A British TikTok user has sparked outrage in Greece by branding the famous Acropolis a “glorified construction site”.
The influencer, who claims on the platform to be from Manchester, criticised the famous landmark’s “absolute state” and said it resembles somewhere beloved British animated character Bob the Builder would live.
“They call this city the city of the gods, but I’m a little disappointed because it’s a construction site. Look at the state it’s in, the absolute state it’s in,” he said while filming the ruins surrounded by scaffolding.
During his visit, an angry staff member ordered the man out of the restricted area after he jumped rope to get close to the temples being restored.
“People think this is all amazing… look at that, they’re kicking me out of here too. What’s wrong with me walking around here, realistically?” the TikToker asked as a staff member repeatedly blew a whistle at him and told him to “get out” of the cordoned off area.
Greek TikTok users criticised him for the video, with one telling the creator: “You are disrespectful and I wonder if you would dare not follow the rules at the British Museum. Don’t visit the Acropolis again.”
The influencer (pictured), who claims on the platform to be from Manchester, criticised the “absolute state” of the famous landmark and called it a “glorified construction site”.
“They call this the city of the gods, but I’m a little disappointed because it’s a construction site. Look at the state it’s in, the absolute state it’s in,” he said while filming the ruins surrounded by scaffolding.
The TikToker said “this is where Bob the Builder would live” while pointing at construction bins at the Acropolis.
“Why are you paying £10 if you’re just going to walk around and look at the scaffolding and stuff?” the TikToker said.
The man, with the username peakedteaviews, appeared to be upset that builders are stockpiling materials they need for the restoration of the Acropolis.
Pointing to scaffolding and seemingly unused equipment, he said: “They just left it there. To be honest: they don’t care. If they’re going to leave it there, leave it there, it’s a detour. It’s a glorified detour.”
After the staff member told him he was “not allowed” to be in the restricted area off the walking path, he replied, “But I just wanted to go over there… I just want to turn around,” while she reiterated that he was not allowed to do that.
“Why are you paying £10 if you’re just going to walk around and look at the scaffolding and stuff? It’s like giving a kid a Minecraft game and telling them to create a load of shit,” said the tourist, who has almost 40,000 followers on TikTok.
He added: ‘Is this the city of the gods or is it like where Bob the Builder would live, let’s be honest?’
The TikTok user claims he was later “kicked out of the Acropolis,” but it’s unclear whether he means he was kicked out of the restricted area or asked to leave the Acropolis altogether.
Comments quickly flooded his video calling him “disrespectful” and telling him he deserved to be banned.
One person said below the video: ‘Instead of embarrassing yourself like this, you should go to your country and bring back the sculptures you stole from the Acropolis.’
“It’s like giving a kid a game of Minecraft and telling them to just create a bunch of shit,” said the tourist, who has nearly 40,000 followers on TikTok.
During his visit, an angry staff member ordered the man to leave the restricted area after he stepped over the rope to approach the temples which are currently being restored.
After the staff member told him he was “not allowed” to be in the restricted area off the walking path, he replied, “But I just wanted to go over there… I just want to turn around,” while she reiterated that he was not allowed to do that.
Pictured above are some of the marbles that Lord Elgin quarried from the Pantheon temple on the Acropolis in the 19th century.
The Pantheon (pictured 2023) was partially destroyed during a Venetian bombardment of the Ottoman Empire in 1687, when a fired cannonball blew up gunpowder stored inside, and was then looted.
What are the Elgin Marbles?
The Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, are a series of ancient Greek sculptures created between 447 BC and 432 BC.
They were the work of the Greek architect Phidias, who also created a statue of the ancient god Zeus, which was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
The artifacts are composed of 17 figures that adorned the Parthenon.
Athens is still home to a smaller 50-metre section of sculptures, but the majority (around 80 metres) are in the UK.
Another added: “He is an uneducated person. Please don’t be like him. If you want to see a better Acropolis, ask the UK to return all the marbles they stole. I’m sure it would look magnificent then.”
“If you and your country (UK) don’t care about the acropolis by breaking the rules at the temple (which you clearly did), then return the marbles you have stolen from us to Greece,” urged one user named Freskos.
The marbles referred to by commentators are the Elgin Marbles, which were brought from the famous Pantheon temple to Britain.
At the beginning of the 19th century, workers dismantled entire friezes from the monument on the orders of the Scottish nobleman Thomas Bruce, known as Lord Elgin.
Elgin sold the marbles to the British government, which in 1817 gave them to the British Museum, where they remain one of its most prized exhibits.
London has long argued that the sculptures had been taken with permission from the Ottoman Turks who ruled Greece at the time, but Athens insists they were stolen.
The Pantheon, along with the Erechtheion, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the Propylaea of Athens and Athena Nike on the Acropolis, was built in the 5th century BC to honor Athena, the patron goddess of Athens.
The Pantheon was partially destroyed during a Venetian bombardment of the Ottoman Empire in 1687 (when a fired cannonball blew up the gunpowder stored inside) and was later looted.
Fragments of the temples and the works of art they contain are scattered in numerous renowned museums.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Greece has been trying to get them back.