The Curse of Minerva (fragment)
by Lord Byron, 1811

Proclaims thee Briton, once a noble name;
First of the mighty, foremost of the free,
Now honour’d less by all, and least by me;
Chief of thy foes shall Pallas still be found.
Seek’st thou the cause of loathing? –look around.
Lo! here, despite of war and wasting fire,
I saw successive tyrannies expire.
‘Scaped from the ravage of the Turk and Goth,
Thy country sends a spoiler worse than both.
Survey this vacant, violated fane;
Recount the relics torn that yet remain:
These Cecrops placed, this Pericles adorn’d,
That Adrian rear’d when drooping Science mourn’d.
What more I owe let gratitude attest–
Know, Alaric and Elgin did the rest.
That all may learn from whence the plunderer came,
The insulted wall sustains his hated name:
– – –
For Elgin’s fame thus grateful Pallas pleads,
Below, his name–above, behold his deeds!
Be ever hailed with equal honour here
The Gothic monarch and the Pictish peer:
arms gave the first his right, the last had none,
But basely stole what less barbarians won.
So when the lion quits his fell repast,
Next prowls the wolf, the filthy jackal last;
Flesh, limbs, and blood the former make their own,
The last poor brute securely gnaws the bone.
Yet still the gods are just, and crimes are cross’d:
See here what Elgin won, and what he lost!
Another name with his pollutes my shrine:
Behold where Dian’s beams disdain to shine!
Some retribution still might Pallas claim,
When Venus half avenged Minerva’s shame."

The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness on this important issue.

The goal is the return of the Parthenon Marbles to their origins.

Give Them Back! – short video to see, listen, and understand.

This Parthenon Marbles Blog is provided by the Hellenic Electronic Center (HEC)
www.greece.org in order to catalog all discussions related to the Parthenon Marbles in an effort to repatriate the Parthenon sculptures.

Join our efforts by registering for the Parthenon Marbles project. Once you register, you will be notified and we will discuss what task you will volunteer for.
For more info contact: Thanos Voudouris

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