NEW YORK, NY – The East Mediterranean Business Culture Alliance (EMBCA) presents “The “Elgin”/Parthenon Sculptures Controversy” Panel Discussion on May 22 at 2pm/ 9pm (Athens time) with the collaboration of AHEPA’s Hellenic Cultural Commission.
The panel will be introduced and moderated by Lou Katsos, EMBCA’s President and AHEPA National Hellenic Cultural Commission Chairman.
The distinguished panel, currently in formation, will include Professor Othon Anastasakis the Director of South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX); Author/Poet Nicholas Alexiou, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Hellenic American Project at Queens College; Architect/Lecturer/Artist John Fotiadis; and DeeGee Lester the Founder/President of the U.S. branch of the Hellenic Institute of Cultural Diplomacy.
“There has been an ongoing controversy of over 200 years relating to Lord Elgin’s removal starting in 1801 of sculptures from the Parthenon and its surrounding structures including pieces from the Erechtheion, the Propylaia, and the Temple of Athena Nike, all inside the Acropolis. This includes the legality of their removal from Athens, the reaction during that period including the strong objection from Lord Byron who denounced Elgin as a vandal”, Katsos noted. “Join us as we discuss the background, the acquisition, the hotly contested legality, and the rational of debate for and against the Parthenon / Acropolis sculptures return, as well as issues transcending right or wrong, and perhaps areas and research not or rarely discussed before on the topic”, he continued.
EMBCA will be hosting a float in this year’s Greek Independence Day Parade 2022 in New York, the largest parade of its type in the world, on June 5th down 5th Avenue around the issue of the return of the Parthenon/Acropolis sculptures.
More information is available online: https://embca.com/
