Cyprus-Forum.com

[Paphitis]

Greeks have in the past destroyed much of their National Inheritance particularly during the Byzantine Period.

Even the Parthenon Marbles were vandalized for being of "Pagan" origin.

So, do Greeks really have a case to ask for their the return of their lost marbles?

[Cap]

[Paphitis]

In the 5th Century AD, the Parthenon was converted to a Church and clergy defaced and vandilized sculptures and statutes, including the marbles for being "pagan".

What do people think about this?

[kurupetos]

In the 5th Century AD, the Parthenon was converted to a Church and clergy defaced and vandilized sculptures and statutes, including the marbles for being "pagan".

What do people think about this?

I think it was a mistake.

[Paphitis]

In the 5th Century AD, the Parthenon was converted to a Church and clergy defaced and vandilized sculptures and statutes, including the marbles for being "pagan".

What do people think about this?

I think it was a mistake.

What was a mistake? Greeks destroying their rich inheritance?

[kurupetos]

In the 5th Century AD, the Parthenon was converted to a Church and clergy defaced and vandilized sculptures and statutes, including the marbles for being "pagan".

What do people think about this?

I think it was a mistake.

What was a mistake? Greeks destroying their rich inheritance?

Yes, but what's your point? This does not give the right to Brits, or other dirty foreigners, to steal Greek property.

[Paphitis]

In the 5th Century AD, the Parthenon was converted to a Church and clergy defaced and vandilized sculptures and statutes, including the marbles for being "pagan".

What do people think about this?

I think it was a mistake.

What was a mistake? Greeks destroying their rich inheritance?

Yes, but what's your point? This does not give the right to Brits, or other dirty foreigners, to steal Greek property.

The point is, Greeks have not always respected their own rich inheritance. In fact, at one point, they were trying to eradicate and extinguish it.

Also, we shouldn't overreact. Britain did not steal the marbles but legally acquired them. Morally, I believe the Marbles should be returned to Greece and housed at the Acropolis Museum!

[kurupetos]

In the 5th Century AD, the Parthenon was converted to a Church and clergy defaced and vandilized sculptures and statutes, including the marbles for being "pagan".

What do people think about this?

I think it was a mistake.

What was a mistake? Greeks destroying their rich inheritance?

Yes, but what's your point? This does not give the right to Brits, or other dirty foreigners, to steal Greek property.

The point is, Greeks have not always respected their own rich inheritance. In fact, at one point, they were trying to eradicate and extinguish it.

Also, we shouldn't overreact. Britain did not steal the marbles but legally acquired them. Morally, I believe the Marbles should be returned to Greece and housed at the Acropolis Museum!

Legally? How?

[Sotos]

In the 5th Century AD, the Parthenon was converted to a Church and clergy defaced and vandilized sculptures and statutes, including the marbles for being "pagan".

What do people think about this?

Nobody cared to preserve ancient things in the 5th century AD.

[GreekIslandGirl]

In the 5th Century AD, the Parthenon was converted to a Church and clergy defaced and vandilized sculptures and statutes, including the marbles for being "pagan".

What do people think about this?

Nobody cared to preserve ancient things in the 5th century AD.

That's not true, Sotos. Don't be misled by the lack of knowledge from the OP.

The Temple of Athena (virgin) of the Parthenon was modified to house a temple (church) to the Virgin Mary during the Christian/Byzantine times. Hardly any of the structure was wrecked which is why despite other invaders blasting the Parthenon, it still retained a remarkable amount of the original features - which were only removed by Elgin, as we know full well!

In fact, the Greeks and Cypriots were superb recyclers of artwork and it has led to the use of the term Spolia. So for example there is something about it in Wiki and various conferences have been held on the subject.

Spolia (Latin, 'spoils') is the re-use of earlier building material or decorative sculpture on new monuments. The practice was common in late antiquity: Roman examples include the Arch of Janus, the earlier imperial reliefs reused on the Arch of Constantine, the colonnade of Old Saint Peter's Basilica; examples in Byzantine territories include the exterior sculpture on the Church of Panagia Gorgoepikoos in Athens)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spolia

Greece and Cyprus Spolia in Cyprus in Late Antiquity

By Panayotis Panayides, PhD candidate, Durham University, The identification of spolia in Early Christian basilicas in Cyprus highlights the involvement of the Church in the process but also brings up questions on its role in the practice of spoliation and allows further discussions on any possible meanings of this practice. By drawing focus on the architecture of two early Christian basilicas in Cyprus, this paper discusses that the issue of re-use was primarily motivated by economic forces and that the church builders valued the materials on the basis of their usefulness, rather than by considering any ideological implications arising from such re-use.

The Parastaseis: Views and Interpretations of Ancient Monuments

By Professor Helen Saradi-Mendelovici, University of Peloponnese, Greece, The
Parastaseis Syntomoi Chronikai is an account of monuments, especially statues, of Constantinople, written probably in the 8th c. Placed in the tradition of the Patria (accounts of local history, topography and legends). The Parastaseis records various superstitious beliefs regarding statues with a medieval literary style. Through the monuments the Parastaseis projects Constantinople as a Greek city, detached from the Roman tradition, and as a Christian city with numerous churches which Christianized its pagan past.

http://www.academia.edu/3314537/Spolia_ ... _Basilicas