Eyebrows raised over ancient garb at Acropolis
A tourist office from India, the Hellenic-Indian Chamber, antiquities custodians and the Ministry of Culture are entangled in a surreal game of pass the buck over a Mumbai group’s visit to the Acropolis on Saturday that took an unexpected turn when some of its members donned ancient Greek attire.
The incident raised questions about the controls on the monument, but also aesthetics. A Sworn Administrative Examination has been ordered by the Ministry of Culture over the incident. It appeared to be connected to a large group of Indian businessmen who visited Greece attending two events co-organized by the Hellenic-Indian Chamber in the Kallimarmaro Stadium and the Roman Agora.
The president of the chamber, Angelos Tsavdaris, referred to about 150 Mumbai businessmen, whom the chamber helped in the procedural part of organizing the two events, with the approval of Culture Ministry boards. Regarding the incident at the Acropolis, Tsavdaris had no information and, as he says, when he was informed about it, together with the site managers, he asked the “protagonists” to leave, since there was no special permission for such an action.
