Unveiling the Right Side: A Conversation with Pheidias and Pericles about the Elgin Marbles and Other Matters

摘要

Pericles thought that it was a crazy and expensive idea, but since most of these highly talented citizens of Athens were unemployed and had no internet or blackberries to play with, and they were just sitting around drinking ouzo and retsina (a Greek wine supplemented with pine resin), enjoying the sun and philosophizing, that maybe it would be a good idea to get them busy. Pheidias said that the objective was to develop something that would withstand the test of time, as the greatest creation of the human mind, and that this architectural masterpiece would be a gift to future generations of Athenians (and probably some visiting Spartans; he did not have any concept of international tourism at that time) who would look at it and say, "Wow, was this done 2000 years ago . . . with no instrumentation, computers, heavy trucks, mechanized equipment and the like?" He envisioned it to be a showcase of human creativity for centuries to come.