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E-mail: JohnEDouglas@gmail.com
Blog: http://johneoindouglas.blogspot.com/
13th of February 2012
Dear Sir/Madam,
LOST MARBLES
Watching the sad scenes of Athens burning at the hands of its own people, I can only say how glad I am that the Elgin Marbles remain safe in London and have not been returned to such a savage not to mention fiscally irresponsible nation.
I wonder if the price of yet another Euro bailout of Greece could be the transfer of the remaining portion of the Parthenon to London where it could be reunited with that removed by Lord Elgin to the British Museum for safekeeping and the whole rebuilt in the East End after the Olympics have moved on?
John Eoin Douglas
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Dear Mr Douglas
ReplyDeleteAre you trying to justify the theft by Lord Elgin with the behavior of a few people in Athens?
Have you visited the new Acropolis Museum which was built to accommodate amongst other the Elgin marbles, so that people like you can no longer have an excuse for not returning the stolen marbles?
You ought to be ashamed of your comments.
Athos Stylianou
You shouldn't be glad, but extremely ashamed of your rather ridiculous comments.
ReplyDeleteIn historical terms these ruins have remained intact for more than 2500 years, during which time London had been ramsacked and burned to the ground on more than one occasions.
ReplyDeleteAthens is perfectly safe, I would know, I live there. The vandals are only a tiny portion of lots of peaceful protesters who have been devastated by the eurozone crisis; but unfortunately they are the only ones getting the media limelight.
Hear hear to Athos in saying you ought to be ashamed of your comments!
Mr Douglas
ReplyDeleteAs a journalist you must have a totally detailed picture of everything you write for. Your article about the "STOLEN" Marbles, shows us that your critical mind is still primitive.
You bring me in the mind the picture of a insatiable vulture hunting a beautiful gazelle. The vulture cannot understand the beauty of the gazelle, just GRAB it!
You will never understand the majesty of the people that gave their lifes to construct and to protect (not the stones mr Douglas) the idea of spiritual and civilization immortality.
I suggest you, in this point, to have a look at the work of Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller about the Greeks and if you can still be proud for the thief and for your country buy a gun and get over of your mizery life!
Mr Douglas
ReplyDeleteAs a journalist you must have a totally detailed picture of everything you write for. Your article about the "STOLEN" Marbles, shows us that your critical mind is still primitive.
You bring me in the mind the picture of a insatiable vulture hunting a beautiful gazelle. The vulture cannot understand the beauty of the gazelle, just GRAB it!
You will never understand the majesty of the people that gave their lifes to construct and to protect (not the stones mr Douglas) the idea of spiritual and civilization immortality.
I suggest you, in this point, to have a look at the work of Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller about the Greeks and if you can still be proud for the thief and for your country buy a gun and get over of your mizery life!
It was a vandal from your country, Scotland, Mr Douglas who desecrated the Parthenon and removed most of its sculptures and freizes that had remained untouched by 25 centuries of wars and by the invasions of peoples whom history defined as barbarians. None before your eminent compatriot Lord Elgin and his chaplain companion - a man of God no less - had ever thought of defiling and stripping a building of such haunting beauty, a building which is a symbol of Democracy and the Free Spirit of Man. The crime of Elgin, involving the British Museum, continues to this day as the UK prepares to receive another Greek institution to attract foreign visitors - the Olympic Games. If injury is to have something unique and valuable stolen from you, then revenge is to see the perpetrator needing the looted item, or a borrowed event, to try and seek approval in the eyes of society and the world. The British Museum reminds us daily of this axiom while all the advertising and hullaballo about the coming Greek inspired event in London in June will confirm it.
ReplyDeleteDear Mr Douglas,
ReplyDeleteI strongly support your idea and i want to carry it further as it should.
Given the turmoil in Egypt I strongly believe that the pyramids and the sphinx are in great danger. Therefore you should start a crusade to re-unite the pyramids and the sphinx with the other Egyptian antiquities in the British Museum. I wish you the best of luck with this new noble campaign.Uncivilized nations like the Egyptians and the Greeks should not keep any of their ancient heritage but instead they should ship immediately them to the civilized noble nations to keep it safe and enjoy it.
Very Sincerely,
Alexander Kidonakis
London is ok in terms of safety, but Parthenon deserves the best! So, I would suggest moving both Parthenon & the Elgin marbles to Switzerland. Are you ok with that?
ReplyDeleteMr. Douglas,
ReplyDeleteHaving read your comments I would like to make clear a few errors that I believe should be rectified and taken into account before making any future arguments. This is purely to minimize your self-embarrassment.
Firstly, there are a few grammatical errors I would like to point out. The term 'savage' cannot be applied to a nation that was at the forefront of discovery, language, mathematics and communication, at a time when most of the West (Scotland included) did not even take baths. ‘Savage’ is a term that I would expect a media-centric puppet to use; contrary to your beliefs, Greece is not a land of barbarian tribes. Scenes that get broadcasted on the news do not always (and certainly not in this case) represent the full picture. This is something you would do well to learn. As for the removal of the marbles by our beloved Lord Elgin, the use of the term 'removed' is also not applicable here. I regret to inform you, but 'hacked off', 'scraped off', 'savagely cut off' (here, the term 'savage' can be used) are more suitable terms that you may use to describe the cultural vandalism that took place.
Furthermore, I struggle to understand how one can make such comparisons between the stolen marbles and the current situation in Greece. I can only assume that this is one of the pitfalls of journalism; one must know when to speak and what to say, and in some cases, whether to say anything at all. More importantly I am frustrated at myself for allocating my time to you. It is blinding ignorance that aggravates me most, the fact that a $200 Million dollar museum specifically constructed for the Parthenon can slip under your nose. Sure, the British Museum is impressive, but not as impressive as the number of foreign artifacts and exhibits housed within it. As for the British claiming legal ownership of the marbles I don’t blame them; such an opportunity to unashamedly wipe another nation’s slate clean does not come around many times. I am subsequently very pleased that Greece in 2009 declined the loan of the marbles from the UK for 3 months, as doing so would require acknowledgment of the UK’s ownership right.
All this coming from a country that owes hundreds of billions to Spain and Germany. I agree with Athos and many others on this feed, you should be completely ashamed of yourself and your comments. I also greatly appreciate Alexis Mantheakis for his comments on the Olympic Games. Rest assured - I am positive that if it was up to the British Museum, the games would find themselves amongst the other foreign exhibits after the closing ceremony.
Stefanos Koutroumanidis