My bucket list: One more down, two more added

Features

Related Photos

Submitted Photo

November 7, 2009

By Joy Crutchfield The McAlester News-Capital Sat Nov 07, 2009, 06:46 PM CST

I have a problem you probably share. Every time I cross something off the top of my Bucket List I seem to add two more things to the bottom.

Example: the Parthenon. Recognized around the world as the architectural symbol of both Democracy and of Ancient Greece, it is the Temple of the Virgin Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. Completed in 438 B.C., this magnificent structure managed to survive intact for thousands of years.

During the Crusades, around 1200 A.D., the Parthenon was converted to a Christian Church, and very few modifications were made other than the removal of the central statue of Athena, which sadly has never been recovered.

The mighty goddess was depicted standing, over 40 feet high, wearing a heavily ornamented helmet and clad in a robe hanging to her feet.

Her breastplate was adorned with snakes and the head of Medusa. In her right hand she held a 6 foot high statue of Nike (Victory) which she extended toward the Athenian people. Her spear rested against her left shoulder, and in her left hand she held an enormous shield. Her naked parts were of ivory; the adornments of her gown were of gold. At her feet was a pool of oil, reflecting her power and glory.

You can see why the Christians wanted her out of there.

In 1456 The Ottoman Empire gained control of Greece and converted the temple/church into a Mosque. While the Ottomans did not destroy any part of the temple, they also did nothing to protect it. In fact, they stored their gunpowder within its walls during the Venetian attach of 1687.

The Venetians bombed the Parthenon, and the ensuing explosions obliterated the interior and caused significant damage to the roof and columns. The Ottomans were not defeated; however they subsequently abandoned the heavily damaged Parthenon to decay and looting.

1801: Enter Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. From 1801-1812 Elgin removed about half of the remaining sculptures of the Parthenon as well as a caryatid from the Erechtheum and architectural pieces from the Propylaea.

The Elgin Marbles include statuary from the east and west pediments (17 figures); 15 of the metope panels which depict battles between the Lapiths and the Centaurs, and 247 feet of the Parthenon Frieze. The Elgin Marbles are currently on display in the Duveen Gallery of the British Museum

There is an ongoing heated debate pertaining to the rightful ownership of the Elgin Marbles. According to our guide, the English government promised to return the Elgin Marbles if a suitable museum dedicated to the Acropolis was built. The Greek Government opened the fabulous new Acropolis Museum June 22, 2009. Entrance fee is 1 Euro. The English have thus far refused to return the Elgin Marbles.

The Parthenon is simply breathtaking. It is 228 feet long and 101 feet wide. The height at the top of the pediment is 66 feet. There are 46 outer Doric pillars (which retain scars from the Venetian bombing) reaching heights of 34 feet with bases 6 feet wide.

The Parthenon stood virtually unchanged up until the last two hundred years.

It is currently the recipient of extensive renovation efforts, and your views will include lots of scaffolding when you tour it.

You can see my predicament. Even though I was able to cross the Parthenon off my Bucket List, I now feel compelled to add the British Museum as well as the Louvre in Paris to the bottom of the list (which I found also houses a substantial Parthenon exhibit). Isn’t this a wonderful predicament to have?

Next week more on Athens, the Greek Isles, and Turkey.

Joy Gawf Crutchfield owns The Joy of Travel. Contact her at www.thejoyoftravel.us or 918-339-4805.

Text Only

Features

Alexix Futisha is named Little Miss Choctaw
McAlester’s Alexis Futisha has been named Little Miss Choctaw for District 11.

May 28, 2012 1 Photo
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
2. FINANCIAL REGULATORS PROBING FACEBOOK IPO
They want to find out whether the bank that handled the sale, Morgan Stanley, selectively informed clients of an analyst’s negative report on the company before the stock started trading. Facebook stock has since dropped 18 percent.

May 23, 2012 4 Stories
10 Things to Know for Tuesday
3. JOPLIN, MO., MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF TORNADO THAT KILLED 161
Obama’s speech praising residents for their “bigness of spirit” precedes events today that include a community walk through the path of the twister and a moment of silence at 6:41 p.m., the precise time it hit.

May 22, 2012 3 Stories
What the dog said
May 19, 2012
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
1. NATION’S NUCLEAR REGULATORS SCALE BACK EMERGENCY READINESS
An overhaul of emergency planning near U.S. reactors requires fewer exercises for accidents and recommends fewer people be evacuated right away.

May 16, 2012 3 Stories
Poll: Half of Americans call Facebook a fad
Half of Americans think Facebook is a passing fad, according to the results of a new Associated Press-CNBC poll. And, in the run-up to the social network’s initial public offering of stock, half of Americans also say the social network’s expected asking price is too high.

May 15, 2012 2 Photos
Study: Phone co customer satisfaction evens out
Improvements in customer satisfaction at Sprint Nextel Corp. and AT&T Inc. have narrowed differences among the Big 4 wireless carriers to the point that they’re basically even in terms of pleasing their subscribers, according to a study released Tuesday.

May 15, 2012
10 Things to Know for Tuesday
1. U.S. ADOPTS STRATEGY FOR FIGHTING ALZHEIMER’S
The Obama administration today sets a 2025 deadline to find effective treatments and perhaps even a way to prevent the mind-destroying disease that afflicts 5.4 million Americans.

May 15, 2012
At the movies
Showing at McAlester's Cinema 69 Movie Theatre, according to www.mcalestercinema.readyhosting.com: "The Avengers," "The Pirates: Band of Misfits," "The Raven" and more.

May 9, 2012 3 Photos 1 Story
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
4. North Carolina voters approve amendment that slams door shut on gay marriage
More than 60 percent of voters approve the measure defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman.

May 9, 2012 4 Stories
More Features Headlines

A recent study of southern tornadoes has found that storm shelters did not protect them. Where do you take shelter when tornadoes threaten?

Features

Search Results

Related Photos

My bucket list: One more down, two more added

A recent study of southern tornadoes has found that storm shelters did not protect them. Where do you take shelter when tornadoes threaten?

Site Map

Contact Us