Ottoman inscription on an architectural fragment from the Erechtheion, 30-10-2007 [Photo: F.I.].
6 Comments»
fotisif wrote @
Actually, the most fitting title for this post would be ‘no translation’, or even better, ‘no need for translation’. And this title would comment the ‘official’ disinterest on highlighting the neglected biographical fragments of the acropolis-site, but also ‘our’ view: I have the feeling that ‘we’ do no need any translation to pinpoint the multicultural biography of the acropolis but instead we stick to the fact that this inscription is in ottoman turkish, therefore ‘alien’.
Stelios wrote @
I have seen (and photographed) this block about 20 years ago or more. I was on the rock last week (November 2019) and could not find it. The guards knew nothing about it. One tour guide (who knew the block) told me that it might have been taken to the Islamic Art museum. Does anyone know where it is?
[theotheracropolis.com] 
For me, this object is one of the most important material traces to be seen and to be found today on the Acropolis. An ancient architectural fragment from the Erechteion with an 1805 Ottoman Turkish inscription. I have discussed the importance of this piece in a number of texts and presentations (e.g. The Nation and its Ruins, p. 98-99), and I return to it, time and again (Fotis’s photo is much better than I one I have used). It is not just the evocation of the multi-cultural biography of the place that is at stake here. Moreover, this object forces us to reflect on materiality, and the co-existence of different temporalities. How many visitors have noticed this piece? How can we make this central to any alternative tour? I have suggested in various presentations that this piece should be exhibited prominently in the New Acropolis Museum….
Yannis Hamilakis