Following coverage of the decision to censor parts of a film on show in the New Acropolis Museum, it now appears that the decision has been reached that for the time being, the film can continue to be shown in its original un-edited version.

From:
Deutsche Presse Agentur

Acropolis Museum decides to leave film of priests hacking Acropolis
Europe News
Aug 5, 2009, 10:52 GMT

Athens – The new Acropolis Museum decided to leave a short film, depicting long-robed Christians hacking away at the Acropolis, uncut despite angry protests by the powerful Greek Orthodox Church, reports said Wednesday.

Just weeks after its opening, the new museum released an informative short film to visitors about the history of the 5th century BC Parthenon temple which shows figures in long robes hacking away at the monument.
Read the rest of this entry »

More coverage of the removal of depictions of the iconoclasm from a film on display in the New Acropolis Museum.

From:
Agence France Presse

Acropolis Museum accused of muzzling filmmaker
(AFP) – 20 hours ago

ATHENS — A rights group has accused Greece’s new Acropolis Museum of censoring a video that shows early Christians vandalising antiquities after complaints attributed to the country’s Orthodox Church.

The Greek section of the Helsinki Monitor (GHM) on human rights on Monday said it had filed an injunction application against the museum, demanding that the video by prominent French filmmaker Costa-Gavras be restored in full.
Read the rest of this entry »

The Parthenon was originally a religious monument although this meaning of it has been largely lost, being displaced by the building’s position as a national (& international) icon. Religion regularly comes back into its story though – both throughout the history of the building (which was also a church & a mosque) & has recently been highlighted again by the Greek Orthodox church’s objection to parts of a video on display in the New Acropolis Museum.

From:
Religion Dispatches

When Religion Goes Missing in the Modern Museum
By Louis A. Ruprecht
August 4, 2009

The brand-new Acropolis Museum, designed to showcase the repatriated plunder of another century, has instead a few other things to offer — among them, views of other museumgoers from beneath, as well as a newly censored video showing Greek Christians hard at work destroying Classical art.

I. A Museum Half-Full, Half-Empty

On the week of the summer solstice, that most energized and sacred week in the pagan calendar, the Greek government opened a new national museum. The plans for the building, designed by Swiss-born architect Bernard Tschumi, were first revealed at the Venice Biennale in 2002. They have been completed in ambitious fashion. But the new museum is empty.
Read the rest of this entry »

Following their complaints about the depiction or priests damaging sculptures on the Parthenon in a video on show at the New Acropolis Museum, the Greek Orthodox church has been successful in getting these scenes removed from the film.

The original video can still be seen here.

From:
New York Times

Scene Cut From Athens Museum Film After Protests
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 25, 2009

Filed at 5:48 p.m. ET

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A scene from an animated film shown to visitors at the new Acropolis Museum that depicts Christian priests destroying parts of the Parthenon has been deleted following protests by the Greek Orthodox Church.

The creator of the segment, Greek-born French filmmaker Constantin Costa-Gavras, has demanded that his name be taken off the film credits in protest.
Read the rest of this entry »

Greece’s Orthodox Church has complained about the content of a video about the history of the Parthenon, on display in the New Acropolis Museum. They want the removal of sections showing priests destroying some of the monuments sculptures in the eighth century AD.

Whilst the church leaders may object to this clip within the video, its depiction of the iconoclasm is based on evidence of what actually happened. Surely blocking things like this to revise history merely amounts to censorship, in much the same was as the priests then were trying to censor the pagan sculptures on the buildings. A far better way of dealing with it would be to actually explain in detail why things happened the way that they did then, followed by the reasons why we have moved on from that now & that such practises would no longer be condoned.

From:
GR Reporter

New Acropolis Musem aggravates the Church
24 July 2009

The Greek Orthodox Church has reportedly become angry with administration of the new Acropolis Museum. The grudge is caused by a 13-minute documentary, projected in one of the halls of the museum, which shows, using digital animation, a group of priests in robes destroying sculptures of the Parthenon in the VIII century AD. Interestingly enough, creator of the documentary is the world-famous Greek director Kostas Gavras. The film itself dates back to 2004 and has been shown in front of a big audience at the New York Cultural Olympics, organized during the summer Olympic games of 2004.

The film is devoted to the legendary Athenian chief Pericles and his urban plans. It’s precisely the period under Pericles when the Parthenon has been built on the hill of the Acropolis. The director spends too much time unfolding the temple’s decorations, and only briefly describes the events in the 25 centurial history since it was first built. The first disaster to befall the temple was a big fire in 267 B.C. Next is the early Christian period, which damages a number of the ancient Greek cultural monuments, including the Parthenon which is turned into a church. Other historic events are also visited by Gavras – during the fourth Crusade, the Parthenon is converted into a Roman church. Also in 1458, when the Turks conquer Athens, it is turned into a Muslim mosque. The marble structures, which lord Elgin takes to Britain are also mentioned.
Read the rest of this entry »