August 19, 2008
More on Stealing Athena
More on the historical novel Stealing Athena. If nothing else, books such as this raise awareness of the background of the Elgin Marbles & in many cases lead people to find out more about the subject.
From:
Toronto Sun
Sun, August 17, 2008
Book in brief
By YVONNE CRITTENDEN[…]
STEALING ATHENA
By Karen Essex
This intriguing novel by Karen Essex is based on a true story of obsession. It’s about the two ancient Greeks who developed the glory that is the Parthenon and the man who, centuries later, rescued — or stole, depending on one’s point of view — the best of the remaining marbles for his own country: England. But most of all, it tells the story of two women who loved the obsessed men. The story moves between the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when Mary Nisbet accompanied her husband, Lord Elgin, to Constantinople at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, where he was British ambassador, and Athens 2000 years earlier, where Aspasia, a female philosopher and courtesan to Pericles, the famed leader and orator, helped influence the building of the Parthenon. The famed Elgin Marbles, which have been on display in the British Museum for the last 200 years, are still the centre of raging controversy, with the Greeks wanting them returned as part of their historical legacy, and Elgin supporters saying they were rescued from certain destruction. (Random House)
- Stealing Athena : May 28, 2008
- The story behind Stealing Athena : June 15, 2008
- Why Karen Essex wrote Stealing Athena : June 16, 2009
- The Parthenon Sculptures inspire a historical novel : July 14, 2008
- Mary Elgin : January 9, 2005
- Book on the Athena Statue in the Parthenon : November 25, 2005
- Losing Marbles – Or what could happen on the return journey of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece : December 10, 2009
- Kathy Lette’s views on the Parthenon Marbles : October 17, 2014