Sad to see so many afraid of losing a temple.

The gods notwithstanding, it's a terrible shame to lose an architectural and artistic treasure of such magnitude. I compare it to a loss on a lesser magnitude of the Glasgow School of Art a few years ago.

A truly pleasurable memory of mine is wandering into Notre Dame as the organist began playing Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. The light, the music reverberating: spectacular and sublime. An incredible achievement of mankind.

Not to defend religion, but many cultural artifacts of the world would not exist without religious fervor of various types. I try to appreciate the artifacts while being cognizant of the pros and cons of the processes of their creation.

A good read is Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. Historical fiction about the building of a cathedral and the intrigue and effort involved.

Quote from bradley.whitley

Sad to see so many afraid of losing a temple.

It is not a simple temple. It is a artistic creation and a symbol. I'm sad about the storical an artistic loss.

At the Acropoli's temple of Athena when its marbles had been destroyed and the rest have been stolen for the purpose to be exhibited in the London's museum.... no one cared in EU or elsewhere.

The statue of Nike of Samothraki that has been stolen for the purpose to be exhibited in the museum of Louvre in Paris... no one cared in EU or elsewhere.

The statue of Aphrodite of Melos when it has been stolen for the purpose to exhibit in the museum of Louvre in Paris...no one cared in EU or elsewhere.

And nobody care for these treasures that belong to Hellas till now... Frankly, I do not care of what belongs to France !

It was time ago. Now the world has a better sensibility to this.
I hope what was stolen can came go back to Hellas.

If you think that the world of our days has another attitude for greek philosophy and greek treasures... you do not know, my friend, what is going on, and what keeps well inside EU. No, I do not bye anymore whatever comes from that as they call it United Europe that is a world which is falling apart/collapses like a tree with its trunk, its branches, and its roots in front of our eyes. Because EU's values system is based on the monetary banking system! And of course the bread for the hungry people is the fantastic world of ideas by Plato that is liked so much by the priesthood, who earn more than 12.000.000 euros /per year as an income of Notre Dame... and there are people in EU that still are unemployed and have no their natural and necessary ...in EU of our days. But who has such open eyes for seeing the virus that is inside our countries ?? Do you understand that people are manipulating in an extreme scientific way for losing our social coherence just for the purpose to separate us and for leading us to wars ??

Dear Italian friend Michelle, there would be the same causes in the phenomena, when History will be repeated like a bad-tasted joke !

Elli

I totally agree. The treasures of Hellas are forgotten! Only if we could have Alexandria and her library!

On The Outskirts Of Antioch - Poem by Constantine P. Cavafy

We in Antioch were astonished when we heard

what Julian was up to now.

Apollo had made things clear to him at Daphni:

he didn't want to give an oracle (as though we cared!),

he didn't intend to speak prophetically, unless

his temple at Daphni was purified first.

The nearby dead, he declared, got on his nerves.

There are many tombs at Daphni.

One of those buried there

was the triumphant and holy martyr Vavylas,

wonder and glory of our church.

It was him the false god hinted at, him he feared.

As long as he felt him near he didn't dare

pronounce his oracle: not a murmur.

(The false gods are terrified of our martyrs.)

Unholy Julian got worked up,

lost his temper and shouted: "Raise him, carry him out,

take him away immediately, this Vavylas.

You there, do you hear? He gets on Apollo's nerves.

Grab him, raise him at once,

dig him out, take him away, throw him out,

take him wherever you want. This isn't a joke.

Apollo said the temple has to be purified."

We took it, the holy relic, and carried it elsewhere.

We took it, we carried it away in love and in honor.

And hasn't the temple done brilliantly since!

In no time at all a colossal fire

broke out, a terrible fire,

and both the temple and Apollo burned to nothing.

Ashes the idol: dirt to be swept away.

Julian exploded, and he spread it around—

what else could he do?—that we, the Christians,

had set the fire. Let him say so.

It hasn't been proved. Let him say so.

The essential thing is—he exploded.

I'm sorry if this sounds awful but Vatican City is teeming with sexual predators and their protectors (like "reverend" Bernard Law of Boston, who has his own cathedral and an assistant) who went there desperately trying to evade the law in their home countries. It should not have the privilege of sovereignty (which makes it nearly impossible to extradite criminals, a process which by which politicians risk the anger of the Catholic mobs and the loss of diplomatic ties with "the Catholic World")

If Vatican City burns down, that'll be a day of salvation for abused children all over the world.

Nietzsche also shares our fears of what will replace Christianity, and Michel Onfray I think is doing a great job proposing an Epicurean and/or neo-Epicurean alternative. Alain de Botton's "Atheism 2.0" lecture and the "Sunday Assembly" give ideas about what a post-Christian world should look like. I think it's in our self-interest to support Enlightenment and humanist alternatives for creating community and meaning in the West.

Move all the art. Rebuild the Forum. No more Vatican.

Quote from elli

Dear Italian friend Michelle, there would be the same causes in the phenomena, when History will be repeated like a bad-tasted joke !

Dear Elli,
Have you ever eared about the Fono's Lisippo? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorious_Youth)
Fano is a city in Italy about 25km from my home. They discovered this ancient statue of an athlete made by Lisippo.
The statue arrived, we do not know exactly how, at Getty Museum.
Now there is a legal battle, and the city of Fano is going to win it.

It is what I mean when I say that there is a better sensibility about that. And, unfortunately, not everything is going well.