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Showing posts with the label elgin marbles

The British Museum - Of Mummies and Rosetta Stones

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Pretty much every great city in the world has an equally  great museum . And in all my travels, I have been fortunate enough to have seen a few REALLY awesome ones;  Paris ,  New York ,  Chicago ,  Jerusalem  and  Rome  come to mind. So when I realized that I had a few hours to kill, I knew that I HAD to check out the  British Museum ,  one of the largest and most comprehensive museums in the world! I am happy to rank this as my  UNDISPUTED FAVORITE museum  ever ; with collections originating from practically every continent. Best of all,  admission is FREE ; with the rationale being that all objects found therein belong to all of humanity. God bless them Brits! * Accessed via the  Holborn or Tottenham Court Road Tube Station , the British Museum was established in  1753  and has a neo-classical exterior. Originally, the collections found therein were all originally owned and thereafter donated by the physician and scientist   Sir Hans Sloane .  

Separated! The Tale of the Acropolis in Athens, and London

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This is a story of two cities: Athens and London . Two cities separated by over 3000 kilometers but united culturally because of their great contributions to our study and understanding of Greek culture. Wait what, London?! Yes, London. For when the Ottoman Turks had the whole of Greece under their rule, an enterprising Brit with the title of Lord of Elgin fell in love with the Parthenon upon seeing it and decided to use his official title, as British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire , to legally purchase almost ALL the sculptures in the Parthenon, of which can now be found in the British Museum of London . But first things first, let’s take a look at the Acropolis in Athens! 1. The Acropolis in Athens. * The Propylaea serves as the main entrance to the Acropolis. Meaning monumental gateway , the Propylaea’s design has been copied numerous times; from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to the Propylaea in Munich .