal to then British Museum Director, Sir David Wilson. The aricle refers to the 'Elgin Metopes' but this ought to read 'Marbles' or sculptures as the metpes are but one set of sculptures removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin.

At the time that Melina came to visit the British Museum as Minister of Culture for Greece, two Committees were campaigning, the first is that of Emanuel Comino in Australia, which was founded in 1979 and BCRPM in the UK, which was founded in 1983.

Stephen Fry tweeted to his followers to support  the petition set up by John Lefas of Lefas Humanitas and the campaign 'Lost My Marbles'. Mr Lefas funded Geoffrey Robertson's book 'Who Own History' and has launched a web site to complement this new campaign, alongside a petition asking the UK Government  to respond to global calls for artefacts to be returned to their place of origin. Mr Lefas is looking to use the petition to change the British Museum Act of 1963. 

BCRPM members John Tasioulis and Edith Hall were on the panel discussion at King's College with Geoffrey Robertson earlier this year to analyse 'Who owns history?' and you can read about that event here. Professor John Tasioulas' paper covered key points in international law as he also made his own strong arguments to reunite the Parthenon Marbles on moral grounds.

In concluding, Professor Tasioulas said that "the key to the return of the Parthenon marbles is the recognition that the UK stands to gain a tremendous amount by relinquishing them. But to achieve those gains – the gains of acting and being seen to act in accordance with one’s deepest values – it must give them up freely, generously, and in the spirit of friendship, not one darkened by the shadow of legal obligation."

29 November, 2021, The Critic

 Zachary Hardman states that Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, on the issue of the reunification surviving sculptures, the Parthenon Marbles, can only counter logic with more logic.

"When Elgin’s men hacked off the marbles, they left half a frieze behind. The body of the goddess Iris now resides in London. Her head is in Athens. This is the masterpiece of the ancient Greek sculptor Phidias. But the story his masterpiece once told is now unfinished; his protagonists mutilated. Imagine a Rembrandt or Delacroix painting cut in half and you will get some measure of the Greeks’ distress. Restored to its former glory, millions would flock to Athens to see it.

These two arguments make Athens’ claim an exception. And there are others. Who, for instance, in modern-day Iraq or Turkey could seriously lay claim to the treasures of Babylonian or Hittite civilisations. There are few treasures so emblematic of a people, and of an entire civilisation, as the Parthenon. The treasures of antiquity are the heirlooms of all humanity: no country has a God-given right to possess or hoard them. That’s true of the Elgin marbles, too. But they would just be better off in Greece."

To read the article in full, follow this link to The Critic.

Our recent trip to Athens after a 10 year hiatus, highlighted the favourable and unfavourable changes in this capital city. I travelled with my husband and daughter, and the main aim was to refresh our memories of the cultural magnificence we (as British born Greeks), take for granted.

Having worked in travel for 27 years, I have been lucky enough to travel to many parts of the world both near and far, and both positive and negative changes are inevitable, as was the case on this occasion, when visiting Athens.

The central areas of Athens known as Syntagma Square, Monastiraki and Plaka, somehow did not compare to previous years as I remember them, where the hustle and bustle was leisurely, and probably more traditionally Greek. This area of the city is busy with traditional buildings, luxury hotels, bars, restaurants, shops and crowds filling this space. Time doesn't stand still and Athens has expanded, its population now over 3 million. This central area in my view looked tired, and in need of revival. Perhaps, this was partly caused by the economic crisis of the last 10 years and more recently, Covid 19 and its aftermath.

I was keen for my daughter to experience the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, just off Syntagma Square, below the Hellenic Parliament; and also to visit the Acropolis and of course the main star attraction, the Parthenon.

Once we reached the top of  the Acropolis, Athens' iconic tourist attraction, we watched the Greek flag gently blowing in the wind against a blue cloudless sky, and soaked up the many years of ancient history. I was consumed by a sense of pride and honour of my Greek heritage.

Even in November, the citadel was buzzing with tourists from different parts of the world. The evening view of the Acropolis from Monastiraki was captivating in that one picture was just simply not enough!

We then made our way down to the newly built Acropolis Museum which focuses on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis. The museum houses every artifact found on the rock and surrounding slopes dating back from the Greek Bronze age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. A plethora of artifacts with a wealth of information feeding the curious mind.

This modern museum, officially opened in June 2019, houses the original marble sculptures of the Parthenon, exhibited in the same way as they would have been on the monument. Sadly, it is obvious to also see, the missing sculptures, those so many refer to as the 'Elgin marbles', removed by Lord Elgin when Greece had no voice.

Lord Elgin was forced to sell what he had removed, to the British government in 1816, and in turn the government placed these treasures in trust with the British Museum.

The sculptures that are still in the British Museum's Room 18, have been replaced in the Acropolis Museum's Parthenon Gallery by contrasting, stark white plaster copies, further emphasising their harsh removal.

The importance of this collection of sculptures and why the calls for their return grows louder, and louder, is that these marbles deserve to be returned to their birthplace. They deserve to be housed in this amazing museum, to join their surviving halves, with direct views to the Parthenon. This would be the ultimate gesture of respect by the UK to Greece. The Parthenon Marbles were, and will always be referenced by the Parthenon, the jewel in the crown that is the Acropolis.

Athens will always hold a special place in my heart, and after this latest trip, in the hearts of my family too. Our short visit allowed us to re-engage with our Greek heritage but above all, enrich our minds with the profound cultural wealth present in this amazing ancient capital city.

We're looking forward to visiting again, this time, not leaving it so long.

Zoe Hawa