Greece has now officially designated April 19th to honour Lord Byron. The poet was known for many things, one of which was the vilification of Lord Elgin’s actions in the poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.

From:
Balkan Travellers

Greece to Officially Honour Lord Byron
BalkanTravellers.com
16 October 2008

Greece decided on an official day on which it will honour Lord Byron and other foreigners who participated in the war for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

A decree, signed by Greek President Karolos Papoulias, declared April 19 as the Day of Greekophilia and international solidarity.

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Developments such as the New Acropolis Museum mean that the Elgin Marbles may be closer to returning than they once were, but they are still a long way from Greece.

From:
Balkan Travellers

Ancient Greece’s Elgin Marbles Stand at the Centre of a 200-Year Long Great Ado
Text by Ekaterina Petrova

During his term as British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the turn of the nineteenth century, Thomas Bruce, Seventh Earl of Elgin, already knew his actions were controversial and that he might go down in history as a “vandal.” But he most likely did not anticipate that, 200 years on, the heated international dispute he caused would continue to rage with full force.

Almost two centuries after the British diplomat controversially acquired and brought to Britain precious pieces of the Acropolis in Athens, the British Museum still refused to return them to Greece. The Elgin Marbles have in the past couple of decades become emblematic for disputes over the ownership of cultural heritage objects between wealthier countries and nations that boast ancient sites on their territory.

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This case is unusual, inasmuch as the fact that Greece is on the opposite side of the argument to usual.

From:
Balkan Travellers

Silver Plates Owned by Greece and Claimed by Bulgaria Will Not Participate in Byzantium Art Show
BalkanTravellers.com
10 September 2008

The Greek-owned Byzantine set, consisting of nine silver plates dating to the twelfth century, will not participate in Europe’s biggest Byzantine-themed exhibition of the last 50 years, Greek media reported today.

The plates will not be among the 100 artefacts that Greece contributes to the show because the dispute with Bulgaria, which has laid legal claims over the set, has not been settled yet, according to the Ta Nea newspaper.

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