WHAT'S NEW
For those of you who have visited our site before, here is an update on
recent changes. Last update: 10 February 2002.
10 February
2002. A new campaign, Parthenon 2004, has been launched to support the return
of the Parthenon Marbles. Full details on the Campaign Update page.
29 October 2001. The Greek government has announced the winner of the new competition to design the New Acropolis Museum. The architect says he believes the Museum can be finished in time for the 2004 Olympic Games which will be held in Athens. A special glass gallery at the top of the building will be called the Parthenon Hall and will remain empty until the Parthenon Marbles are returned by the British Museum and the British government. Visitors will then be able to view the Marbles and at the same time see the Parthenon itself from the glass gallery. Full story on the New Acropolis Museum page.
25 August 2001. The German government has agreed to return part of the structure of Ancient Olympia to Greece, even though they acquired the pieces legally. In return the Greek government will offer on a rotating loan important pieces of Ancient Greek art. This is the sort of arrangment that the Greek government is currently seeking with the British government and the British Museum over the Parthenon Marbles. Full story on the Campaign Update page.
12 May 2001 -- Canadian Committee launches campaign to collect 100,000 signatures.
May 7 saw the start of a campaign by the Canadian Committee for the Restitution
of the Parthenon Marbles to raise 100,000 signatures throughout Canada in support
of their demands. You can read more about the Canadian Committee on the Canada
page.
12 January 2001 -- More files uploaded to documents section.
The appendices to the submission of the British Committee for the Restitution
of the Parthenon Marbles (see 11 January below) have now been uploaded to the
documents section. These include articles by Professor Vassilis Demetriades
of the University of Crete and Professor Anthony Snodgrass of the University
of Cambridge as well as an update on the New Acropolis Museum from the President
of OANMA, the organisation responsible for organising the building of the new
museum. These articles can also be accessed from links on the page of the British
Committee's submission.
11 January 2001 -- Submission of the British Committee for the Restitution of
the Parthenon Marbles to the House of Commons Select Committee.
The British House of Commons set up a Select Committee to conduct hearings on
the subject "Cultural Property: Return and Illicit Trade". The British Committee
for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles made a submission to this Select
Committee inquiry, relating to the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens.
The submission is published in full in the documents section of this site. Click
here
to go directly to the submission.
10 January
2001 -- Ownership no longer the issue -- Greek government
The Greek government has developed a compromise position on the return of the
Parthenon Marbles. They now say that ownership is not the important issue and
they no longer intend to pursue the issue through international courts. Instead,
they say that what is important is the location of the Parthenon Marbles and
that it is time for these to be reunited in Athens. In return the Greek government
has made generous offers to the British government if the Marbles are returned.
These include a rotating exhibition of Greek art in the British Museum, the
only museum in the world to be offered such an exhibition, and copies of the
Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum, paid for by the Greek government.
Taken by surprise, the British government has so far failed to respond to these
offers, even though they were made over six months ago.
On the Demands of the Greek government page you can now read a statement by the then Minister of Culture Theodoros Pangalos, outlining the new position. There is also a report of the Greek contribution to a seminar on the subject. The Greek delegation was led by Foreign Minister George Papandreou.
20 December 2000 -- Schools page
It has been apparent for some time that large numbers of children, especially
in the 10-11 age range are doing projects on the Parthenon and are searching
the Internet for information. I have received a number of letters from children
asking for information and for material that is more accessible to their age
group. The children's page which I have added to the site is a hurried attempt
to fill that gap. I hope it will be greatly improved upon in the New Year. Any
teachers who can offer advice on what is required to help these school
children with their projects should email me. School children are welcome to
download photos of the Parthenon Marbles from the web site and include them in
their projects.
15 November 2000
Last July Dr Chris Stockdale swam from Delos to Paros in a sponsored swim in support of the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece. Read his report of the swim and the historical context on the Campaign Update page.
16 February 2000
New pages have been added with campaign news from international supporters in
the USA and Australia. These pages can be accessed from the International
Support page.
History of the Marbles. It is now possible to download the whole pamphlet
by Vranopoulos either as a plain text zip file or an attractive html zip file
which you can read in your browser. Click here
to go to the download page.
|