The long running Acropolis programme of works on the Acropolis site enters a new phase

The current restoration of the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis has been ongoing for many years now. This week, the go-ahead has been given by the Central Archaeological Council for works to proceed on the West Pediment.

You can read more about the proposals (in Greek) here.

The West end of the Parthenon

From:
Greek Reporter

Restoration Work on Parthenon’s Western Pediment to Begin
By Kerry Kolasa-Sikiaridi –
Aug 4, 2016

The Central Archaeological Council (KAS) approved on Wednesday two projects for the restoration of the upright marble slabs and background wall of the drum which form part of Parthenon’s western pediment.

According to the researchers who presented the two studies, the work involves rescue interventions aimed at dealing with the problems found by restorers in that section of the pediment – mainly cracks formed by various causes. In the future, the studies could be used to evaluate whether it would be useful to add material in place of the two missing slabs, they said.
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As in other years, the Acropolis in Athens has been a part of the worldwide Earth Hour, dimming its lights on the evening of 29th March.

The Acropolis, before & during Earth Hour

From:
Inquirer

Lights out for iconic landmarks on Earth Hour
Agence France-Presse
10:36 am | Sunday, March 30th, 2014

NEW YORK – Iconic landmarks around the world were plunged into darkness Saturday as lights went out in thousands of places as part of a global fundraising drive for local environmental projects.

New York’s Empire State Building, the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Rio’s Christ the Redeemer statue and Sydney’s Opera House were among those blacked out for 60 minutes at 8:30 pm local time for the annual Earth Hour.
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More coverage of the human chain around the Parthenon for Anti-Racism day.

As I mentioned before, it would be great if something like this could happen on a regular basis to help draw attention to the issue of the Parthenon Marbles.

Children form human chain around the Parthenon

From:
Greek Reporter

2,500 Kids Form Human Chain Around Parthenon
Ioanna Zikakou – Mar 21, 2014

Today, 2,500 children gathered at the Acropolis, forming a human chain around the Parthenon upon the initiative of the General Secretariat of Transparency and Human Rights to mark the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Under the banner “We embrace the Acropolis, embrace democracy, embrace humanity”, children of many nationalities as well as some with disabilities sang about the meaning of the day and released 2000 colored balloons into the Attica sky, sending the message of peaceful and creative coexistence without discrimination amongst people.
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Stories such as this, go some way towards illustrating that the Parthenon is more than just another ancient monument – it holds a larger symbolism for many within Greece & internationally.

Perhaps a similar event should be organised on a regular basis to highlight the plight of the Marbles? People have previously suggested that the anniversary of the opening of the Acropolis Museum becomes Parthenon Day. Perhaps we could organise people to encircle both the British Museum & Acropolis Museum simultaneously on that day to show the unity of the two sites? Who’s interested?

The Parthenon

From:
Greek Reporter

Kids to Hug Acropolis for Anti-Racism Day
by Abed Alloush – Mar 19, 2014

2,500 children will form a human chain round the Parthenon on Friday March 21 to mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Their motto will be “We hug the Acropolis, We hug democracy, We hug humanity.”

Organized by the Greek Ministry of Justice, children of different nationalities and people with special needs will sing and release colorful balloons into the sky to sending a message “of a peaceful and creative co-existence of all human beings, without any racial discrimination.”

The Acropolis museum will later host an event featuring work by celebrated artists including Antonis Remos, Dimitris Mpasis, Melina Kana, Melina Aslanidou, Sonia Theodoridou and the director, Giannis Smaragdis, as well as from children of the Paladion primary school. The event will be attended by President of the Greek Republic Karolos Papoulias and by Charalambos Athanasiou and Konstandinos Arvanitopoulos, ministers of justice and education, respectively.

This article gives quite a convenient summary of what the Parthenon Marbles are & some of the key issues surrounding the case.

From:
Live Science

Elgin Marbles & the Parthenon
Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor
Date: 14 January 2013 Time: 04:33 PM ET

The Elgin Marbles, sometimes referred to as the Parthenon sculptures, are a collection of marble sculptures that originally adorned the top of the exterior of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, and are now in London, England.

They are currently exhibited, free to the public, in the Duveen Gallery in the British Museum. Although today the sculptures appear white, originally they were painted in vivid colors, something that new research is revealing.
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The Parthenon frieze today, whether you look at it in the New Acropolis Museum or the British Museum, is on full display, easily observed by any visitors who stand in front of it. When it was on the Parthenon though, it was a much harder entity to observe – hidden high up, inside the outer columns & thus blocked by the outer beam containing the metopes.

Because it is hard to get access close to the Parthenon because of the restoration works, it is not so easy to see today, just how obscured the sculptures actually were in ancient times. I first looked at this as part of my university thesis, twelve years ago, when I noticed this issue from looking at sectional drawings through the building & then later on a 3D CAD model that I constructed.

It was not a completely unplanned problem though, as the depth of the relief of the carving of the frieze is carefully graded from top to bottom, to enable them to be ore clearly seen from below.

At the time that I was researching the issue, I came up with possible theories on why they might have created such a large amount of sculpture that was almost hidden in this way – but was unable to prove any of them & reached no firm conclusions on the subject. I’m very interested to see what other ideas come up as a result of this new research project into this aspect of the Parthenon’s sculptures.

You can find out more about Emory University’s Parthenon Project here. As with the Caryatid Hairstyles Project, that I mentioned a few days ago, its great to see that so much research is being made into the art & architecture of ancient Greece – and that even with sites as intensively studied as the Parthenon, it is still possible to rediscover many more new things from its ruins.

From:
The Tenessean

Parthenon puzzle is doozy
Art students try to solve mystery behind frieze
3:06 AM, Nov 11, 2012

It’s one of the mysteries of the ancient world, an architectural enigma that has puzzled art historians for centuries.

And one that a group of students were trying to solve on Saturday in Centennial Park.

The original Parthenon in Athens, Greece, was an architectural triumph devoted to the goddess Athena. And in spite of being held up as a masterpiece of the Classical Era, art historians for centuries have wondered why its designers hoisted an immaculately sculpted frieze to a spot partially obscured by the Parthenon’s iconic columns.
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The Metope Of The Annunciation, which was previously undergoing restoration after being removed from the Parthenon is to go on public display in the New Acropolis Museum.

From:
Greek Reporter

Metope Of The Annunciation To Be Exhibited At The Acropolis Museum
By Fani Toli on March 13, 2012

The 32nd metope of the Annunciation, that has been removed from the Parthenon temple atop the Athens Acropolis for conservation, will be exhibited at the Acropolis Museum of Athens on the 25th of March.

The 32nd metope from the southwestern side of the Parthenon, a Classical Era temple dedicated to the mythical goddess Athena, is known as the metope of the Annunciation because it was thought to resemble the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and it is the first time that it is being exhibited at the Acropolis museum.
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Nashville has the only accurate full size replica of the Parthenon anywhere in the world (although it looses a lot from lacking the context of the Acropolis to surround it). A new exhibition there, looks at some of the history behind this monument.

From:
News Channel 5

Exhibit Exploring Parthenon’s History Opens Tuesday
Posted: Nov 08, 2011 12:22 PM GST Posted: Nov 08, 2011 12:22 PM GST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A new permanent exhibit exploring the Parthenon’s history will open on Tuesday.

It houses artifacts from the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, which is when the Parthenon was first built out of plaster and wood as the Fine Arts Building. After the Exposition, which celebrated Tennessee’s hundredth year as a state, the Parthenon was in danger of being torn down.
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Despite their time on the monument (& the fact that for years, people have perceived them in their pure white form), traces of the original colouring from the sculptures on the Parthenon are still visible.

From:
Athens News Agency

06/14/2011
Traces of the Parthenon’s colourful past

(ANA-MPA) — An inset shows traces of mustard-coloured paint on the eponymous Lion’s Head pediment that was removed from the Parthenon’s northeast side on Friday 9 June 2011. The pediment was removed from atop the celebrated Classical Era ancient temple for restoration. The Parthenon was painted in bright colours during antiquity, as were most ancient temples, a far cry from the ubiquitous sun-baked and bare marble columns and friezes usually associated today with the Greco-Roman era. ANA-MPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU

The Acropolis in Athens is now going to be open for longer. It is already better than it used to be though, as I remember visiting it in the 1990s, when it seemed that it was barely open in the afternoons during the winter months.

From:
The Independent

Longer opening hours for Athens Acropolis
AFP
Saturday, 21 May 2011

Greece is to extend the opening hours of the Acropolis in Athens due to public demand, Culture Minister Pavlos Geroulanosin announced Thursday.

The site will open from 8:00 am (0500 GMT) to 19:00 pm (1600 GMT) year-round after staffing changes prompted by a restructure of the country’s public bodies.
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The Russian Magazine Ellada has an article in it about an exhibition of photos of the Parthenon by Apostolos Papapostolou.

From:
Greek Reporter

Parthenon Photo Exhibition Profiled in “Ellada” Greek-Russian Magazine
Posted on 25 March 2011 by Polina Dimea

A special feature in the Russian magazine “Ellada” (Greece), which is published in Moscow, was dedicated to the “Marbles” photo exhibition and its creator Mr. Apostolos Papapostolou. The above mentioned magazine is the only printed medium in Russia specialized in topics related to Greece and Cyprus.

The article outlines the profile and work of Mr. Papapostolou, who is a professor in the Technological Educational Institution (TEI) of Athens. It describes how art and technology are his big loves, and actually a motivation for a remarkable photographic approach of the Parthenon marbles.
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Five missing metopes from the Parthenon have been rediscovered, buried in the walls of the Acropolis when they were repaired in the past.

From:
Greek Reporter

Archaeologists Discover New Metopes of Parthenon
Posted on 04 March 2011 by Anastasia Brousou

Five metopes of the Parthenon have been discovered in the South wall of Acropolis. According to “Eleftherotypia” daily, the archaeologists claim that the metopes have been placed in the 18th century, when the Acropolis wall was being repaired. The experts discovered the metopes, while processing 2250 photos with modern photographic methods.

The metopes found, are different from the other panels, as they are made of marble from the area of Penteli. Until recently the archaeologists used to believe that those metopes had been destroyed during the Morosini explosion of the Parthenon, in 1678.