Top 14 Quotes & Sayings by Melina Mercouri

Explore popular quotes and sayings by a Greek actress Melina Mercouri.
Last updated on December 18, 2024.
Melina Mercouri

Maria Amalia "Melina" Mercouri was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She came from a political family that was prominent over multiple generations. She received an Academy Award nomination and won a Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award for her performance in the film Never on Sunday (1960). Mercouri was also nominated for one Tony Award, three Golden Globes and two BAFTA Awards in her acting career.

In the world over, the very name of our country is immediately associated with the Parthenon.
England and Greece are friends. English blood was shed on Greek soil in the war against fascism, and Greeks gave their lives to protect English pilots.
There are no such things as the Elgin Marbles. — © Melina Mercouri
There are no such things as the Elgin Marbles.
You know, it is said that we Greeks are a fervent and warm blooded breed. Well, let me tell you something - it is true.
We say to the British government: you have kept those sculptures for almost two centuries. You have cared for them as well as you could, for which we thank you. But now in the name of fairness and morality, please give them back.
We are ready to say that we rule the entire Elgin enterprise as irrelevant to the present.
Much has been said and continues to be said of what little concern the Turks had for the Acropolis treasures.
And, of course, it must be asked: is it proper to transact with the Turks for the most reassured of Greek possessions when Greece is under Turkish invasion and subjugation?
Read Churchill, he tells you how crucial was the Greek role in your decisive desert victory over Rommel.
I want to believe in a personal god who looks after me and my loved ones and knows every sparrow that falls. But the suffering of one single child, or more likely, millions is evidence against that belief. The one question I want to ask god: how do you explain or justify the suffering of a child?
Enthusiasm is a wonderful thing. In South America they throw flowers to you. In Greece Greeks throw themselves.
After independence was gained, one of the first Acts passed by the Greek government was for the protection and preservation of national monuments.
You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name. They are the essence of Greekness.
In Greece we're too poor to go to psychiatrists -- we have friends instead.
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