The “Elgin Marbles”The “Elgin Marbles” ... You dare call them that! ... as if your larceny could be justified by such a vile name! It just reeks of scat, a moniker no Grecian can abide! “Lord” Elgin, axing stones, you hauled them off, with Ottoman connivance in your grasp, your crime a mortal sin at which we scoff, your pride of possession worthy of an asp! By shaming Athen’s pride, the Parthenon, your imperial gall’s outstripped your sins, your every game you play another con, another ploy in sick political spins. The British Museum claims, “It’s for the best!” and touts your barefaced lies as if in jest. Richard Vallance April 20 2019
Tag Archive: Athens
senryu – Parthenon’s marbles = les marbres du Parthenon Parthenon’s marbles stuffed in the British Museum – hall of horrors!les marbres du Parthenon dans le British Museum – quelle salle d’horreurs ! Richard Vallance The theft of the Parthenon marbles by Lord Elgin and the British from 1801 to 1812 is one of the most appalling crimes of highway robbery in all history! It is a filthy act of depredation, and it deserves nothing less than our condemnation and scorn. But of course the British at the British Museum are disgusting idiots who simply cannot see the writing on the wall!
Progress on the restoration of the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nikei and the Propylaia: Part B, what the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nikei and the Propylaia look like NOW: The restoration of Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nikei and the Propylaia is making fantastic progress as of 2018. Here we have 5 amazing photos of the restoration of the Parthenon itself between 2015 and 2018.And here you see a composite of the Temple of Athena Nikei Athena Victorious) as it looked in the nineteenth century (first picture) and then in its present greatly refurbished condition next three pictures):
And here we see composites of the Propylaia past (nineteenth century):
and present condition of the Propylaia, 2018:
Present condition of the ceiling and the stunning Ionic columns of the Propylaia, which are breath-taking, previously completely destroyed before the twentieth century. Now this is what I call REAL progress:
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Progress on the restoration of the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nikei and the Propylaia: Part A, what the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nikei and the Propylaia looked like BEFORE restoration: The restoration of Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nikei and the Propylaia is making fantastic progress as of 2018. To put it all in context, I am posting here the deplorable condition of these 3 landmarks in the 15th., 17th. and 19th., centuries, before restoration. Here you see two views of of the Ottoman Acropolis in 1456. It is still in magnificent condition. Notice that the Ottomans did not desecrate the beautiful frieze of the parthenon, much to their credit as an advanced civilization.What a terrible shame while it was being used as a gunpowder magazine, that it was hit by artillery shot and damaged severely and blown to bits by the Venetians in 1687 as seen here. The buildings of the Acropolis suffered significant damage during the 1687 siege by the Venetians in the Morean War, fought between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire between 1684 and 1699. Here you see a black and white rendition of that terrible destruction:
Here you can see for yourself a composite of the deplorable condition the Parthenon and the Propylaia in the nineteenth century.
Also illustrated here is the stunning dealized reconstruction painting of the Acropolis and Areios Pagos in Athens, by Leo von Klenze, 1846.
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The British Museum on Twitter only follows back about 5 % of those who follow them, but they do follow us!While The British Museum has 1.01 million followers, they only follow back 50.9 K Twitter accounts, and KONOSO is one of those with whom they reciprocate. In other words, we are among the 5 % of Twitter accounts they follow back. This goes to demonstrate the enormous impact our Twitter account, KONOSO:
Moreover, in the past 3 months alone, the number of our twitter followers has risen from 1,600 to over 1,900 (1902). This, in combination with the 625 followers of our co-researcher colleague's twitter account (Rita Roberts):
brings the total number of followers of our 2 accounts combined to 2,527, up from less than 2,000 only 3 months ago. Among other prestigious international Twitter accounts following us we find: Henry George Liddell:
the latest in a long line of generations of great historical Greek linguists who over the centuries have compiled the world’s greatest classical Greek dictionary, the Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon. Phaistos Project:
Greek History Podcast:
@antiquitas @eterna:
Dr Kalliopi Nikita:
Expert in Greek Archaeology-Ancient Glass Specialist-Dedicated to Greek Culture, Language & Heritage Awareness Art lover-Theatrophile-Painter- Olympiacos-Sphinx The Nicholson Museum, antiquities and archaeology museum, Sydney University Museums, Sydney, Australia, also follows us:
Eonomastica:
Bacher Archäology (Institute, Vienna):
Canadian Archaeology:
University of Alberta = UofAHistory&Classics (Alberta, Canada):
All of our followers confirm that Minoan Linear A, Linear B, Knossos & Mycenae:
is having a profound impact on the vast field of diachronic historical linguistics, especially the decipherment of ancient languages, most notably Mycenaean Linear B, Arcado-Cypriot Linear C and even Minoan Linear A. MLALBK&M has in effect become the premier diachronic historical linguistics site of its kind in the world in the space of less than 4 years.
2 Maps (1 in colour) of the Mycenaean Empire with major cities and other settlements:This composite of two maps of the Mycenaean Empire with major cities and other settlements names the major cities in the upper coloured map. I originally posted the lower map in 2014, but I felt it was high time to post it again. Being as thorough as I am, I have identified more city and settlement names on the lower map than on any other map of the Mycenaean Empire on the Internet. Note also the greatest extent of the Mycenaean Empire (ca. 1600 – 1200 BCE) in pink.
Knossos, Bull Portico photos, Third Palace, Late Minoan IIIb (ca. 1450 BCE) Post 1 of 2:
Here you see the first 3 photos of the Bull Portico photos, Third Palace, Knossos, Late Minoan IIIb (ca. 1450 BCE). The architecture is simple, but magnificent. The fresco of the bull is stunning. The bull was the standard symbol of almost all ancient Occidental civilizations, and that of Persia as well, until later into Antiquity. I wish to draw your attention specifically to the incredibly accurate circular designs on the frieze. As with all Greek architecture, the proportions are absolutely perfect, from one circle to the next.
Even the Parthenon of Athens was flanked by bulls at its entrance, as illustrated here:
Fantastic new Blog on the Internet all about #ancient #Greek #warriors & #weapons including #Mycenaean. You simply HAVE to check it out! Richard
KORYVANTES Association published work
Thank you so much, Adonis Koryvantes, for not only inviting me to join your blog, but for allowing me to be an author. I sincerely hope I can contribute some really useful posts. PS I hope you got my invitation to my blog! In case you are not already following me on Twitter, here is my account: https://twitter.com/vallance22 I am already following you on Twitter. I shall soon post some of the lovely photos of Mycenae I took when I was there in early May, 2012. Richard Meanwhile, you may wish to check out this post on Linear B, Knossos & Mycenae: Click on the composite of the Frescoes to read this post the composite is much larger on my blog)10 of the Loveliest Frescoes from Knossos (Composite): Choose your Favourite(s)! Click to ENLARGE: These frescoes are as follows: [1] The Fresco of the Dolphins in the Queen’s Megaron…
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A Map of the Mycenaean Empire (ca. 1600-1200 BCE) with Mycenaean Settlements Named in Linear B, Latinized Linear B & English (Click to ENLARGE):A few notes on this map. The capital cities, Knossos in Crete & Mycenae on the mainland Peloponnese, are flagged with a red star. The purple star beside Mycenae is also found beside the name of Troy, to indicate that the Mycenaeans conquered Troy, although quite when is uncertain (ca. 1300-1250 BCE?). Even if the conquest were as early as 1300 BCE, that would have left only another century before the collapse of Mycenae itself. In fact, what remained of the great Bronze Age Greek cities, Knossos (which had fallen into disrepair and eventually into ruins long before 1200 BCE – almost certainly no later than 1425-1400 BCE), then Mycenae itself, along with its satellite Mycenaean cities and settlements (Pylos, Tiryns, Thebes and Athens) all collapsed right around 1200 BCE. It is doubtful that they all fell on account of the Dorian invasion, since it is highly unlikely the Dorians ever got anywhere near Thebes or Athens. So this leaves the whole question of how and why the Mycenaean Empire fell so suddenly wide open to speculation. Note that all of the Minoan & Mycenaean locales tagged on this map are attested (A) on Linear B tablets from Knossos, Phaistos, Zakros, Mycenae, Pylos or Thebes. Richard
Two maps of Mycenaean Greece, the Second Illustrating the Mycenaean Empire’s Extensive Trade RoutesClick to ENLARGE this map of the Mycenaean Empire’s Trade Routes:
It is perfectly clear from this map that the extent of the Mycenaean Empire was as vast as that of the great Athenian Empire some 700-800 years after the fall of Mycenae ca. 1200 BCE. While the actual epicentres of these two great Greek empires, that of Mycenae, the earliest of them all, and that of Athens, were not the same (which goes without saying), amazingly their network of trade routes extended to virtually the same places, some very far away, especially in light of the great difficulties encountered by ancient Bronze and Iron age mariners in their little ships on the high seas. The very fact that they, the Mycenaeans,the Egyptians, the Athenians, the Romans and everyone else in the ancent world had to do all of their international trading in the spring, summer and early autumn, when the Mediterranean Sea was relatively calm speaks volumes to the wide extent and the robust economic strength of their trade routes. We see here that the Mycenaean trade routes did in fact reach as far as and apparently even beyond Sicily, astonishing as that seems, as well as all the way to Egypt. The Minoan Empire had previously carried on a hefty trade relationship with Egypt before them. Richard
Linear B Show & Tell # 3: Axes & (Temple of the) Double Axes & their Relgious Symbolism: (Click to ENLARGE)If anything, the symbolism if the “axe” and especially of the “double axe” is one of the major underpinnings of Minoan/Mycenaean religion. We find axes and double axes all over the place on Minoan and Mycenaean frescoes, regardless of site, Knossos, Mycenae, Pylos etc. If ever you visit Knossos, you will see for yourself the famous Temple of the Double Axes. Although the lower story is sealed off, if you look down, you will see a lovely frieze of horizontal double axes on the back wall of the lower story. To this day, no-one really knows the true significance of the symbol of the axe or double axe in Minoan or Mycenaean mythology. They pose a real dilemma. Since the Minoans at Knossos were a peaceable people, why would they plaster double axes all over the walls of a building which we take to be the Temple of the Double Axes (erroneously or not)? In Mycenae, however, the symbol of the axe or double axe makes perfect sense, as the Mycenaeans were a warlike people. The simplest explanation I can come up with is that the Mycenaeans exported the axe and double axe to Knossos after their conquest or occupation of the city. And no-one is quite sure if the Mycenaeans actually did conquer Knossos, or whether the two “city states” allied in order to greatly strengthen their hand as a unified Empire in the economic and trading affairs of the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean seas ca. 1500-1200 BCE. Of course, Knossos (Late Minoan III Palatial Period) itself fell sometime around 1450-1400 BCE, but the great Mycenaean Empire persisted until ca. 1200 BCE, after which the Nordic Dorians invaded the entire Greek peninsula, the Peloponnese, leaving the Mycenaean “city states” in ruins. It is entirely probable that the Minoan-Mycenaean Empire ca. 1500-1400 BCE rivalled the Egyptian Empire in the scope of its power. Almost certainly the Mycenaeans were actively trading with civilizations along the East coast of Greece and inland, Athens and Thebes (the latter being a Mycenaean stronghold) and with the city of Troy and the inhabitants along the West coast of what we now know as Turkey. What is particularly fascinating and (highly) revealing in the historical perspective of the rise of ancient Greece is that the new Greek colonies which spread all over the Aegean in the 7th. and 6th. centuries BCE flourished in precisely the same places where the Mycenaeans had carried on such extensive trade some 6 to 10 centuries earlier! There is more to this than meets the eye, as we shall eventually discover in key posts on this blog later this year or sometime in 2015. Other omnipresent religious symbols included the Horns of Consecration at Knossos, and the Snake Goddess & the goddess Pipituna at both Knossos and Mycenae. Richard