The topic of the Parthenon Marbles will take centre stage in Canberra with the well-known champion for its return to Greece, Emanuel Comino, to share his wealth of knowledge on the subject.
The lecture is being organised by the Australian Hellenic Educational Progressive Association of Canberra together with the Hellenic Club and will be presented under the auspices of Stavros Venizelos, Ambassador of Greece to Australia.
The event will take place on 15 May at the Apollo Room of the Hellenic Club from 7pm with Comino to serve as the key speaker for the event.
“I am going to discuss the history of the Parthenon and the Parthenon Marbles, how they were taken, why they were taken and the case of the return,” Comino told Neos Kosmos.
The now over 90-year-old has spent close to 50 years discussing the cause across the globe, and he stressed he will share his knowledge in the talk.
“Guests will get a good message, the truth about how the marbles were taken. They were not taken to be saved from vandalism, weathering or pollution as we are told by the British Museum and its followers,” he said.
Comino made reference to the ABC television show ‘Stuff the British Stole’ and their episode on the Parthenon Marbles, wherein a former UK Supreme Court Judge, Lord Jonathan Sumption, claimed Lord Elgin’s intentions were purely for the preservation of the sculptures.
“(Lord Sumption) says some ridiculous things as far as I am concerned, such as Lord Elgin’s intentions were to save the Marbles and that is why he took them,” he said.
“We know he took them to decorate his mansion, that was his original thought.”
The lecture will delve into that and many more areas on the subject.
