A plea for 'Marbles'
June Samaras
If he thinks THAT is a true scale model of the Parthenon, it is no wonder
the BM does not choose to take things seriously... <g>
June S
=============================='
http://www.miamiherald.com/467/story/353993.html
A plea for 'Marbles' in Parthenon
Michael Reppas is South Florida's spokesman for those who want to see the
Elgin Marbles returned from the British Museum to the Parthenon in Athens.
Posted on Sun, Dec. 23, 2007
BY DAVID SMILEY
dsm...@MiamiHerald.com
Michael J. Reppas II, a Miami lawyer specializing in international
law, points to a scale model of the Greek Parthenon to show where
missing pieces, now residing in foreign museums, will fit when
restored. He is president of The American Committee for the
Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, Inc.
Michael Reppas realized a lifelong dream last summer when he was
granted the rare opportunity to set foot inside the Parthenon, a
2,500-year-old Greek structure that has been off limits to tourists
for more than 15 years.
But Reppas' dream was missing something, namely the marble statues
taken from the ancient Athenian landmark by a British diplomat 200
years ago during the Ottoman occupation of Greece.
The artifacts are currently on display at the British Museum in
London. As does the government of Greece, Reppas wants them back in
Athens.
A Miramar resident who is a third-generation Greek American, Reppas
has brought home the fight to repatriate the statues known as the
Elgin Marbles through a group he founded two years ago, The American
Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.
''Would you take the Statue of Liberty, cut off its head and then
display it in another country?'' asked Reppas, a commercial litigator
and international-law attorney.
The Parthenon, off limits to tourists to prevent damage to the
structure and to allow for repairs, was a temple built to the ancient
goddess Athena and the focal point of the Acropolis.
The marble statues depict men atop horses and battles with centaurs,
among other scenes.
The subject is a personal one for Reppas, 38, who refused to visit the
British Museum when he lived for a year in England.
''It really upsets me that part of my history has been looted and is
on proud display by the British in a trophy case,'' he said.
Reppas' committee, one of several like it around the world (including
one in England), reached a membership of more than 100 this year and
is stocked with scholars from around the country.
''He's not standing alone on this,'' said Demetrios C. Kirkiles, a
Fort Lauderdale attorney and secretary of the local chapter of the
American Helenic Educational Progressive Association.
Kirkiles said he recruited Reppas to speak on the matter for his
association's law seminars because many museums house looted or stolen
artifacts.
Hannah Boulton, a spokeswoman for the British Museum, said the British
government legally owns the statues and the museum would consider a
short-term loan in exchange for other artifacts from the Greeks.
There have been calls for the return of the statues since the mid-19th
century, but Greece made its first official request in the 1980s.
Boulton said the only official request the museum has received is for
the Elgin Marbles' permanent return.
But Elena Korka, director of prehistoric and classical antiquities
with the Greek Ministry of Culture, said there has been discussion of
a long-term loan in which the British would maintain ownership, among
other possible compromises.
The marbles should be housed in the New Acropolis Museum, under
construction at the foot of the Acropolis and expected to open in late
2008, Korka said.
''The new museum will make it so evident to almost every visitor that
the sculptures need to be reunified,'' Korka said. ``When you see
these sculptures and what they mean you can't accept to have the head
of these sculptures in London and the body in Athens.''
The majority of the statues are in Athens and London, but others are
scattered throughout eight other European museums.
Korka said the other museums have agreed to return their sections of
the collection once the British Museum does so.
Boulton said a total reunification of the statues is impossible
because about half have been destroyed.
Stephen Miller, a retired University of California-Berkeley professor,
archaeologist and honorary chairman of The American Committee for the
Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, said every effort should be
made to make the Parthenon as complete as possible.
''To understand what that building is we need to have all of it
together in one place,'' Miller said.
=================================
June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
(For Books about Greece)
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : kalamo...@gmail.com
(or) kalam...@aol.com
www.kalamosbooks.com
Sotiris Sotiropoulos
> Use the URL to see the awful photograph this guy is using to state his case ...
> If he thinks THAT is a true scale model of the Parthenon, it is no wonder
> the BM does not choose to take things seriously... <g>
with anything that relates to this issue. Knowing you though, I'm not
surprised that you'd make such a ridiculous statement.
Sotiris