"The Parthenon- in Greece and Around the World" is an essay that I wrote for Modern Green 325, and Upper Level Writing class that focuses on Athens, Greece, both past and present. In this essay, we were required to dissect and explain a quote claiming that the Parthenon is always somewhere else. I discussed the formation of the Parthenon as a worldwide symbol while still maintaining its importance to Greece. 

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The Parthenon- in Greece and Around the World

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            How can something be both absent and present at the same time? This is the question prompted by Mary Beard when she says "The Parthenon is always 'somewhere else.' If not entirely absent, it is never wholly present" (Beard 181). This abstract idea of the Parthenon never being anywhere but also being present stems from the Parthenon’s actual current state. The Parthenon is both physically and symbolically in multiple places, not just Athens, where it originates. Throughout the modern era, the Parthenon and, more generally, the Acropolis have come to represent the idealized principles of classical Greece, including the origins of democracy. These ideals, however, also bring people together and bring a level of respect and culture to modern Greece based on Greece’s ancient backgrounds. Therefore, the classical symbolism of the Parthenon provides significance for the Greeks and their historical backgrounds while also providing the whole world with the foundations of these ancient ideals.

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            The Acropolis has had a long and varied history since its creation, which has caused it to always be significant and allowed for the current symbolism to develop. The Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis as we think of them today were created under the reign of Pericles. He created a major project out of creating the Acropolis and the many different buildings on it. During the time of Pericles, the buildings had extremely significant meanings for the Greeks as religious monuments. When the Romans took over, however, the significance greatly changed. The original buildings on the Acropolis lost their meanings and new monuments were erected to celebrate the Romans (Hamilakis, “Stories from Exile” 306). This held onto the significance of the area, but the meaning behind the significance was greatly altered, becoming instead about the Roman culture. Next, during the 5th century, the Parthenon was converted into an Orthodox church (Hamilakis, “Stories from Exile” 306). Since the pagan symbols did not match the ideals of the church, the Parthenon’s sculptures were defaced, once again converting the once sacred meaning into a disdain for the original motivation behind the monument. The Parthenon went on to hold another church and, in the 15th century, a mosque (Hamilakis, “Stories from Exile” 306). Each of these times, the original sacred purpose behind the Parthenon was still present, just in a different form and a different religion. During the Venetian-Ottoman War in 1687, the Parthenon actually exploded after it was used by the Ottomans to hold a powder keg (Hamilakis, “Stories from Exile” 306). The war once again changed the significance of the Parthenon. It became more of a military base than a religious center, but its significance was still obviously large, since it was chosen to be used as a military base and a symbol for those fighting. Afterwards was then the majority of the removal of antiquities from the Parthenon took place, including the removal of the Elgin marbles. Today Greece wants to take the marbles back. This is due to a recent increase in Greek culture of the longing to be descended from ancient Greece. These marbles and other antiquities are seen as symbols of national heritage and they think that these symbols were stolen from them (Hamilakis, “Stories from Exile” 307). The Acropolis has held many different roles and is significant today for many different reasons. The idealization of ancient Greece is something that is not just present in Greece, but everywhere in the world.

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            Parts of the Parthenon and even the Parthenon itself can be considered symbolic capital because of this idealization, which leads to the Parthenon being “somewhere else.” Symbolic capital refers to items that are not sold for money, but provide sales of their meaning and value to society. These are often exchanged not for money, but for political profit (Hamilakis and Yalouri 119-120). The antiquities of Greece have become symbolic capital because they symbolize the modern ideals of the classical era. These different pieces of capital are spread out around the world, many in museums or on display somewhere for the public to appreciate and relate to the symbolic meaning. Even the Parthenon itself is on display as an ancient ruin in Athens, making it also an example of symbolic capital. While the Parthenon is in Athens, it’s pieces and its meaning are spread around the world. This makes the Parthenon “somewhere else.” Not only are the pieces physically elsewhere, but the idea of the Parthenon is spread out around the world, not just in Greece. The symbolic capital has spread so far that there is even an actual sized replica in Nashville. People come from all over the world to see the Parthenon, and they take the ideas that they have about its meaning back with them and spread these ideas even more. The Parthenon and its symbolic meaning, therefore, is spread throughout the world, making it always “somewhere else.”

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            The Greeks themselves have a different symbolic meaning of the Parthenon and the whole Acropolis. Modern Greeks have been making an effort to bring their roots back to ancient Greece and to show their relation to these ancient people. To do so, there has been a big focus on the antiquities left behind from the time period and their relation to the modern Greek land and, therefore, the modern Greek people. This effort can be tied back to the Greek Civil War from 1946-1949 and the “rehabilitation” camp on the island of Makronisos. The Greek government put those fighting against it or those who were even associated with people who believed in communism in this concentration camp and attempted to rehabilitate them and change their views before forcing them to become soldiers and fight for the government.  Among other tactics, part of the rehabilitation process forced them to make replicas of classical Greek monuments, such as the Parthenon. Because of this, the ex-prisoners have began to call the island “the other Parthenon” (Hamilakis, “The Other Parthenon”). The point behind making these replicas was to reinforce the importance of classical Greece and the idea that the radical ideas of the “rebels” did not coincide with the ideals of ancient Greece. While the morality of these encounters is questionable at best, the significance is clear. Even here, during a time of great trauma for Greece, there was a focus on classical times and the importance that those ideals have on society in Greece today. While this took place in Greece, the Parthenon and its values remained absent from Athens and, instead, were transported throughout all of Greece. At the same time, the Parthenon and its symbolic meaning were still incredibly present in Athens and the rest of the Greek nation.

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The Parthenon frieze most likely shows a scene of life in ancient Athens, which also helps show its importance to Greek culture and how, culturally, it is wholly present, even though the ideals are spread around the world and throughout Greece. While it is still debated, the most popular opinion is that the Parthenon frieze depicts the Panathenaic procession, a big ceremony that took place yearly in classical Athens (Hurwit). While most of the artwork on the Acropolis shows mythological scenes, this frieze on the Parthenon is the only one that illustrates something that actually happened in Athens in classical times, providing a rare glimpse into the lives of ancient Athenians. While most Greeks are not direct ancestors of these ancient Greeks who participated in this festival, they feel a connection to the ancient people of the land where they currently live. This connection to the frieze and the Acropolis in general helps to keep the Parthenon and its significance wholly present in the lives of Athenians and Greeks in modern times, allowing some of the significance to remain just with Greece.

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            The obsession that the modern world as a whole has with classical Greece and the symbolism of the Parthenon can also be seen in the early restoration efforts. Restoration of the Acropolis began in 1835 and continued for many years. These early restoration efforts stripped the Acropolis of anything that did not come from the classical era, which included taking down the Frankish tower and removing all medieval additions (Mallouhou-Tufano). Those leading the restorations were clearly classicists, only focused on what they considered valuable and ignoring the other parts of the Parthenon’s history, discussed earlier. This, once again, goes back to the idea of the Parthenon being “wholly present.” These restorers wanted to get to Parthenon back to their idea of what would make it whole and present, which, to them, meant back to the way they thought it looked during classical times, when it was first finished. Despite all of the other occupations of Greece and the Parthenon, the classical era was considered to be the time when the Parthenon was “wholly present” and the time that it should be reverted back to.

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            Finally, the Parthenon is entirely relevant in both Greece and the rest of the world, which has caused some controversy over the ownership of the Parthenon and its pieces, causing it to be both absent and present physically and symbolically. This controversy is evident in multiple ways. One is the Elgin marbles. These marbles were taken off of the Parthenon by Lord Elgin and transported to Britain, where they eventually ended up in the British museum (Hamilakis, “Stories from Exile”). In modern times, there is an argument that Greece should be given the marbles back so they can be where they rightly belong. Similarly, museums are being asked to return pieces to the countries that they come from and to stop sending curators to acquire pieces from these lands (Waxman). If this trend continues, museums, mainly in countries like America, would be left with nothing to display, since many of their exhibits and pieces come from other countries. Both sides argue the significance that these pieces have to their audience in each location. Those who believe the marbles and other works should be returned to Greece believe that the Greeks have the biggest connection to the pieces and they should be where they originated and seen in context to have the biggest effect. It would be like the Declaration of Independance being on display in another country. While it symbolizes democracy and the American ideals, it would not be quite as powerful. Proponents of keeping these antiquities where there are, however, argue that these pieces do have a worldwide significance. In many ways, classical Greece was the beginning of many ideals that countries today were built upon, such as the democratic system. These pieces have become symbols of those ideals and, to many, exemplify their current freedom. The basis for both of these arguments is what allows the Parthenon to be, as Beard says, “entirely absent” and “wholly present.”

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            The Parthenon and the modern ideals of classical Greece are significant to modern Greeks who want to have a connection with their ancient past and to the whole world as the symbols of the basis for modern ideals such as democracy. The ideals of the Parthenon have spread worldwide, both with the physical pieces and those who have seen them, causing the Parthenon to be at least partially absent from Athens. At the same time, the ideals are still alive in Greece and in Athens today, along with what is left of the Parthenon, allowing it to still be present, both literally and symbolically.