. . . that took some looking, btw. The Greeks haven't used glyphs since Phaistos . . . and the Minoans probably weren't Greek anyhow --
Posted on 02/26/2006 2:58:29 PM PST by FairOpinion
ATHENS (AFP) - Its austere white is on every postcard, but the Athens Parthenon was originally daubed with red, blue and green, the Greek archaeologist supervising conservation work on the 2,400-year-old temple said.
"A recent cleaning operation by laser revealed traces of haematite (red), Egyptian blue and malachite-azurite (green-blue) on the sculptures of the western frieze," senior archaeologist Evi Papakonstantinou-Zioti told AFP.
While archaeologists had found traces of the first two colours elsewhere on the temple years ago, the malachite-azurite colouring was only revealed in the latest restoration process, Papakonstantinou-Zioti said.
Given the testimony of ancient writers, it is not unlikely that the Parthenon's trademark columns were also coloured, she added.
Archaeologists have been trying since 1987 to remedy damage wrought on the Parthenon's marble structure by centuries of weather exposure and decades of smog pollution.
Principal restoration work on the entire Acropolis citadel, which stands in the centre of the modern Greek capital, is scheduled to be completed by 2009.
Dedicated to the ancient Greek goddess Athena, patron of the ancient city of Athens, the Parthenon was badly damaged during a Venetian siege of occupying Ottoman Turkish forces in 1687.
Much of the temple's eastern frieze was removed in the early 19th century by agents of Lord Elgin, then British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
Elgin subsequently sold the sculptures to the British Museum in London, where they are still on display, despite persistent efforts by the Greek government to secure their return for the past 20 years.
Hi ho, hi ho.
Would be a shame if true: The Greeks didn't really realize that white was the classic look.
L O L
LOL! Good for you!
. . . that took some looking, btw. The Greeks haven't used glyphs since Phaistos . . . and the Minoans probably weren't Greek anyhow --
A late-comer to this thread; suffering with the flu.
So if the Nashville copy is a complete restoration, why aren't the areas behind the metopes (those little sculptures on the entablature) painted the bright colors I've heard about?
Like An American Mother, I, too, have heard that the ancient temples were painted, although I had not seen such a bright example as the Peplos Kore she posted earlier. I keep forgetting exactly what the colors used were: green, red, and blue, but where they were on the Parthenon I can't remember. That's why I'd like to see the Nashville "copy" with the "real" colors. (Actually, I have to confess I do like the "white" classical ideal better...it's less garish than the reconstructions.)
I liked the story of the marble chips being scattered. Typical. Far better to have the tourists get those chips than chip off the originals.
Now...if we can only get the Parthenon taken to London to save it from further acid rain decay. Think Lord Elgin can be revived? :)
Go ahead and replace all the caryatides with concrete copies, and get the originals to London where they can be preserved properly in a climate-controlled environment . . .
. . . looks around to see if cat is firmly ensconced among pigeons . . .
I thought it was the figures and not the backgrounds that tended to be painted . . .
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