Greek officials recently announced that several ancient historic sites would be rented out for advertising space, beginning with the Acropolis in Athens. This comes in the wake of pressing economic concerns, as state agencies in Greece say they no longer have the funds to maintain and repair the ancient sites. State officials are hoping to raise enough revenue through advertising fees to pay for the upkeep of the properties, a move archeologists have “slammed . . . as sacrilege.”
It is ironic that these monuments stand in ruins in large part for the same reasons the modern government of Greece is also threatened with ruin. For years, Greece has embraced the statist ideas of their ancient forebears like Plato and Aristotle — the belief in a paternalistic state.
These ancient sites hang over the city of Athens as a reminder of the best that man has to offer apart from God. In the minds of proud Westerners, these pillars from the past stand as a testimony to man’s achievement. Yet these homages to statism represent something far more significant — the failure and destruction of men who reject God and His law. The results are real, and the crumbling Greek economy is but one tell-tale sign of the bankrupt worldview reflected in these centuries-old edifices which are now being peddled for rent.