A dramatic September for the Parthenon sculptures 224 years ago – From the church to the bottom of the sea and from there to Englandtranslated

In 1800 the wars between Britain and France continue unabated. The Russians and Austrians have withdrawn from the alliance with the British against the Napoleonic rabble and the latter have been left alone to fight the French. At this time ships are in demand. The ship-owners, who for the most part are also masters, have booked favorable fares for the carriage of grain and other edible products, destined for one or the other of the warring parties.

In Athens, however, the diplomat Thomas Bush, 7th Earl of Elgin (Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin) or simply Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, is not at all interested in the war and its suffering. His attention is focused on how he will manage to escape what he has stolen from the sacred monuments of the Acropolis. Valuable antiquities, 75 meters - out of a total of 160 - friezes of the Parthenon, 15 sculpted metopes, 17 relief figures from the two pediments, parts of columns, marble busts and several other fragments of the ancient Greek heritage, have been placed in 13 boxes and await their departure to the port of Piraeus.

Even the…