Section 1 - Heritage: social and political uses

Is everything meant to be preserved?

Moving to a thoughtful selection reflecting current political and social interests, a society can forget, distance itself from the past. Or, it can stage elements of its past based on present needs. This process means that heritage is “constructed” due to multiple values and uses: artistic, historical, as well as social, economic, and political.

Socially, heritage embodies collective memory, nurturing a longing for roots and identity amidst globalisation's perceived uniformity and rapid changes. There's a democratisation of heritage, with every social group having its “treasures,” from factories to castles.

Access to heritage is also democratised through mass tourism and events like heritage celebration days. Heritage is often used for political and ideological purposes, valued for its economic, competitive, and power aspects, shaping the notion of soft power.

#1. Reconfiguring memory: the uses of Versailles from the Empire to today

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#2. Heritage conflict since the 19th century: the Elgin Marbles

#A. Presentation of the Parthenon frieze

The Parthenon frieze, a series of marble bas-reliefs, surrounded the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis of Athens, depicting hundreds of human and animal figures. Sculpted in the 5th century BCE, likely under the direction of Phidias and at the request of Pericles, it likely represented the procession during the civic and religious festival of the Great Panathenaea.

#B. A relatively well-preserved frieze for centuries

The frieze suffered its first destruction in 1687 when the Venetians bombarded Athens, resulting in about 20% of it being destroyed. Over the 18th and 19th centuries, foreign powers and archaeologists took fragments of the frieze, leading to its dispersal.

Today, fragments of the frieze are scattered across several countries: half are preserved in London at the British Museum, a third in Athens, and the rest in various European museums (Louvre, Vienna, Heidelberg, Vatican, Palermo).

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The Parthenon frieze exemplifies heritage conflict, a situation of rivalry between states regarding national heritage, in this case, ancient archaeological artifacts. Greeks consider it a part of their national identity and make the return of the entire frieze to Athens a significant diplomatic issue. This conflict intersects with the global question of restitution to formerly dominated or colonised countries of their plundered cultural heritage.

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