There has been much in the newspapers of late about the A...

There has been much in the newspapers of late about the American actor George Clooney’s gaffe, when expounding his unwanted opinions on the rightful home of the Elgin Marbles, in referring to their rightful home as the Pantheon, when it is of course the Parthenon. (Although whether or not the Marbles are its rightful home is arguable.)  However what is not arguable is that a Pantheon is either (a) a circular Roman temple, (b) a public building commemorating the heroes of a nation or (c) a group of persons most highly regarded for contributions to a field or endeavour. Whereas the Parthenon is the chief temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built on the acropolis at Athens.

People shouldn’t be unduly surprised at Mr Clooney’s mistake as I have it on excellent authority – in fact the authority of my friend Atkins, who knows about such things – that on a trip to Italy in 2008 the famous Hollywood actor referred to one of that country’s most famous monuments as The Leaning Tower of Pizza before going on to enquire whether the Bay of Nipples was as exciting as it sounded.

However, again according to Atkins, these aren’t the only two occasions when American actors’ grasp of historical facts have been less than convincing. One such was no less than John Wayne himself, Atkins averred, on the occasion he was in China on a diplomatic mission for his country and asked if it was possible that while he was there it would be possible for him to visit its Hanging Gardens of Babylon. (During this trip the Duke is reported to have visited the Great Wall of China and gazed in awe at it for five minutes before proclaiming ‘That is a GREAT wall.’

Atkins went on to tell of Brad Pitt’s visit to Paris, in particular his visits to the Loofah to see Leonardo DiCaprio’s Mona Lisa, and the Poppadom Centre. And I myself definitely remember Jack Nicholson, on a visit to the Lake District, saying how he’d always wanted to visit the birthplace of William Woolworths.

I can’t wait to go to America and ask to see their Statue of Puberty.

 

 

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