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Visual & Performing Arts
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English (U.S.)
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Topic:

The Humanization of Greek Architecture

Essay Instructions:

There are 2 parts of this assignment, each part has to be 2~3 paragraphs long.
1.
The Fate of the Parthenon Marbles (https://drive(dot)google(dot)com/file/d/1xfuFf_YUqNSu0LG6608WFPBR4RpxBq9b/view)
Please explore the following two arguments. The first is the British Museum’s official statement (https://www(dot)britishmuseum(dot)org/parthenon-sculptures-trustees-statement) as to why the marbles should stay in London. The second is the case for the return of the statues to Greece made by the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. (http://www(dot)parthenonuk(dot)com/index.php/the-case-for-the-return)
If you were the head of the British Museum in London and were in full control of the fate of these statues, would you return them? Why or why not? Issues to consider include:
the legality of Elgin’s removal of the statues
the amount of time that has passed (roughly 200 years) since their removal
whether you believe modern Greece has a special right to ancient Greek objects
whether it is a question of law or morality ?
2.
This week, we talked about architecture and our ability—in cases like the Parthenon recreation in Nashville—to visit reconstructions of famous structures. For the Assignment, discuss the phenomenon of reconstructions by focusing on the Parthenon in Nashville. (http://www(dot)nashville(dot)gov/Parks-and-Recreation/Parthenon.aspx)
If you were to visit the Nashville Parthenon, what is it that you are actually seeing, in relation to the original? What is carried over, and what is lost? What can never be translated, and what is successfully communicated (if anything)? Why would somebody want to recreate the Parthenon?
For this question, please consider the following:
The original setting/context (physical as well as cultural) in Athens versus the new setting in Nashville. How does the setting affect our understanding of a place? Can you think of a musical example where this is the case?
The fact that one building was constructed more than 2000 years ago and the other is quite recent
The type of viewer who would have seen the Parthenon originally, versus us, today. How does the "meaning" of a building that is even "identical" to another building change simply because of what viewers are bringing to this? You could take this a step further and ask yourself whether the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens today is the same Parthenon seen by the ancient Greeks (even if it were accurately reconstructed, and not in ruins). Again, taking the viewer into account, what has changed? What can never be preserved? Is there anything that carries over? Again, you may find that your experience in music can help you to answer this question.

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The Humanization of Greek Architecture
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The Humanization of Greek Architecture
If I were the head of the British Museum in London and were in full control of the fate of the Parthenon Marbles, I would return them to Greece mostly because they were dishonestly removed from their place of origin and also because they are an integral part of Greece’s national history and cultural identity. While the British Museum is a unique resource for the world in that it allows a global public to freely examine the Parthenon sculptures against the backdrop of Athenian history, thereby demonstrating the complex network of interconnected human cultures, the Parthenon Marbles are Greece’s by right. The circumstances under which Lord Elgin obtained permission to order the wholesale removal of friezes and metopes from the Parthenon (and the six Caryatids from the Erechtheion Temple) are highly irregular new evidence indicates that the Ottoman authorities themselves questioned the action. Even if Elgin “lawfully” acquired the sculptures and the British Museum is the legal custodian of the Parthenon Marbles, it is a shallow mindset to reduce the priceless artifacts to a commodity or legal jargon.
Besides, even if the newly constructed Acropolis Museum cannot represent the Parthenon Marbles in the context of world history and so convey as much public benefit as the British Museum, it is morally unethical for the latter to use that as an argument for hoarding Greece’s cultural property: roughly 200 years have passed since their removal. I believe that even though modern Greece may not share much with the classical age of interlocking civilizations, the Parthenon Marbles are the heritage of the Greeks, and the country has a special right to ancient Greek objects. I believe that what has been lost amidst the enduring debate is the moral and cultural dimen...
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