[Varda]

I was on the Acropolis a few years ago, funny the other artifacts there weren't dust.

[Republicanprofessor]

On the Porch of the Maidens, the columns (carytids) have been taken to the museum in Athens because otherwise they were becoming dust. Some of the details have been lost, as you can see in this image. I believe the maiden on the corner may still be original, and you can see how her face and the drapery are wearing away. The figure in the back right is a copy and is not nearly as subtly done (as can be seen in the back of her drapery).

Yes, the Greek protected these works, but they waited until nearly 200 years after Lord Elgin "took" the other works to England. The acid rain in Athens is eating the works that do remain.

[LexBaird]

I was on the Acropolis a few years ago, funny the other artifacts there weren't dust.

The reason the Parthenon is in such a ruin as it is, is because the occupying Turks used the place as a powder magazine, and it blew up during a battle with the Venetians in the late 1600's..