In the late 18th and early 19th century, Westerners were involved in extensive looting of Greek antiquities as the nation was still under Ottoman occupation and the enslaved populace, impoverished and uneducated, viewed ancient monuments as mere obstacles or saleable commodities.
Even after the Greek War of Independence, the weak Greek state could not safeguard the remnants of its illustrious past, with cultural heritage neglected.
Western interest in Greece burgeoned during a tourist boom. Travelers like Charles Perry, documenting their visits, were dismayed by Greece’s desolation compared to its ancient grandeur.
“The country seems so mountainous and desolate and unfit for cultivation that the visitor is surprised at the thought of its former power, authority and grandeur… It is a desert without culture and without people. Therefore, we conclude that it is of little value to whoever has it in his hands and possession…”
Ancient Greece represents the cradle of Western civilization, but travelers to Greece in the 18th and early 19th century did not treat it as part of Europe. The place is under Ottoman occupation, recognizable to many by the qualitative characteristics of the East.
“The ‘Eurocentric’ ideology on the one hand recognizes modern Greeks as descendants of the ancients, on the other hand, does not accept them as Europeans, as Westerners. Europe is looking for the criteria of Greekness outside of Greece…” anthropologist Michael Herzfeld would write much later in his book titled “Critical Ethnography on the Margins of Europe.”
He argues that since modern Greeks do not live up to their glorious past, “Greekness can ultimately be identified with… Englishness and Britain can be transformed into a ‘Greece of the new era’.”
Despite this, early archaeologists from England and France began to study and, unfortunately, loot Greek antiquities, facilitated by financial transactions or clandestine excavations.
Enlightened Greeks abroad, such as Adamantios Korais and the Philomousos Society, advocated for the preservation of Greece’s cultural treasures. Despite efforts by Greek administrations post-liberation, antiquities continued to be plundered, either out of ignorance or for financial gain.
The most notorious act occurred early in the 19th century when Thomas Bruce, the Earl of Elgin, removed the Parthenon sculptures.
Concurrently, the Cycladic islands, notably Milos, became hotbeds of antiquities smuggling due to their strategic ports.
The Aphrodite of Milos (better known as the Venus de Milo) was taken from the Greek island of Milos by French agents in 1820, during the time when Greece was still under Ottoman rule.
The statue was discovered by a local Greek farmer named Yorgos Kentrotas in 1820 in a ruined ancient city on Milos. A French naval officer, Olivier Voutier, happened to be on the island and recognized the significance of the find. French diplomats and naval officers negotiated (some say manipulated or coerced) with the Ottoman authorities and the local islanders to acquire the statue.
It was transported to France, presented to King Louis XVIII, and quickly placed in the Louvre Museum, where it remains today.
In 1820, the same year the Venus de Milo was discovered, Belgian-born, of Dutch origin, Bernard Eugène Antoine Rottiers arrived in Milos. Although he missed out on acquiring the Venus, he did manage to gather and ship several other antiquities from the island—mostly statues, pottery, and smaller objects.
He sent these artifacts back to the Netherlands, some of which ended up in Dutch museums, particularly the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden.
In a signed protest by the local government representatives, who demanded the return of the stolen goods or financial compensation, he replied: “I have a firman from the Sultan and I do not know of any Greek administration.”
Thomas Burgon, an English merchant based in Smyrna and an avid traveler throughout the Aegean, is closely linked to a period of unauthorized excavations and the removal of antiquities from Milos between 1819 and 1825. During this time, he amassed a significant collection of artifacts, acquired under questionable circumstances.
His private collection included glass and clay vases, relief tiles adorned with mythological scenes, terracotta figurines, gold jewelry, ancient coins, and island seal stones—all of which he proudly displayed to visitors. Following his death, the entire collection was bequeathed to the British Museum, where many of these items remain today.
Meanwhile, the catacombs, the most emblematic (early Christian) monument in Trypiti on Milos, have been continuously looted since 1814. First the French and then the crews of the fleets of the Great Powers successfully attempted to exhume the underground cemetery, looting offerings that are later found in the display cases of the Louvre Museum.
However, the American fleet also played an active role in the looting of the monument. In the summer of 1826, a frigate under Captain Daniel Patterson sailed to Milos. Among the passengers is George Jones, who, in exchange for a tempting sum of money to a local, manages to enter one of the catacombs and smuggle out its expensive finds: coins, gold jewelry, and precious stones.
Further looting extended to Delos, where unguarded ancient sites attracted global interest, resulting in widespread smuggling of artifacts, many of which ended up in prominent European museums.
As archaeologists note, most of the looted antiquities are mistakenly attributed to Delos, as in reality, they come from Rheneia, the islet near Delos, where, according to Thucydides, the dead of Delos rested.
Petros Kordias, vice-consul of Britain and Austria in Mykonos and the Cyclades (1821–1841), played a key role in the widespread removal of antiquities from Delos and Rheneia. In a bid to secure his position—dependent on the favor of ambassadors in Constantinople—he effectively turned the islands into sources of “gifts” for foreign powers.
His illicit trade in antiquities is clearly documented in Mykonian records, which reveal not only his refusal to surrender illegally acquired artifacts but also his continuous involvement in smuggling.
During this period, antiquities ended up in places around the world, where their value was completely ignored. As if theft is being done for the sake of theft. A typical example is a cylindrical marble altar from Delos or Rheneia, which, a century after its removal from the island, was located in the area outside the restaurant of the English college Bretton Hall, serving as an ashtray!
As soon as the college officials realized the value of the despised altar, they sent it for conservation and exhibited it at a Christie’s auction, from where it ended up in a private collection.
The islands of Anafi and Santorini also fell victim to systematic looting during this period. Apollo of Strangford, a notable kouros from Anafi, ended up in the British Museum, symbolizing the loss of countless statues and artifacts due to illegal excavations and trade with foreign collectors.
Excavations on Anafi in the first part of the 19th century revealed countless statues, many of which were smuggled out by foreign tourists with the cooperation of Greeks.
The blatant antiquities looting forced citizen Dimitrios Valsamakis to request the governor’s assistance in a letter dated October 14, 1828:
“On the island of Anafi, there are some ancient statues, the discovery of which has already taken me four years. Unfortunately, however, I have learned that those who excavated these, sold part of it to the French consul of Santorini, and buried the rest in the same place for safety until they have time to steal them from their homeland.”
Athanasios Iatridis, a museum keeper, wrote to the Secretariat for Ecclesiastical and Public Education (the precursor to the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs):
“On the island of Anafi, there are many antiquities in the hands of individuals who do not recognize their value—as I witnessed firsthand,” he reported. “The residents, driven by greed, have in the past—and likely still do—secretly sold these artifacts to foreigners, especially the Latins of Santorini. These include statues, heads, earrings, necklaces, gold and silver items, engraved gems, and more.”
The plight extended to Tinos, where artifacts like the torso of a cuirass were discovered but subsequently lost under unclear circumstances. The island’s treasures, like those from other Cycladic islands, faced ongoing threats from both local opportunists and foreign collectors.
The systematic looting of ancient Greek treasures during the Ottoman and revolutionary periods remains a poignant chapter in history. Despite the establishment of museums and initial legislative efforts to protect cultural heritage, Greece struggled against a global tide of antiquities smuggling.
The legacy of these actions endures in the collections of prestigious museums worldwide, underscoring a complex narrative of exploitation and preservation in the annals of Western archaeology.
