I - 2 : The Man who blew up the Parthenon

Francesco Morosini, Venetian Military Leader and Doge. He blew up the Parthenon

As sad as it is, most people disappear in the grey ghoul a few decades after their death. We usually remember our grandparents. A lucky few even their great-grandparents. But beyond that we have no personal memories. Even photo albums do not help. We may recognize our great-grandparents. But who are the people around them? How did they really live? This fate not only applies to ordinary citizens. Who remembers France’s Prime Minister of 1956? Maybe a few historians. But not the general public.

Who will remember in 30 years' time Colonel Steve Weiss who landed as a young GI on the Anzio & Dragon Beach in World War II - here during a visit to the Normandy Beach in 2004

Some people are an exception though. Great musicians and painters are remembered for their timeless creations which we still enjoy today. The second type are people who shaped history and are remembered as famous leaders like Alexander the Great, Caesar, Augustus, Louis XIV or Washington. The third category comprises people who probably would like to be remembered for something else.

Warrior Doge Francesco Morosini (1619 - 1694)

One of them is the Venetian General and Doge Francesco Morosini. During his life time he was revered as a great leader who restored Venice’s military pride after it lost Crete  in1669. Only 16 years later, in 1685, he forced the Ottoman with a brilliant campaign out of Morea (Peloponnese). Venice was so grateful, it bestowed the honorary title of “Peloponnesiacus” on him. Today he is remembered as the man who blew up the Parthenon in 1687.

The Parthenon was blown up on 26 September 1687

Despite its 2’200 years of age, the Parthenon was remarkably intact at that time. It still had all its exterior columns; the side walls were standing and supported an intact roof. Athens though was a shadow of its former self – of the once 200’000 inhabitants only 622 families with 4’000 – 5’000 people remained. The great town had become a poor village. People lived in the ruins of their ancient city. Already a backwater in Byzantine time, it became even more provincial once conquered by the Ottoman in 1456. When Greece’s first King came to Athens in 1834, he was shocked by the places poverty and how run down it was.

The Entry of King Otto, Greece's first King as an independent Nation, to Athens in 1834

Back to Morosini. His ambitions were far greater than just getting the Peloponnese back. His aim was to permanently weaken the Ottoman Empire by taking back old strongholds like Negroponte. These places would be the base  for a permanent naval presence in the Aegean. Once he commanded the seas he  hoped to “liberate” Crete. The sting of having – as younger military commander – lost the island to the Turks was a chip on his shoulders. In this context, Athens was a side show and only important because a Turkish garrison blocked the way up north through Attica.

Naval Battle at the Dardanelles between Turkey and Venice 1659

Not surprisingly, the Ottoman garrison chose the Acropolis as their main defence. The ancient limestone buildings had weathered time well and provided the soldiers with good shelter. Even more importantly, the buildings were dry – ideal for storing gun powder for Turkey’s famous artillery. Not for nothing had the Ottoman Empire earned the title of “Empire of Guns”.  The best building for the powder magazine was the Parthenon. The Turks knew that the Venetian would bombard the Acropolis. The former Athena temple was the safest place. Its thick limestone walls could withstand direct line-of-sight cannon fire.

The Parthenon today is now restored in as much as possible - look at the solid Stone Blocks

The Venetians, experts in 17^th century siege warfare, had brought their latest innovation to Greece though: mortars. Unable to dislodge attacking Turks from their trenches by cannon fire alone, they developed indirect fire support. Mortars fired at angles higher than 45 degrees. The trajectory went high up before reaching its apogee and then felling vertically down on an enemy's head. Since the shells had relatively little kinetic energy, they were filled with gun power - lit by a fuse. Skilled mortar sergeants calculated the fuse’s length and lit it a second before firing the mortar. It was a dangerous and slow business. A mortar could fire only every 10 minutes.

17th Century Dutch Mortar used for Siege Warfare

However, once range and flying time were established, the weapon was extremely effective. It could fire over walls, into trenches and on high-ground fortifications. Nothing could stop it. The Venetians placed their two mortars on Pynx, the hill next to today’s observatory and opposite the Acropolis. Once the two pieces were in place, the days of the Turkish garrison were numbered. I do not know how many shells Morosini’s troops fired. But they scored two hits. The first on the Propylaea, the second on the Parthenon. The mortar shell penetrated the temple’s wooden roof on 26 September 1687 and detonated the powder kept in the sanctuary. The explosion was devastating. You may recently have seen videos of Russian ammunition sites blowing up. It was like this. The detonation killed 300 Turks, threw the Parthenon’s roof high up in the sky and shattered the building’s walls.

Another Gravure of the Blow-up of the Parthenon in 1687

Whilst an attaché to Morosini’s second in command, General Otto von Königsmark, wrote to his boss: "How it dismayed His Excellency to destroy the beautiful temple which had existed three thousand years!" Morosini had no regrets. He called it a “lucky shot”. The Venetian doge had the same attitude to ancient art as his predecessors who looted Constantinople in 1204. With no shame, they stole the 4 bronze horses now decorating the San Marco Basilica in Venice. Morosini tried to steal Poseidon’s and Athena’s horses but the ropes of the crane lowering them from the Parthenon broke. These irreplaceable statues fell to the ground and shattered into thousand fragments. To not return empty handed, Morosini then loaded the Lion of Piraeus on his ship. Today, the lion still guards the entrance to the Arsenal in Venice.

The Lion of Piraeus now guards the Entrance the Arsenale - still an Italian Naval Facility

Luckily for Morosini, today’s official Greece does not make a big fuss about the people who blew up the Parthenon but celebrates and restores what survived. There is a chance that Morosini’s name will be forgotten. Being known as the man who blew up one of the world’s most important and beautiful temples is not something you want to be remembered for.