The ones who destroyed the Parthenon...
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It's almost 340 years ago, September 26 of 1687.
The Venetians are trying to take over from the Turks (aka Ottomans) the major Greek fortresses located near ports. (Oh I forgot to mention that the Turks had taken the Acropolis from the Italians who had taken it from the Greeks but then the Italians took it back and then the Turks took it back until eventually the Greeks took it from both of them!)
The Italians attack the Turks who at that time live inside the Acropolis. The Parthenon is used as a mosque but it's pretty much intact. All around it there are many houses.
Under the command of Francesco Morosini and using canons, the Italians bombard and blow up the Parthenon.
The Venetians even dared to write (and misspell) the word 'glory' in Greek at the bottom.
Within a few hours, a temple that lasted over 2,000 years and numerous attacks and alterations was practically destroyed. That made it easier for the British to pillage its artifacts some 115 years later. We're talking about the marbles that are criminally called 'Elgin Marbles'. Sources say that Elgin didn't live in the 5th century BC so we can say with certainty that he never made them...
I have done three episodes about Greece's plundered antiquities btw: 1, 2 & 3. I think you'll find these episodes enlightening.
Let's not forget that trying to remove statues from the Parthenon, the Venetians dropped them (again, seriously?!), and finished what the explosion hadn't previously done. As seen in a drawing made by J.Carrey (don't make me say that it's not Jim Carrey...) only about 15 years before the explosion, most statues had survived until the 1680s.
Last, the Venetians stole the ancient Piraeus Lion which now stands at the Venetian Arsenal. St Mark's symbol is the lion, so whatever lion they found around Greece (for example on the island of Delos) was taken 'for the saint'. Of course Venice wasn't built in a day... it defininitely took years of pillaging. (snap!)
So if you ever make it the port of Athens by cruise-ship, look for our replica of that stolen statue...
Thank you for reading!
