The Parthenon and Byron

On the occasion of 200 years since Lord Byron’s death, the Acropolis Museum honours his memory with a small, symbolic exhibition from 26 April 2024 until 31 December 2024.



The exhibition includes three sections:

a) a selection of annotated traveler images from the Acropolis and the Parthenon (by Carrey, Dodwell, Fauvel, Pars, among others).

b) a short biography and excerpts from Byron’s poems “The Curse of Minerva” and “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”, which refer to the brutal detachment and destruction of the Parthenon’s architectural sculptures by Elgin and their subsequent underhanded seizure and removal, and

c) Byron’s original passport, a genuine, unexpected Sultanic firman [Islamic royal mandate or decree], exhibited for the first time in the Museum, and serving as an opportunity to reopen the discussion on the return and reunification of the Parthenon sculptures.


It is said that Byron’s last words before his death were about Greece:

"I gave her my time, my health, my presence, and now I am giving her my life. What more could I have done?"