Shooting will start at the Acropolis in Athens on a film by two Greek American directors, John and Teodore Vourches, about the fight for the restitution of the Elgin Marbles to Greece.
The artefacts, which were removed and stolen sometime between 1802 and 1811 by Lord Thomas Bruce Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time, were sold to the British Museum in 1816 for £35,000, where they are still currently housed. Athens has been asking for restitution of the Marbles since 1981, when the cultural minister at the time was actress Melina Mercouri. The pieces in question include 15 metopes, 56 marble bas-reliefs and 12 statues (almost the entire west pediment of the temple), as well as one of the six caryatids of the Erechtheion. The Marbles decorated the temple of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin), architectural jewel of the 5th century AD. Greek requests for restitution have fallen on deaf ears, as have international petitions and a request by the British Committee for Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles, which is supported by many British actors including Sean Connery, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave and Sir Ian McKellen. British public opinion also favours the return of the friezes to Greece. The movie, called “Promachos”, is a Greek, French, and British co-production, and is named after the “Athena Promachos” (Athena who fights in the front line), a colossal bronze statue by Pheidias, that stood of the Acropolis between Propylaea and the Parthenon. It tells the story of a group of Greek lawyers who filed a lawsuit against Great Britain for the restitution of the Marbles. The legal team made the first step towards Great Britain when a court, after having heard arguments, declared that it was not competent to rule on events that happened in the 19th century. At that point the lawyers filed an appeal at the International Court of Justice in The Hague which settles disputes between United Nations member states who have accepted its jurisdiction.
According to the press in Athens, the Greek Central Archaeological Council has judged the film a good opportunity to change public opinion about the problem of international trafficking of ancient artefacts, and has given the two directors permission to film on the Acropolis.
Source: ANSAmed