Do the Greeks deserve the Marbles?
Ken Down
demands that the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece. Although
their ancestors were busy rendering the marbles down to produce lime to
spread on their fields as fertiliser, the Greeks claim that their
attitudes have now changed and modern Greeks have a reverence for
antiquity and the Marbles would be in safe hands. The more cynical among
us suspect that Greek reverence is directed more towards the tourist
dollar than towards their historical and artistic heritage and recent
events on the Plain of Marathon appear to bear out our cynicism.
Marathon, you will recall, was one of the most glorious episodes in
Greek history. It was where the small army of Athens, a relatively minor
city state, took on and defeated the might of the Persian empire - mind
you, even there the Greek love for money was amply demonstrated when a
Greek traitor signalled to the Persians, urging them to head for the
undefended Athens. It was where a messenger carried news so far and so
fast that the most famous race in the world has been named in its
honour. It was where, for two and a half thousand years the mound raised
by the victors over their glorious dead stood in impressive solitude. It
is where, yet again, the Greeks have demonstrated that money, money and
yet more money is their only concern and is the real reason why they
want the Marbles back.
The excuse is the Olympic Games. In order to hold this jamboree of sport
you need lots of room for stadia, athletes' quarters, officials' offices
and so on. The Greeks decided that the ideal spot to build this Olympic
Village was on the historic plain of Marathon.
Archaeologists and historians throughout the world were horrified!
Protests reverberated around the world. The Greek authorities blandly
denied that the battle had been fought anywhere near the place - they
probably only just held themselves back from denying that there ever was
such a thing as the Battle of Marathon. They did claim that the spot
they had chosen was underwater back in antiquity.
All right, said Archaeology and Ecology, we will fund a geophysical
survey on the site. If, as you claim, there is nothing there, then of
course we will find nothing and those who are concerned for Greek
history can have their concerns laid to rest. The Greek government
refused and speeded up the construction schedule.
Last year the earth-moving equipment uncovered some structures dating
back to the Early Bronze Age, right in the middle of the area which the
government maintained was underwater. As Early Bronze Age Greeks were
not noted for their ability to live beneath the sea this was something
of an embarrassment for the authorities, so they simply picked the
stones up and reassembled them some distance away in an approximation of
their original positions. Needless to say, there was no attempt at
proper excavation, no careful preservation of the archaeological
context.
Meanwhile in Athens itself the wonderful new museum intended to house
the Elgin Marbles is being built on a sensitive site beneath the
Acropolis. Professor Giorgos Dontas, president of the Archaeological
Society of Athens and one of the most eminent archaeologists in Greece
has stated that the antiquities being uncovered in the course of
building work are far more important even than was believed before work
began.
Makrigianni, where the museum is being built, appears to have been a
wealthy residential area that was inhabited from Neolithic times right
through to the Byzantine era. Workmen report finding what appears to be
Mycenaean remains, which would be a most valuable discovery. An
archaeologist could make a career out of excavating something like that
- but it is all being ripped out in order to build a museum that has no
other purpose than to put pressure on the British Museum to return the
Marbles and which will, in all likelihood, remain forever empty.
Among the rumours going the rounds is the claim that the long-lost
temple of Dionysos of the Lakes has been found. Others claim that the
Philosophical Schools have also been identified. All will be destroyed
when the museum is built but the antiquities authorities are remaining
tight lipped, so we may never even know what has been lost!
"He is a vandal, nothing but a vandal," says Professor Dontas of
Evangelos Venizelos, the Greek Minister for Culture.
The government points out that the museum, a ghastly modern contrast
with the pure classical lines of the Parthenon, is to be built on
pillars so that most of the ancient remains will be preserved. Recently,
however, they have admitted that whereas the plans called for pillars 5m
apart, they are now going to be 8.29m apart - presumably because of the
spectacular nature of what has been uncovered and their own guilty
consciences.
This has, however, led to fresh concerns. The Acropolis is in an
earthquake zone and decreasing the number of supports beneath a huge
construction of reinforced concrete is not exactly a good idea. The
concerned residents of Makrigianni, who have visions of an ultra modern
lump of concrete sliding down the hill demolishing everything in its
path, have taken out a lawsuit demanding that work be stopped.
Unlike similar lawsuits brought by archaeologists and historians, this
one looks like succeeding - at least, the Council of State has ruled in
favour of the residents. The Department for the Vandalism of Ancient
Monuments, formerly known as the Archaeology Service, headed by Chief
Vandal Evangelos Venizelos, has protested that this is merely an attempt
to undermine Greece's claim for the Marbles and has vowed to fight the
ruling.
Meanwhile the Elgin Marbles remain in a safe and honoured position in
the British Museum where - most galling to the Greek heart - visitors
can see them FOR FREE!
Ken Down
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