The Parthenon Research Paper

rratives would have us believe - see, for example, Gennadios (1930); Kokkou (1977)), but because they were invested with supernatural properties. Fragments from monuments were re-used in the building of modern houses (they were mainly placed above the front doors (Gennadios 1930: 139)), not in order to rescue them (contra Kokkou 1977: 22), but as part of the cosmological belief in their apotropaic and protective properties. People were reacting angrily to the destruction of antiquities, not because of any sense of protection of heritage but because they feared that the destruc- tion would upset the supernatural spirits dwelling in the monuments, which would bring diseases and other disasters to the population as punishment and retribution.

Some tales describe the sculptures as human beings who were mutilated and petrified by magicians; the spirit inside them (often referred to as an Arabian) is frequently heard to mourn for their condition (tale recorded by the traveller Hobhouse; cited in Gennadios 1930: 57-8, note 57). The Parthenon sculptures therefore had acquired another new meaning or rather a range of new meanings: for Western travellers and aristocracy they represented the magnificent artistic achievements of the foundational era of European culture. For most of the local population (with the exception of the 'enlightened' local intelligentsia with Western commercial links and European education), they represented supernatural forces that should be treated with fear and respect and not be