I will raise a glass to you, patriot ...

 I swear somebody out there can read my my mind. Back in December I was giving thought to writing a post on the Parthenon sculptures, a subject about which I became passionate on my trip to Athens last fall. And this week, although I am absorbed in 'travelling' back to Provence, enjoying photos taken there a bit over a week ago, this happened...

My Microsoft news feed, or whatever it is that just drops random news bits onto a sidebar on my screen (I suppose these items are 'curated' by some algorithm or other, but all that is pretty creepy) floated some pretty optimistic news. 

The story was about - here's the Greek press link - the marble Parthenon frieze sculptures removed in a colossal act of vandalism positioned as 'a rescue' back in the first decade of the 19th century by the larcenous Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin.  I quote here: "British Museum chairman George Osborne answered that he is 'pretty optimistic' that the Parthenon Marbles will be repatriated to Athens." Any return will be complicated, given British Museum policies against returns, but I'm not writing about the logistics.

I'm writing about the passion this story has generated for a very long time. Fundamental to the story is the name I've used for these marble adornments. They reside as specimens in the British Museum under the name the Elgin Marbles. I'm calling them by the name Greek patriots use, the Parthenon Marbles.

It's complicated. At one time, there wasn't suitable accommodation for the works. Athens responded with the creation of the superb National Archeological Museum. Here's a fine account thanks to NPR.

A couple of notes on the museum. In many places, within and without the building, one walks on glass floors revealing the structures of yet another culture found during excavations for the construction. One of the challenges was finding a place in Athens which doesn't boast archeological treasure.

You can get a sense of the huge space which houses dozens of galleries from this imperfect photo - can you spot the original caryatids of the Erechteion under lights on the middle level?

Here 'they' are in situ.

Our guide in Athens was Stavros  I remember his emotion as he talked about an array of plaster casts of the original frieze adorning the Parthenon, and a few original bits left behind. I read that in their haste to gather marble sculpture, Elgin's people damaged and abandoned many pieces. There was tacit approval by the Ottomans who were in control at the time, but I have also read the group over-stepped their permissions? Please correct me if my facts are inaccurate.

I was moved by our guide's words, as I am about all the stories of historical cultural appropriation and the overdue return of items to their original owner/creators in many countries, including my own . As we left Stravros after our tour of the museum and the Acropolis, I shook his hand and told him I'd return (in spirit likely) to raise a glass of good Greek red wine with him, the day the Parthenon Marbles come home.

Here's a wonderful article about the Parthenon Gallery, with some fabulous photos. This walking tour gives you a glimpse of, and a feel for the modern-day busyness surrounding the timeless Acropolis. 

This link to  Wonderful Museums.com gives you a much more detailed version of the debate. And one more link to the arguments surrounding the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles