The Parthenon Marbles.

MELINA MERCOURI'S SPEECH TO THE OXFORD UNION

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By Melina Mercouri The Oxford Union is a world-famous debating society which is often addressed by eminent people. In June 1986 the topic for debate was the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece. We would like to thank the Melina Mercouri Foundation for providing the transcript of this speech.
Mr President, Honorable members, Ladies and Gentlemen.
At once let me thank the Oxford Union for introducing this resolution for debate, and thanks for inviting me. I think that it is good, that this evening a Greek voice should be heard. Even a voice with my poor accent. I hear it and I wince. I am reminded of what Brendan Behan once said of a certain broadcaster: "He speaks as if he had the Elgin Marbles in his mouth".
There are other thanks I need to make; to the many British citizens who have defended my government's position, to the Honorable Members of both Houses who have manifested interest and sympathy for the return, to the participants in tonight's debate, and of course, for its efforts to bring the truth to the English people, my deepest gratitude to the British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles.
And the Parthenon Marbles they are. There are no such things as the Elgin Marbles.
There is a Michael Angelo David.
There is a Da Vinci Venus.
There is a Praxitelles Hermes.
There is a Turner "Fishermen at Sea".
There are no Elgin Marbles!
You know, it is said that we Greeks are a fervent and warm blooded breed. Well, let me tell you something - it is true. And I am not known for being an exception. Knowing what these sculptures mean to the Greek people, it is not easy to address their having been taken from Greece dispassionately, but I shall try. I promise.
I have been advised by one of your eminent professors that I must tell the history of how the Marbles were taken from Athens and brought to British shores. I protested that this was too well known but was told that even if there were a single person in this audience who might be vague about the facts, the story must be told. So, as briefly as I can, here goes.
We are at the end of the 19th Century. Napoleon is pondering the risk of invading England. He decides that it is not a very good idea. Instead he invades Egypt, wresting it from Turkish authority. The Turks don't appreciate this at all. They break off diplomatic relations with France. They also declare war. Britain decides that this is a dandy time to appoint an Ambassador to Turkey.
Enter Lord Elgin. It is he who gets the job. He has just married pretty Mary Nisbett and is finishing his fine country house. Its architect tells him of the wonders of Greek architecture and sculptures, and suggests it would be a marvelous idea to make plaster casts of the actual objects in Athens. "Marvelous, indeed," says Elgin. He sets about organizing a group of people who could make architectural drawings, headed by a worthy painter, who turns out to be Giovanni Lusieri, an Italian painter.
I can't resist stealing a moment for an anecdote. Elgin had previously approached Turner. Yes, the Turner. The young painter was interested. Lord Elgin sets down the conditions: every drawing and sketch that Turner made was to become his Lordship's possession. In his spare time he would give Lady Elgin drawing lessons. "Okay," says Turner "but then I would want £400 a year." No, no says Elgin, too much, much too much. So, no Turner. End of anecdote.
The Chaplain of Elgin's staff was the Reverend Philip Hunt. I shall not speak of him with much reverence. If I had to exclude Lord Elgin, the arch villain in the story, as I see it, was the Reverend Hunt. Of that a little later on. The Elgins are received with pomp in Constantinople. Lavish gifts are exchanged. The winds of war are favorable to the British and the Sultan is delighted. Now we shift to Greece, this Greece occupied for almost 400 years now by the Ottoman empire.
Elgin's staff of artists arrive in Athens. To control Athens the Turks have assigned two governors, one civil, the other military. Much has been said and continues to be said of what little concern the Turks had for the Acropolis treasures. Yet, it took six months for the Elgin staff to be allowed access. But they worked it out; five pounds a visit into the palm of the military governor. This inaugurated a procedure of bribery and corruption of officials that was not to stop until the marbles were packed and shipped to England.
Yet, when scaffolding was erected and molds were ready to be made, suddenly came rumours of French preparation for military action. The Turkish governor ordered the Elgin staff down from the Acropolis. Five pounds a visit or not, access to the Acropolis was verboten . There was only one way to get back up there again; for Lord Elgin to use his influence with the Sultan in Constantinople, to obtain a document, called a firman , ordering the Athens authorities to permit the work to go on.
The Reverend Hunt goes to Constantinople to see Lord Elgin. He asks that the document state that the artists - please, note this, are in the service of the British Ambassador Extraordinary. Elgin goes to see the Sultan. Elgin gets the firman . The text of the firman is rather tortuously composed. Let me read the orders given by the Sultan which are pertinent to our discussion. I quote:

"That the artists meet no opposition in walking, viewing, contemplating the pictures and buildings they may wish to design or copy; or in fixing scaffolding around the ancient temple; or in modeling with chalk or gypsum the said ornaments and visible figures; or in excavating, when they find it necessary, in search of inscriptions among the rubbish . Nor hinder them from taking away any pieces of stone with inscriptions and figures."

(The Hunt translation later presented to the Select Committee reads - qualche pezzi di pietra - some pieces of stone). These instructions are given to the governors -- and the point is made in the firman -- because of the excellent relations between the two countries, and I quote again:

"...particularly as there is no harm in the said buildings being thus viewed, contemplated and drawn".

No sooner was the firman delivered to Athens, than a feverish, terrifying assault is made upon an edifice that, until today, many consider the purest, the most beautiful of human creation. When the Caryatid porch of the Erectheum was attacked, the fever mounted so high that the Reverend Hunt suggested that the entire building could be removed if only a large British Man of War could be dispatched for it. Lord Elgin was thrilled by the idea and asked for a ship to be sent. The request was not considered outrageous but at that moment no ship was available. (Imagine if it had been).
To relate all the horrors needs a great deal of time and a great deal of restraint. The words "pillage", "dilapidation", "wanton devastation", "lamentable overthrow and ruin" are not mine of the moment. They were spoken by Elgin's contemporaries. Horace Smith referred to Elgin as "the marble stealer". Lord Byron called him a plunderer. Thomas Hardy later on was to write of the marbles as "captives in exile".
My government has asked for the return of the Parthenon Marbles. We have been refused. Be it on record that we shall never abandon the request. Let me list the arguments that are perpetuated against the return and deal with them one by one.
First, the marbles were obtained by proper transaction. I ask if bribery and corruption of officials can be contradictory to "proper transaction". When the Select Committee appointed was studying the proposition of buying the marbles from his Lordship, Elgin submitted an itemised account of his expenditure for their obtainment. Citing, and I quote him "the obstacles, interruptions and discouragement created by the caprices and prejudices of the Turks", he lists an item of £21,902 for presents to the authorities in Athens. Well at least it's a proper sum . And, of course, it must be asked: is it proper to transact with the Turks for the most reassured of Greek possessions when Greece is under Turkish invasion and subjugation?
A second argument that is maintained despite its being angrily refuted by numerous British travellers in Greece at the time is that:

"...the ignorant, superstitious Greeks were indifferent to their art and their monuments."

This, of course, implies that they were eyeless, conscienceless, and heartless. Who? These Greeks who, long after Pericles, created the miracles of Byzantine art? These Greeks who even under Turkish occupation created entire schools of arts and techniques? These Greeks who despite 400 years of Turkish rule grimly maintained their language and their religion? These Greeks who in their struggle for independence sent the Turkish soldiers bullets to be used against themselves. Yes, against themselves . The Turkish soldiers besieged on the Acropolis ran short of ammunition. They began to attack the great columns to extract lead to make bullets. The Greeks sent them ammunition with the message: "Here are bullets, don't touch the columns".
After independence was gained, one of the first Acts passed by the Greek government was for the protection and preservation of national monuments. Indifference? We consider this accusation monstrous. You have surely heard, but let me repeat, what a heartsick Greek man said to members of the Elgin staff, and reported by J.C. Hobhouse. "You have taken our treasures. Please give them good care. One day we shall ask for their return". Are we to believe that this man was speaking only for himself?
Of late, a new theory has been proposed, this one is a beauty. Mr Gavin Stamp, I shall have the honor of meeting him tonight, proposes the notion that modern Greeks are not descendants of Pericles. Wow! Our marbles have been taken. Who will lay claim to the bones of our ancestors?
As Minister of Culture, I hereby invite Mr Stamp to come to Athens. I will arrange prime time on television for him to tell Greek demographers and the Greek people who they are.
Argument number 3. If the marbles are returned, it will set a precedent that could lead to the emptying of museums. Forgive me but this is just plain blarney. Who is going to ask and who is going to permit the emptying of museums?
Let me state once more that we think museums everywhere are a vital social and cultural need and must be protected. I have repeated again and again that we are asking for the integral part of a structure that was mutilated. In the world over, the very name of our country is immediately associated with the Parthenon.
We are asking only for something unique, something matchless, something specific to our identity. And dear friends, if there were the shadow of a shadow of danger to museums, why would the International Council of Museums recommend the return, as they have done.
Argument number 4. This one, of more recent vintage. Pollution! Pollution over the Acropolis. How much sense does this make? When London was dealing with the severe problem of pollution, were there cries of alarm for the marbles? Of course not. For the simple reason that they were housed inside the British Museum. Now we don't make pretense that the sculptures can be reset in the frieze. We think it cannot be done, but my government has gone on record that the day that Athens sees the return of the marbles, there will be, ready to receive them, adjacent to the Acropolis for relevant context, a beautiful museum with the most developed systems of security and preservation.
May I add that we are proud of the ongoing work at the Acropolis. The exposition of this work was unveiled to a congress of the World's leading archaeologists who were invited to Athens. Their praise was unanimous, enthusiastic and gratifying. Since then it has been exhibited in major European cities. It was graciously received by the British Museum in London. The Financial Times wrote a report of the quality of this work and the exemplary skills of Greek restorers. I have asked that copies be made available here to those of you who might be interested.
The argument most perpetuated is that removing the marbles saved them from the barbarous Turks. To deny Turkish vandalism there would put me on weak ground. But the fact is that the Turks gave no permission to Elgin to remove sculptures from the works or the walls of the citadel, and with the blessing of the Reverend Hunt, barbarously they were removed. I quote from a letter from Lusieri to Elgin:

"I have, my Lord, the pleasure of announcing to you the possession of the eighth metope, that one where there is the centaur carrying off the woman. This piece has caused much trouble in all respects and I have been obliged to be a little barbarous ."

In another letter he hoped

"...that the barbarisms that I have been obliged to commit in your service may be forgotten".

Edward Dodwell wrote:

"I had the inexpressible mortification of being present, when the Parthenon was despoiled of its finest sculptures. I saw several metopes at the south east extremity of the temple taken down. They were fixed in between the triglyphs as in a groove; and in order to lift them up, it was necessary to throw to the ground the magnificent cornice by which they were covered. The south east angle of the pediment shared the same fate; and instead of the picturesque beauty and high preservation in which I first saw it, it is now completely reduced to a state of shattered desolation. We cannot but execrate the spirit of barbarism which prompted them to shatter and mutilate, to pillage and overturn the noble works which Pericles had ordered and the unrivalled genius of Pheidias and Iktinos had executed."

Another witness, Robert Smirke, writes:

"It particularly affected me when I saw the destruction made to get down the basso-relievos on the walls of the frieze. Each stone as it fell shook the ground with its ponderous weight, with a deep hollow noise; it seemed like a convulsive groan of the injured spirit of the temple."

Edward Daniel Clarke was among those witnessing the devastation. Clarke writes:

"Looking up, we saw with regret the gap that had been made, which all the ambassadors of the earth, with all the sovereigns they represent, aided by every resource that wealth and talent can bestow, will never again repair".

So much for barbarism. In the year 1816 a Select Committee is appointed to study a proposal made by Lord Elgin. The marbles had been exhibited in various places and sheds. Lord Elgin has fallen on hard times and offers to sell the marbles to the government. The committee has to decide:

• By what authority the collection was acquired.
• Under what circumstances the authority was granted.
• The merit of the marbles as works of art.
• How much should be spent for an eventual purchase.

If you read the report you will see that the bulk of the testimony asked for, was how good were the marbles, and how much should be paid for them. But in order to recommend their purchase a tricky corner had to be turned; that the circumstances of the transaction were proper and that the marbles were obtained by Elgin, the private citizen and not by his influence as the British Ambassador. I read to you from the Select Committee report:

"The Earl of Aberdeen in answer to an inquiry, whether the authority and influence of a public situation was, in his opinion, necessary for accomplishing the removal of these marbles, answered that he did not think a private individual could have accomplished the removal of the remains that Lord Elgin obtained."

(The Earl of Aberdeen, no mean treasure seeker himself, was in Greece at the time and in a position to know). I read from the report:

"Doctor Hunt, who had better opportunities of information upon this point than any other person who had been examined, gave it as his decided opinion that a British subject not in the situation of Ambassador could not have been able to obtain from the Turkish government a firman of such extensive powers."

I read from the report:

"The success of British arms in Egypt and the expected restitution of that province to the Porte wrought a wonderful and instantaneous change in the disposition of all ranks and descriptions of people toward our nation".

And yet, and yet, hear this from the Select Committee's conclusion:

"It cannot be doubted that Lord Elgin looked upon himself as acting in a character entirely distinct from his official position. But whether the government from whom he obtained permission did, or could, consider him so, is a question which can be solved only by conjecture and reasoning, in the absence and deficiency of all positive testimony."

(If this is not double speak, what is?) Absence of positive testimony? Lord Elgin to the Committee:

"I had to transact with the highest personages in the state."

Could the committee really believe that a simple citizen could get to transact with the highest personages of the Turkish state? Lord Elgin tells the Committee of his gratitude for having His Majesty's Ship to transport cases of the marbles. Could an ordinary citizen get a royal troopship at his service?
Question of the Committee to Reverend Hunt:

"Do you imagine that the firman gave a direct permission to remove figures and pieces of sculpture from the walls of the temples, or must that have been a matter of private arrangement with the local authorities?"

Hunt's answer:

"That was the interpretation which the governor of Athens was induced to allow it to bear."

Induced by whom? A private citizen? Absence of positive testimony? A private citizen or to an Ambassador? Well then, to the firman itself. Permission was granted to Lord Elgin "...due to the friendship between the Sublime and Ever Durable Ottoman Court and that of England." Mr President, Honorable Members, Ladies and Gentlemen, with all apology, if needed, I submit to you that the Committee's ruling that Lord Elgin acted as a private individual is either the height of ingeniousness or of doubtful faith.
But that was one hundred and seventy years ago. This is a different England. There are different concepts of Empire and conquest. A different ethic prevails. It would be interesting to know what a committee today would conclude if they reviewed the evidence of those called before the committee - and the judgments of those who were not called. I would make a small wager - even a large wager, that there would be a different outcome.
I have taken of your time and I know that the debate is the thing to catch consciences. I would hope that the debate evokes a few questions. I have a little list:

• Were the marbles seized wrongly? And if they were wrongly seized, can it be right that they be kept?
• If there was right in their being seized, is it wrong that they be returned?
• What value should be given to the argument that if Elgin hadn't taken the marbles, other Englishmen or the French would have done so?
• Does it matter that 95% of the Greek people might never see the finest of Greek creation?
• Is it conceivable that a free Greece would have permitted the removal of the marbles?

England and Greece are friends. English blood was shed on Greek soil in the war against fascism, and Greeks gave their lives to protect English pilots. Read Churchill, he tells you how crucial was the Greek role in your decisive desert victory over Rommel. Last year there was a celebration of Shakespeare in the Amphitheatre at the foot of the Acropolis. Your Covent Garden brought the Verdi Macbeth. Your National Theatre came with Coriolanus. They were unforgettable nights. Not only for the high standard of performance but also for an extraordinary communion between British artists and the Greek audience. Ian McKellen will forgive me if I speak of his tears of emotion and those of his fellow artists as the audience stood cheering them. Those tears had to do with a rapport between two peoples, with friendship, with Shakespeare played on that sacred spot. It was beautiful, memorable. It is in the spirit of this friendship that we say to you, there was an injustice that can now be corrected.
You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name . They are the essence of Greekness.
We are ready to say that we rule the entire Elgin enterprise as irrelevant to the present. We say to the British government: you have kept those sculptures for almost two centuries. You have cared for them as well as you could, for which we thank you. But now in the name of fairness and morality, please give them back. I sincerely believe that such a gesture from Great Britain would ever honor your name.
Thank you.

HELLENIC REPUBLIC, MINISTRY OF CULTURE, MEMORANDUM ON THE PARTHENON MARBLES

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HELLENIC REPUBLIC
MINISTRY OF CULTURE
THE MINISTER
MEMORANDUM ON THE PARTHENON MARBLES
submitted by the Government of the Hellenic Republic
to the House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport
On behalf of the government of the Hellenic Republic, the Rt Hon. Elissavet Papazoi MP, Minister of Culture, submits to the Select Committee’s inquiry on “Cultural Property: Return and Illicit Trade” (terms of reference of Press Notice no.12, 10 February 2000) evidence pertinent to the Return of the Parthenon Marbles housed in the British Museum in London.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. The “Return of the Parthenon Marbles” refers explicitly to the Greek Government’s claim for the repatriation of the architectural sculptures and structural elements of the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens. These were removed from the monument in the early 19th century at the behest of Lord Elgin, then H.M. Ambassador to the Sublime Porte, and subsequently purchased from him by the British Government, consequent upon an Act of Parliament passed in 1816.
1.2. The Parthenon Marbles were placed in the custody of the British Museum in London, where they have remained ever since. They include: 15 metopes from the south side of the ancient temple, 56 reliefs from the frieze, 19 sculptures from the two pediments, other fragments belonging to the aforesaid units, one column capital, one column drum and one thranos; that is almost half the sculptural decoration that was once an integral part of the monument (see Appendix 1).
2. THE GREEK CLAIM FOR THE RETURN OF THE PARTHENON MARBLES
2.1. The Return of the Parthenon Marbles has been an issue for Greece since its Independence (see Appendix 2). The claim for their return has been espoused by a significant number of distinguished personalities, including prominent British intellectuals and politicians, during the two centuries since their removal from the monument. In 1940/41 the return of the Marbles to Greece was seriously considered by the British Government. In October 1983 the Government of the Hellenic Republic submitted to the Government of the United Kingdom an official request for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles. The request was denied.
2.2. The Government of the Hellenic Republic has promoted the issue of the return of the Parthenon Marbles in several international fora including UNESCO, where it was first raised in 1982 and was approved by the overwhelming majority of representatives. The 1998 written declaration of the European Parliament in favour of the Return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, as well as the 1999 recommendation by UNESCO that bilateral talks be initiated between Greece and the United Kingdom, are among recent moves that bear witness to the strong and continuing European and international interest in the issue (see Appendix 3).
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3. CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISMANTLING OF THE PARTHENON
3.1. The dismantling of the Parthenon, between 1801-1811, irreparably destroyed the monument’s
structural integrity. The removal of the metopes entailed the mutilation of several adjoining
architectural and sculptural elements and resulted in the dilapidation of the building. The sculptures of
the frieze were sawn off from their supporting blocks to facilitate their transportation. A Doric column
capital was cut in two for the same reason. Essential structural elements of the temple (geisa and
triglyphs) were destroyed. These interventions were recorded by Lord Elgin’s agents and witnessed by
foreign visitors to Athens. They were also censured, as tantamount to spoliation, by eminent British
peers, politicians and intellectuals, contemporaries of Elgin (see Appendix 4).
3.2. The Parthenon Marbles were almost lost in a shipwreck on the voyage to Britain. Upon arrival in
London they were stored temporarily inside a coal shed. From documents in the British Museum
archive they are known to have been cleaned with metal brushes and abrasives in 1937-38, which
action damaged irreversibly the surface of a large number of sculptures. These harmful interventions
have been confirmed by the team of Greek experts who examined the Parthenon Marbles in the British
Museum in October 1999 (see Appendix 5).
4. THE CASE FOR THE RETURN OF THE PARTHENON MARBLES
4.1. The uniqueness of the Parthenon
Works of art from all periods of ancient Greek civilisation are exhibited in museums and galleries
around the world, thus providing millions of people with the opportunity to enjoy, to appreciate and to
study them. The Parthenon Marbles, however, are a unique case.
The sculptural decoration and architectural elements of the Parthenon were not created as independent
works of art; they were conceived and designed from the outset as integral parts of the monument.
And the monument, built in the 5th century BC, still stands on the Acropolis of Athens.
The Parthenon, symbol of the Athenian democracy, represents the art of Classical Greek civilisation at
its zenith. The Acropolis, which the Parthenon graces, was the sacred epicentre of ancient Athens,
around which all the important functions of the city (the Agora, the Pnyx, the theatres, etc.) were
gathered. The Parthenon remains the emblem of the city of Athens and the symbol of Greek cultural
identity. It is also part of the global cultural and architectural heritage, one of the first monuments
entered by UNESCO in the World Heritage List. Indeed it is the logo of UNESCO. However, the
cultural, historical, archaeological and aesthetic values of the Parthenon are most closely interwoven
with the city in which it was created, Athens.
4.2. The Unification of the Archaeological Sites in the Historical Centre of Athens
The Acropolis and its surrounding area are the primary targets of the on-going programme for the
Unification of the Archaeological Sites in the historical centre of Athens. This project, under the joint
auspices of the Ministry for the Environment, Regional Planning and Public Works and the Ministry
of Culture, comprises a series of interventions aimed at rehabilitating the historical, cultural, and
natural environment around the Acropolis. A network of paved walkways, some following ancient
paths, is intended to link the Olympieion (Temple of Zeus) to the ancient cemetery of the Kerameikos
via the New Acropolis Museum, the Sanctuary and Theatre of Dionysos, the Odeion of Herodes
Atticus, the Pnyx, the Ancient Agora and, of course, the Acropolis, creating a museum-park accessible
to all. As the modem Athenian or visitor to Athens walks along this route, he will experience the
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different phases of the city’s history, with the rock of the Acropolis and the Parthenon in constant view, dominating all (see Appendix 6).
4.3. The Conservation, Preservation and Research Programme of the Acropolis Monuments and the Parthenon
The monumental and ground-breaking restoration and conservation programme begun on the Acropolis 25 years ago, is carried out on the basis of studies which are submitted beforehand for appraisal to the international scholarly community, through conferences and publications. The current restoration of the Parthenon aims primarily at its structural conservation, the conservation of surfaces, the maximum protection of the existing sculptures, the correct repositioning on the monument of pieces previously restored, and the restoration of parts of the building with joining pieces from those lying on the ground. Every intervention can be reversed without any harm to the monument. The architectural elements of the Parthenon in the British Museum (i.e., the column capital and column drum) will be incorporated in the monument upon their return (see Appendices 7 and 8).
In recent years intensive archaeological research on the Acropolis in general and the Parthenon in particular, has produced new evidence: numerous sculptural fragments belonging to the Parthenon have been found, several figures have been restored and fragments that join with the Parthenon Marbles in the British Museum have also been identified. These remarkable results show that the Acropolis is still an inexhaustible source of knowledge for research (see Appendix 9).
4.4. The New Acropolis Museum
The New Acropolis Museum is a top priority for the Greek state; it will be completed by 2004. It will house the collections in the present Acropolis Museum, as well as the Parthenon Marbles, those in Athens and those from the British Museum upon their return to Athens. The New Acropolis Museum will be located at the foot of the Acropolis, in physical and visual contact with it.
The systematic excavation of the museum site has revealed large sectors of Roman and Early Christian city of Athens (1st-7th centuries AD), of considerable archaeological and historical interest. These will be preserved in situ: in fact they will be incorporated in the design of the new building. In order to accommodate these discoveries, it was necessary to modify the initial architecttual brief. For this reason, the design for the New Acropolis Museum will be selected by means of a closed international competition with an international jury.
Visitors to the New Acropolis Museum will have a unique experience not only of Classical but also of Roman, Early Christian and modern Athens. All the Parthenon Marbles will be displayed in a special gallery. For the first time since their dismantling, they will be presented as a unified ensemble in their original sequence and correct relationships, and in visual contact with the unique monument they once adorned. The existing museum on the rock of the Acropolis and the New Acropolis Museum will complement each other. The vistas from either atop the Acropolis or from the New Acropolis Museum towards the rock of the Acropolis will provide the visitors with a unique experience of the place.
4.5. Legal issues
The legality of acquisition of the Parthenon Marbles by Lord Elgin is a controversial issue, not least because of the dubious documentary evidence. The 1801 “firman” does not survive, nor do the 1802 documents, which supposedly ratified all previous illegalities. The only surviving text is
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an Italian translation of the 1801 Turkish document, the validity of which as a “firman” is questionable. Elgin’s actions by far exceeded the authority granted under the “firman”, which simply authorized his artists to enter the Acropolis, to draw and to make molds for casts. Moreover, Elgin and his agents are alleged to have threatened and bribed Ottoman officials not to interfere with their activities. The mere accomplishment of the removal of the Marbles from Greece, which was at the time under Ottoman occupation, without final hindrance from the Turkish authorities is not proof ipso facto of legal title. Indeed, it is notable that the Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1816 was little concerned with the issue of the illegality of acquisition of the Marbles by Lord Elgin per se.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The Parthenon is acknowledged universally not only as a unique monument in the history of architecture but also as the epitome of the contribution of the Greek spirit to the cultural heritage of mankind. The monument’s uniqueness and the need to restore the unity of its sculptures make the return of the Parthenon Marbles housed in the British Museum imperative. At the beginning of the 21st century notions of historic preservation, protection, and interpretation of the world’s cultural heritage have drastically changed. Viewed in this framework, the Parthenon, a monument of universal significance, can no longer remain dismembered. The reunification of the Parthenon Marbles in Athens, the city in which they were created, will ensure their reintegration in their historical, topographic, and cultural context, and will contribute to their fuller understanding and interpretation.
On their return to Athens the Parthenon sculptures will be housed in the New Acropolis Museum in the very heart of their birthplace, Classical Athens. A great part of this “heart” survives intact on the rock of the Acropolis itself, as well in its environs; it will be accessible to all when the project for the Unification of the Archaeological Sites of Athens is completed in 2002. The Cultural Olympiad, as well as the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens present both Greece and the United Kingdom with wide-ranging opportunities for fruitful co-operation in the field of culture. In this context, the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles will be a unique opportunity for strong partnership and collaboration.
The Government of the Hellenic Republic is pleased that through the Select Committee’s inquiry discussions on the return of the Parthenon Marbles can begin between the interested parties. We believe that, in the light of the evidence presented in the Memorandum, the Select Committee will recommend to the House of Commons that appropriate measures be taken to secure the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles in Athens in due course. The time is ripe for reuniting the Parthenon Marbles in their original home. Their return will redress the cultural and moral injustice of their enforced exile. We are confident that the United Kingdom will demonstrate its willingness to address this important issue.
Elissavet Papazoi
9 March 2000
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LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1: a. Ground plan of the Parthenon indicating current location of Parthenon Marbles.
b. “Disjecta Membra. The Plunder and Dispersion of the Antiquities of the Acropolis”, by Alexandros Mantis. Anthemion, Bulletin of the Friends of the Acropolis. Reprinted in shortened form from Vol. 4, December 1997.
c. Selected bibliography.
APPENDIX 2: Texts by Greek General Makriyiannis and by K. Pittakis, General Keeper of Antiquities of Greece.
APPENDIX 3: UNESCO, European Parliament and United Nations resolutions and recommendations.
APPENDIX 4: English written source of the 19th century: letters by Elgin and his staff, texts by travelers and intellectuals.
APPENDIX 5: Summary of a preliminary report by the team of experts from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture on their findings concerning the Parthenon Marbles in the British Museum.
APPENDIX 6: The Unification of the Archaeological Sites of Athens (brochure and plans).
APPENDIX 7: Conservation program of the Acropolis Monuments and the Parthenon:
a. “Conservation of the Surface of the Acropolis Monuments”, Committee for the Preservation of the Acropolis Monuments, Athens 1994.
b. Articles by H.C. Perkins and E. Papakonstantinou on air pollution in Athens and London.
APPENDIX 8: Restoration program of the Acropolis Monuments and the Parthenon:
a. “The Anastylosis of the Acropolis Monuments 1975-2000”, by F. Mallouhou- Tufano.
b. “Documentation of the Column Capital and Drum from the Parthenon in the British Museum”, by C. Zambas.
APPENDIX 9: Results of archaeological research on the Acropolis and the Parthenon:
offprints by I. Trianti, Ephor of the Acropolis and
A. Mantis, Archaeologist, Ephorate of Acropolis.

OTHER STATEMENTS

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David Hill

President of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures

The committees’ president, David Hill announced, among other themes, the attempt to establish a Parthenon Day every year, on some day of June, while a big campaign will also start, using the words “why not”. “The three-month lending of the Sculptures, suggested to the Acropolis Museum by the British Museum consists a great insult for Greece, therefore the fact that the Greeks turned down this proposal was very good. It’s like asking a mother to compromise with the fact that her children have been kidnapped”, David Hill, Australian President of the Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

Anthony Snodgrass

Professor of Cambridge University, Britain

“The biggest obstacle we have to face is the pride and prejudice of the British Museum. It finds extremely difficult to move to any action that could harm its image, like for example to start a discussion with Greek representatives on equal terms. I believe that the year 2002 is too soon for the different kind of obstacles to be surpassed. This doesn’t mean of course that we can’t make important progress until then. Besides, the British public opinion is in favor of the Greek side. Almost half of the population is aware of the situation and 65% - 75% among them states in favor of the return”.

Selina Figueiredo Laz

Vice president of the Brazilian Committee

“The reunification is not only a matter of Greece but a matter of all the world. This action creates a positive ambience throughout the planet and each committee is responsible to expand the campaign so that it gets to its aim. The biggest obstacle is the old-fashioned mentality, a mentality of the 18th century that consists the spiritual basis of the British Museum. These ideas are imperialistic, outdated, creating rage to many countries. The Acropolis has at last the museum that it deserved and all five members of the Brazilian Committee (professors of different universities), we voluntarily devote our lives for this aim. When we see the head of a statue being separated from its body or other marbles being cut in a violent way, ours souls hurt”.

Μika Rissanen

Μember of the Finnish Committee

“The fact that the British Museum “legally” bought stolen works of art does not necessarily involve its right of property. The assertion of the Greek Marbles could lead the way for the repatriation of many works of art, grabbed by the British, within the framework of its imperialistic policy. We have to find a way to persuade the British, to make them regard the reunification as a move that will improve their public image and not as a defeat after the negotiations of many decades. I have studied History and I made my first walk in the Acropolis as a student in September 1999, the day after the big earthquake that shook up Greece. It was then that I was filled with awe, realizing that whatever happens, the Parthenon will always stand there”

Dusan Sidjanski

Vice president of the International Association

”For so many years, the British Museum’s argument was that Greece does not obtain the suitable construction to place these works of art and that if these sculptures remain in London, a larger number of visitors will have the chance to see them. Since Saturday, the day of the museum’s inauguration, this argument is not valid anymore. My relation with Greece is a relation of life. I fell in love with my wife, who’s Greek and she made me fall in love with your country too. My aim is to ask for the intervention of important personalities from the art and literature ground . For example, it would be nice if Nana Mouschouri agreed to become an honored member of the Swiss Commission”.

Bill Clinton

42th President of U.S.A

“If it was up to me, I would give them back at once”.

Vladimir Putin

President of Russia

“The Greeks try to bring back what belongs to them”.

Costa Gavras

Director

(for the “cut” of one and a half minute from the documentary on the New Acropolis Museum. “The reasons given by the Direction of the museum are not credible. The documentary on the history of the monument ends with the scandal for the famous frontispiece of the Parthenon, pieces of which were stolen by Lord Elgin and transported in Britain. Those pieces continue to belong in the Parthenon and that’s the main message of the film. But, in my movie, the first destroyers of the temple are said to be the first Christians, who were feeling resentment against the naked men and women, represented in the sculptures. At the time, the situation was in a way like the Taliban nowadays who destroy the Buddha sculptures.

Cristopher Hitchens

Journalist, Writer

“The Parthenon consists the “absolutely right” construction of classic antiquity. One day, there will be an agreement so that the “right” thing occurs, just as it would be appropriate for the “rightest” construction of the world. It is time to fill the empty spaces in the New Museum of the Greeks”, notes meaningfully the British journalist, Christopher Hitchens at the well-known British newspaper “Guardian”.

Bernar Tschumi

Architect of the New Acropolis Museum

“Imagine an ancient sculpture, with its head being in Athens, its body in London and its legs in Paris. This situation is absolutely outrageous”, states the Swiss architect of the New Acropolis Museum, Bernard Tschumi, in an interview at “Der Spiegel” magazine.

Gough Whitlam

Former Prime Minister of Australia

“The new Acropolis Museum gives the British Museum the chance to compensate for one of the biggest mistakes in history. There aren’t any more excuses to justify the preservation of the collection at Davin Gallery in the back section of the British Museum, now that the sculptures can be unified and exhibited with the rest of the surviving Acropolis sculptures”, states the ex prime-minister of Australia, Gough Whitlam.

Μalcom Fraser

Ex Prime Minister of Australia

"The Olympic Games of 2012 in London are the best occasion for the British to return the Parthenon Marbles back home at the New Acropolis Museum”, states as well the ex Prime Minister of Australia.

Νadine Gordimer

Writer

“These sculptures do not belong and never belonged to Lord Elgin. Their return to Greece nowadays is based on facts, which go beyond the strictly legal ones. It is based on the restoration of a colonial injustice, covered up by a simple commercial exchange”, Nadine Gordimer, South African Nobel writer, known for her activistic and political actions.

David Wilson

Ex director of the British Museum

David Wilson (ex director of the British Museum) states for Melina Merkouri: “It is unusual that a thief is allowed to supervise in advance the objects that 'he is about to steal' ”.

Νeil MacGregor

Ex Director of the British Museum

“The museums exist to describe a history. In Athens, the marbles narrate the story of the “birth of democracy” , while in London the history of the European Enlightenment”. Both stories are of equal importance , therefore the “distribution” is fair”

Richard Allan

British Member of the Parliament

Richard Allan, British Member of the Parliament and visionist of the movement, said: “This action shows that the Return of the Marbles in Greece has a global impact. Two statements that support the return of the Marbles, were signed by almost 600 people at the European Parliament. Meanwhile, many countries of the Commonwealth as well as in the United States focus their attention and their actions on the return of the Marbles. If we want to be Full Members of Europe, we must do this gesture for Greece. In addition, an ideal opportunity is rising for the British Government to prove that its role in the international cooperation and bona fide is vital”

"You can't cut Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa in pieces and exhibit them separately, the same goes for the Parthenon marbles" That's one of the arguments the supporters for the return of the Parthenon Marbles uses. So, the question is:

Are Parthenon marbles a unified piece of art, that must be presented all together in one piece?
Why they must / or not, return and reunified with the rest of the monument?

Thoughts? Opinions?