According to Fry “it’s not just a building, it is a foundational element the very nature of what Athens is”. As a primary element of modern architecture to this day, it is unsurpassed in its grace, its beauty and its achievement. The real point is that there is something special about the Parthenon in Athens. The slippery slope argument is simply a fallacy, argues Fry. “The Acropolis where the Parthenon is”Īccording to Fry, people in charge of museums hate the word de-acquisition and fear a slippery slope if artefacts such as the Parthenon Sculptures are returned to their country of origin. On the subject of the Parthenon Sculptures which were “ripped” by Elgin, Fry revealed that he was introduced to the cause by the noted writer and contrarian, Christopher Hitchens, who in turn had been influenced by the great Melina Mercouri, Greece’s first Culture Minister and a passionate advocate for the return of the marbles. And it is a still a thrill every time he goes to Greece.
As he recounted, it was “everything I hoped to see”. Stephen Fry did not get to Greece until he started university. It is not surprising, therefore, that Stephen Fry’s recently-published trilogy of his own reimagining of Greek myths, Mythos, Heroes and Troy, goes to the heart of Greek mythology which tells the story of Greece itself. The Greek language was also a passport to a magical kingdom. The young Stephen felt that he belonged in a special club as he found that Greek is “deep in the DNA” of the English language.
What was Stephen Fry’s introduction to Greece?įry explained that as a young boy he studied Latin but fell in love with the Greek language when invited by his teacher to learn Greek. A fact further illustrated when Fry was interviewed by another great Philhellene, David Hill, the Chair of the Australian Parthenon Association, in an online digital conversation held by The Hellenic Initiative Australia on 6 August 2021.īoth men share a passion for Greece and the Greeks and also enjoy a common bond in calling for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures looted by Lord Elgin and presently held in the British Museum in London.
A conversation with Stephen Fry, the noted English author, actor, broadcaster, film director and unabashed Philhellene, is never dull.
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