Keghart
The Museum of Fine Arts last night returned the top half of its “Weary Herakles” statue to Turkey. The 1,800-year-old marble statue of the muscular hero has been at the MFA since 1982. But after years of negotiations, the MFA acknowledged in July that the statue, which experts believe was probably looted from an excavation in Turkey, should be sent back to that country.
The Museum of Fine Arts last night returned the top half of its “Weary Herakles” statue to Turkey. The 1,800-year-old marble statue of the muscular hero has been at the MFA since 1982. But after years of negotiations, the MFA acknowledged in July that the statue, which experts believe was probably looted from an excavation in Turkey, should be sent back to that country.
“We are very pleased to have received the Weary Herakles from the MFA,” said Turkish Cultural Heritage Director General Murat Suslu in a statement. “We believe that it is important that such objects should be returned to their homeland and displayed there. I hope the return of the statue will enhance our cooperation with the MFA.”
The statement by former Turkish cultural minister, Engin Ozgen, on the return of the missing part of the Weary Herakles, that “This will show the world that the Turks are not ignorant anymore, that they will fight for their past and their heritage”, assumes that the rest of the world is ignorant of the true provenance of that statue. It’s as if I find a work of art on my property and then go around claiming it as part of my patrimony. The Turk’s complaint over looting is pathetic if not laughable when they themselves are guilty of the most egregious crime of looting, that of the properties of the Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians of Asia Minor, after destroying their heritage.
Berge Tatian
Stoneham, MA
**
So the Museum of Fine Arts is returning an ancient statue of “Weary Herakles” to Turkey (“MFA sends ‘Weary Herakles’ statue back to Turkey,” Sept. 24). Herakles was a Greek god, and the statue is based upon an ancient Greek original. Does anyone believe that Turkey is a credible custodian or legitimate inheritor of ancient – particularly Greek – culture?
Turkey has exterminated the indigenous peoples of Asia Minor – Greeks, Armenians, and Assyrians – and tried to erase all traces of their existence, while harassing the few who are left.
Turkey has destroyed, deliberately misidentified, or grossly neglected most of the churches, cultural landmarks, and villages of these ancient peoples, whom Turks conquered after arriving from Central Asia.
Hundreds of such villages have also been assigned Turkish names to erase the fact that these were the lands and homes of people whom Turkey annihilated.
Turkey says that the statue’s return is morally right and concerns "culture." But it’s really about tourist money and laying illegitimate claim to heritages that it has, in fact, tried to destroy.
Rather than returning the Herakles statue, the MFA should be shedding light on Turkey’s acts of cultural destruction and genocide.
David Boyajian
Belmont, MA
Keghart
Keghart
2 comments
Censorship by Boston Globe
Just because the Boston Globe censors public opinion (and this is not the first time they’ve done this) does not mean that such objections don’t exist. Thank you, Messrs. Tatian and Boyajian, for sharing with us your letters of righteous indignation — letters that we otherwise would have known nothing about.
How low can some fall
Bravo to B. Tatian and D.Boyajian!
Unless people like you expose such fraudulent acts, rather continued cooperation between violator great Turkey and the ally this side, no one will.
Keep up hitting hard and if possible circulate those letters to others, possibly rival newspapers. Who knows, there may yet be some good guys alongside the bad ones over here, and who might be willing to side WITH TRUTH.
Comments are closed.