The Acropolis of Athens, Part III

As we continued to explore the Acropolis, we stumbled upon this little structure.

Finally, the Parthenon!

Now you may be asking, what's with all the scaffolding?  Well, since you asked, that's part of an ongoing restoration that began a couple of years ago...in 1975!!  And I don't remember when they told us they expect it to be complete, but I am not sure I'll live to see that complete restoration.

As we approached the Parthenon, we could see the interior and exterior friezes. On this face of the building, the exterior frieze is in poor condition.  In the lower part of this photo, you can see the interior frieze around the cella (interior portion of the building). 

The interior frieze is one of the current focuses of the restoration.

We walked counter-clockwise around the Parthenon.  This is the southern wall.  You can see that several of the pillars and the roofline are missing.

This was as a result of a campaign in 1687 by the Venetians against the Ottoman Turks.  Even after being warned, the Ottoman Turks chose to use a portion of the Parthenon as a gunpowder magazine to store the explosive until they needed it.  Well, those Venetians fired a mortar from the Hill of Philopappus (remember that hill I told you about?) and blew up the side of the Parthenon.

Incidentally, that roof and windows that you see int he bottom of this photo are part of one of the buildings at the Acropolis that are used in the restoration effort.  We weren't allowed inside, but I'm sure those archaeologists and engineers were thrilled to have air conditioning up there on one of the highest points in Athens on a hot June day.

We continued to move to the east side of the Parthenon for the obligatory tourist picture of us in front of the Parthenon. Yes, we were there! (Christmas card photo, anyone?) 

  
Along the top of the east pediment, we saw portions of the metopes.  These depict various mythological battles. You can see a horse's head here. 

This was the first time we were told about the dispute over the "marbles".  Our guide told us that many elements of the original Parthenon are currently held in the British Museum in London.  I thought when they said "marbles", they were talking about big round stones of various sizes that were taken to London.  I was thinking, who wants to see a bunch of balls in London when we can see all this cool sculpture right here in Athens?

As our guide continued to explain to us, the "marbles" are a collection of items from the Parthenon and the Acropolis (of Athens) that were claimed by the Earl of Elgin way back in 1806 (with permission of the Ottoman Empire).  I guess when you're royalty, you can have anything you want. In 1816, the marbles were sold to the British Museum, where they sit today.  And that, friends, is how Greece lost its marbles. (yeah, I went there.)

Apparently, negotiations have been ongoing between the British and the Greeks since 1983 for the return of the marbles, but the British Museum has so far refused to return the marbles, and the British government does not want to intervene, because it would take legislation to force their return to Greece.  The British Museum says that they can take better care of the relics than the Greek can, due to climate control and other things.  Come on people, give the marbles back to the Greeks!  This is not kindergarten.

We continued to move clockwise around the Parthenon to the north elevation.  I was just reading something I had forgotten that we were told on our tour.  That white material that makes up the "new" portion of the puzzle is actually brought in from the original quarry.  So eventually, with wear and weather, it will fade to the creamy color.  Hmmmm.

One more photo of the north side of the Parthenon.

So there you have it. There's the Parthenon in all its glory. It's pretty amazing and was truly surreal to stand on that ancient ground.

But don't fret, there are still more things to see at (and from) the Acropolis of Athens.