Elgin Marbles or more correctly The Parthenon Sculptures, are a collection of different types of marble architectural decoration from the temple of Athena (the Parthenon) on the Acropolis in Athens.
Made between 447BC and 432BC they consist of: a frieze which shows the procession of the Panathenaic festival (the commemoration of the birthday of the goddess Athena); a series of metopes (sculpted relief panels) depicting the battle between Centaurs and Lapiths at the marriage-feast of Peirithoos; and figures of the gods and legendary heroes from the temple’s pediments. The British Museum houses 15 metopes, 17 pedimental figures and 247ft (75m) of the original frieze”, as the official site of the British Museum states. But their existence is so much more complex than this description above.
The present article navigates through the history and the social-emotional context in which those antiquities belong and the human-oriented desire to establish cultural identity and the fundamental need of “this is mine”.
Some History
The 5th century BC (447 – 438 BC), is marked as the “birth” of the Parthenon. The architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, under the supervision of Pheasants create “something” that will adorn and feed the city of Athens for more than 2.400 years. However, after the completion of its construction, by many cases, its dire course had been signaled. During the 5th century, the Parthenon becomes a temple, known as the Panagia Athiniotissa. While in the 12th century it becomes the Metropolitan church of Athens. The 13th century follows with the Parthenon changing religion and transforming into a Roman Catholic temple. In the 15th century, the Parthenon “assumes the debts” of an Ottoman Mosque and in 1687 it is bombed during the Venetian – Ottoman war, which caused irreparable damage to the building.
In 1801 – 1802, comes the no return point, the Earl of Elgin, Thomas Bruce, removes half of the original frieze, fifteen metopes and seventeen of the sculptural figures of the pediments. Lord Elgin’s collection includes also, a Caryatid, a column from Erechteion and some other pieces (Chamilakis, 2009).
From the 19th century, the Parthenon artifacts cease to have an archaeological approach to the concept of History as science, because they start to manifest social biography. In other words, they are no longer treated as object-oriented museum exhibitions but rather as an extension of the consciousness of the identity of a Hellene.
The Social Biography
of the Parthenonian Artifacts:
If the Marbles[1] had a psychologist
21st Century: We have been diagnosed with Major Cultural Depression
We realize that the Sculptures of the Parthenon could be described as a moving gear of the Hellenic reality. Students to this day write fictional letters to the British Museum and the Ministry of Culture of the UK as a mandatory school subject. Researchers and writers rely their careers on the recycling of the data regarding the marbles. Actors, singers and in general people of showbusiness promote the idea that the artifacts are not ‘home”.
While, the contemporary Hellenic society is consuming just the idea of the past, the idea that was implanted and so carefully cultivated during the years. Are we as Greeks start secretly to enjoy this sadomasochistic relationship that bears the coat of cultural hypocrisy? Because the Elgin Marbles are the cherry on top, exactly due to the fact that they are not in the country of origin.
Let me hit you with some knowledge
To all the people who are holders of a Hellenic passport. Please take your passport in your hands, now open it in the middle, should be pages 16 – 17. What do you observe except the Parthenon?
The thread that holds your passport together as one piece is white and blue, as the Greek flag, as everything that projects your Greek identity. Yes, you are Hellene to the core!
[1] Marbles: According to the History and Archaeology University and common Cultural Heritage practices, the marble is the medium, since the marble represents a living form, it is no longer considered a marble but a sculpture or artifact. The use of the word marble here is due to the collective memory usage of terms.
[2] Melina Mercouri: Greek actress, singer, socialist, activist and politician. In 1981, Mercouri became the first female Minister of Culture and Sports. She made it her crusade to get the Marbles back. Her words “I have marbles in my mouth”, was a sarcastic answer to the comment of the British party in the International Cultural Conference of 1982, that her pronunciation is harsh.
References:
http://www.iamgreek.gr/i-istoria-piso-apo-to-film-tou-kosta-gavra.html
“History of the New Hellenism 1770 – 1821”, Ellinika Grammata
