A few years ago, the commonly accepted theory was that the Parthenon Frieze depicted the Panathenaic Procesion. Recently though, various alternative theories have been put forward that possibly it is illustrating some completely different event.

Joan Breton Connelly’s book, the Parthenon Enigma bases a fictional story around another possible meaning of the frieze.

From:
Weekly Standard

Deep Frieze Meaning
What is the Parthenon telling us?
Sep 8, 2014, Vol. 19, No. 48 • By A. E. STALLINGS

The Parthenon represents, for many, a golden age in human achievement: the 5th-century b.c. Greek flowering of democracy, sciences, and the arts. But what if its chief ornament, the Parthenon frieze, turned out to be not an embodiment of reason and proportion—of stillness at the heart of motion, quiet piety, and enlightened civic responsibility—but (or, rather, also) something darker, more primitive: a representation of the critical moment in an ancient story of a king at war, a human sacrifice, and a goddess’s demand for virgin blood?

That’s the argument at the heart of The Parthenon Engima. The plot involves not only ritual murder and burial, but fragments of a lost play of Euripides found on mummy wrappings. Even the title suggests a Dan Brown thriller.
Read the rest of this entry »

Graham Bishop has just released the latest in his series of Commissaire Pierre Rousseau Mysteries, called Return to the Parthenon. Much of the story is based around the marbles, that were lost at sea in the wreck of the Mentor off the coast of Kythera

It is available to buy as an e-book from Amazon. You can read the first chapter on the author’s website.

From:
Amazon

Return to the Parthenon (Commissaire Pierre Rousseau Mysteries) [Kindle Edition]
Graham Bishop

When HMS Mentor sank off the island of Kythira in 1802, 17 crates of sculptures prized off the Parthenon on the orders of Lord Elgin went to the bottom of the sea. Later they were all salvaged and taken to England. Or were they? Did the islanders save some of the sculptures themselves and conceal them on the island before the salvagers arrived? Why is an Italian diving team now searching the wreck? Pierre Rousseau and his Greek colleagues become involved in investigating what could be the find of the century. Returning lost scuptures to the Acropolis Museum in Athens would create a sensation. Or is all just a hoax to attract more tourists to the island?

Graham Bishop alerted me to a novel that he is writing, about French & Greek police trying to secure the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece. The story revolves around attempts to retrieve some sculptures from the the wreck of Elgin’s ship off Kythera.

From:
Commissaire Pierre Rousseau’s Diary

Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Back to the Parthenon

Our latest case is now written up in first draft. But before I submit it to the PJ there is a lot of work to do revising and checking facts. This time it was Patrick and Eleni who were the prime movers. Eleni spotted some suspicious goings on the the Greek island of Kythira and followed up a fascinating story told to them by a waiter at their favourite restaurant about the possible rescuing of some carvings from the Parthenon.

The background involves the foundering off the island of the HMS Mentor, the ship which carried the first of the cases Lord Elgin shipped back to England with the sculptures he had prised off the Temple of Athena the Virgin, that is, the Parthenon.

Should take a few months but then everyone will be able to read it.

Stealing the Marbles is a new crime novel by Ej Knapp about a heist involving the theft of the Parthenon Sculptures.

More information is available on the author’s website.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that a crime novel has been written about this particular subject – Reg Gardney’s book; Strange Police, covered vary similar ground.

I went yesterday evening to East 15 acting school’s play: Losing Marbles.

I’m not sure what I expected the play to be like – but it definitely wasn’t like any of the ideas I had in my mind. It was at the same time different & far better than what I had expected. As it still has one more night to show (at a different theatre) I won’t reveal the plot – but I can say that it is hilariously funny, ingeniously performed & well worth watching – whether or not you are interested in the story of the Parthenon Marbles.

As I mentioned before, there is one last chance to see it – in Colchester, Essex this Friday Night.

From:
University of Essex

11 December 2009
Losing Marbles and The Tart With a Heart

Performance Time: 19:30
Venue: Lakeside Theatre

Joining TAS on the second night of Snow White: The Tart With a Heart, East 15 acting school present Losing Marbles, a tale of ancient grievance.

When a Greek immigrant attempts to singlehandedly return the Elgin Marbles to Athens, an epic struggle unfolds – hurtling from the Parthenon to the bowels of the British Museum and beyond. A startlingly profound musical satire on the nature of love and posession.

Tickets:
Full: £7.00, Conc: £5.00, UoE Students: £3.00

Booking information:
Ticket Hotline: 01206 573948
Book Online: http://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/artson5
In person: University Gallery, Square 5
Monday – Friday 11 – 5, Saturday 12 – 4

Karen Essex’s book; Stealing Athena, is a historical novel revolving around the acquisition of the Parthenon Marbles. Here, the author talks more about the inspiration behind it.

From:
Daily Iowan

Writer Karen Essex brings centuries-old controversy to IC with fiction flair
BY KERY LAWSON | JUNE 15, 2009 7:26 AM

Her text traces a set of statues from ancient Greece to early 19th-century Britain, and Karen Essex’s fourth novel, Stealing Athena, will bring the centuries-old controversy to Iowa City.

Essex will travel from California to Iowa City to share the novel. She will read at Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., at 7 p.m. today.
Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

Two more reviews of Karen Essex’s new book Stealing Athena, a story with the Parthenon Marbles at its heart & inspired by the Author seeing the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum.

From:
Los Angeles Times

This time, Karen Essex tackles ‘Stealing Athena’
The author’s historical novels give voice to powerful women who flout traditional roles. Her latest involves the Elgin Marbles.
By Swati Pandey, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 14, 2008

Novelist Karen Essex remembers when she first encountered the name Aspasia, a courtesan in ancient Greece, while wading through a copy of Plutarch in graduate school.

“Plutarch suddenly starts talking about Aspasia as Pericles’ mistress,” she said, mentioning the Athenian leader. Aspasia “had the respect of the most intelligent men in an Athens in which women weren’t even citizens and were completely sequestered. It was very titillating, and just a tease, because Plutarch mentions her, and that’s it.”
Read the rest of this entry »

More coverage of Karen Essex’s new historical novel, much of which centres around the removal of the Parthenon Sculptures by Lord Elgin, as seen through the eyes of his wife.

From:
The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, Virginia

FIGHT AT THE MUSEUM
The Parthenon and its artifacts provide a rich background for ‘Stealing Athena’
Date published: 6/15/2008

AVISIT TO THE British Museum provides an awesome view of some of the most beautiful sculptures of ancient Greece, the controversial marble works of the Parthenon. To understand how this collection came into the hands of the British, one only has to read, “Stealing Athena,” the newest novel by Karen Essex, which centers on two fascinating women involved with the construction and destruction of the Parthenon.

Aspasia, female philosopher, infamous mistress of Pericles and friend of Socrates, used her intelligence and influence to ensure that the greatest ambition of her lover came to fruition. Together, they overcame stiff opposition to complete the most beautiful shrine and tribute to the goddess Athena in ancient Greece, the Parthenon.
Read the rest of this entry »

A new historical novel by Karen Essex looks at the Parthenon Marbles through the eyes of two different people at different times, contrasting their views.

From:
Library Journal

Xpress Reviews—First Look at New Books
— Library Journal, 5/27/2008 10:30:00 AM

Fiction

[…]

Essex, Karen
Stealing Athena
Doubleday. Jun. 2008. c.400p. ISBN 978-0-385-51971-7. $22.95. F

Verdict: Essex (Kleopatra; Leonardo’s Swans) excels at well-researched historical fiction based on the lives of real women. Her latest is sure to have broad appeal among individual readers and book discussion groups. Highly recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/08.]
Read the rest of this entry »