Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
THE ELGIN MARBLES
The controversy over the so-called Elgin Marbles has its origin in the activities of Western
looters at the start of the nineteenth century: above all the French ambassador Fauvel,
gathering antiquities for the Louvre, and
Lord Elgin
levering away sculptures from the
Parthenon. As British Ambassador, Elgin obtained permission from the Turks to erect
scaffolding, excavate and remove stones with inscriptions. He interpreted this concession as a
licence to make off with almost all of the bas-reliefs from the Parthenon's frieze, most of its
pedimental structures and a caryatid from the Erechtheion - all of which he later sold to the
British Museum. While there were perhaps justifications for Elgin's action at the time - not least
the Turks' tendency to use Parthenon stones in their lime kilns - his pilfering was controversial
even then. Byron, for one, roundly disparaged his actions.
The Greeks hoped that the long-awaited completion of the new Acropolis Museum would
create the perfect opportunity for the British Museum to bow to pressure and return the
Parthenon Marbles (as they are always known here). But despite a campaign begun by the late
Greek actress and culture minister Melina Mercouri in the 1980s, there is so far little sign of that
happening; central to the British Museum's argument is that to return them would be to set a
precedent that would empty virtually every museum in the world.
The South Slope
Daily: April-Sept 8am-6.30pm; Oct-March 8.30am-3pm • €2 or joint Acropolis ticket • Metro Akrópoli
Entrance to the
South Slope
site
is either by a path tracking around the side of the
Acropolis near the main ticket office, or from below, off pedestrianized Leofóros
Dhionysíou Areopayítou close to Metro Akrópoli. A great deal of restoration and
excavation work is ongoing here, including the opening up of a new area on the eastern
edge of the rock, above Pláka where groups of statues have been gathered together.
Theatre of Dionysos
he
Theatre of Dionysos
is one of the most evocative locations in the city. Here the
masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes were first performed;
it was also the venue in Classical times for the annual festival of tragic drama, where
each Greek citizen would take his turn as member of the chorus. Rebuilt in the fourth
century BC, the theatre could hold some 17,000 spectators - considerably more than
Herodes Atticus's 5000-6000 seats. Twenty of the original 64 tiers of seats survive.
Most notable are the great marble thrones in the front row, each inscribed with the
name of an official of the festival or of an important priest; in the middle sat the priest
of Dionysos and on his right the representative of the Delphic Oracle. At the rear of
the stage are reliefs of episodes in the life of Dionysos flanked by two squatting Sileni,
devotees of the satyrs. Sadly, this area is roped of to protect the stage-floor
mosaic
- a
magnificent diamond of multicoloured marble best seen from above.
Herodes Atticus Theatre
The dominant structure on the south side of the Acropolis - much more immediately
obvious even than the Theatre of Dionysos - is the second-century Roman
Herodes
Atticus Theatre
(Odeion of Herodes Atticus). This has been extensively restored for
performances of music and Classical drama during the summer festival (see p.110)
but is open only for shows; at other times you'll have to be content with spying over
the wall.
Stoa of Eumenes
Between the two theatres lie the foundations of the
Stoa of Eumenes
, originally a
massive colonnade of stalls erected in the second century BC. Above the stoa, high up
under the walls of the Acropolis, extend the ruins of the
Asklepion
, a sanctuary devoted
to the healing god Asklepios and built around a sacred spring; restoration is ongoing,
and there are extensive new signs in English.
