Irregular Times Diaries: Unfit Discussion
In a time of the spring, old paths are obscured and new growth begins.
Irregular Times Diaries: Unfit DiscussionIn a time of the spring, old paths are obscured and new growth begins.
Tonight I was researching various topics on paganism and ancient revivalism when I came across a Wikipedia article about a group of pagans in Greece who were trying to gain equal rights in the eyes of the Greek government. It seems that prior to 2006, all religions except Christianity, Judaism and Islam had been banned. An Athenian court seems to have overruled that.
The story regarding this can be found here (I may post a separate diary entry about this later).
When I read about their desire to be allowed to worship in the Parthenon, I looked it up on Wikipedia for clarification. The article listed pollution hazards and I found myself curious enough to read on. It seems that acid rain from the growth of Athens and the exhaust from cars has caused irreparable damage to the sculptures in the Parthenon.
Pollution is a bad thing, not only for the harm it does to ourselves and our environment but for the harm it does to our history. When historical landmarks and wonders of the ancient world are threatened by our pollution, isn’t it time to do something?
I see this and then I see conservatives calling for less restraints put on pollution control and I find it hard to believe that they could be so caviler and arrogant not to see the harm that is already happening. Is there nothing at all more important than grabbing for that extra dollar?
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November 5th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Thanks, Damen. This is a point that not many people understand - pollution is pervasive.
November 5th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Why not let the pagans up there. They have money to spend. Pagans have their spring rites at Stonehenge,(or is it midsommer?) why not the Parthenon too. I rather like Athena.
But careful how you get your info about Greek pollution from the Guardian. While I read the Guardian every day when I was staying in London, mostly because they carried Doonesbury, the Brits have glommed onto the Elgin Marbles, and claim they need to remain in the British Museum because of air pollution.
There is a second part to the preservation thing, since the original materials used to connect the temple tend to corrode after thousands and thousands of years and become unstable. When I saw the Parthenon in 1989 it was in pieces on the ground, although it’s probably been put back together since. So the Greeks do protect and renovate their monuments. I suppose every place has acid rain though, and who knows what it does to the world’s ancient architecture.
November 6th, 2007 at 8:14 am
I remember wondering at one time what the big fuss was about a bunch of marbles. Like, you know, kids’ marbles.