The Acropolis is Greece’s most visited landmark, but the historical ruin saw an entirely different sort of action recently. A group of filmmakers staged an explicit gay sex scene at the UNESCO-listed site, and the footage has been posted online.
The scene occurs in broad daylight as tourists walk nearby, though it’s unclear if any passersby were aware of what was happening.
A Greek culture ministry spokesman told French media agency AFP that it has launched an investigation and hopes to “find as soon as possible those responsible for this illegal shoot.”
The anonymous producers of the film, titled Departhenon, have described the scene as “political art.”
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They say the Parthenon symbolizes “nationalism, the cult of Antiquity” and “patriarchy.”
In response, the culture ministry said in a statement: “The archaeological site of the Acropolis does not lend itself to activism or any other action that offends or shows a lack of respect to the monument.”
A translated description of the film reads: “After a hike, two men in a group remember the love adventures they had as a former couple. The company decides to bring back their lost eroticism and courage. As the company implements its plans, it creates a framework of sensuality and a symbolic crack in the archeological site of the Parthenon, which is aggressively charged with heteronormal and nationalist values, in order to find a place for the requested eroticism to flourish.”
Departhenon was first screened before a small audience on December 16 at the University of Thessaloniki, and didn’t cause any controversy. That changed after the full, 36-minute film was posted online last week.
“As a Greek, I’m ashamed,” the president of the Greek Actors’ Association, Spyros Bibilas, told broadcaster ANT1.
“You can’t do anything and everything in the name of activism.”
johncp56
Art is art, seems like there are some homophobes in Greece it is just old rocks i been there
xanadude
The real uproar should be about how horrible and amateur the “film” is. I made better films in grade school.
CKNJ
I agree 100%… REALLY shitty filmmaking, no matter what the subject or visuals were… that is the real offense!
dannysax
Just curious- Where did you see it?
Mr. Stadnick
The problem is; it wasn’t even hot.
Iona Lexiss
The President of the Greek Actors Association should be ashamed for being ashamed.
cubcmh
What? No link??
CanuckD
Holy clickbait Batman! I think we all came here for the video, not the commentary!!!
Mack
I agree. Video or it didn’t happen.
Crayonap
Ummm, Greek culture is what gave us Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and an entire culture that acknowledged Gay Sex and Love. The opinion stated by the video makers is ignorant of Gay History.
gregg2010
Calling out gay men for having sex in public at an inappropriate location is not homophobia. It’s common sense.
Mamesboy
Thank You! Someone else with common sense. Jeez it’s friggin classless.
queerandsour
literally.
Openminded
Totally agree. Inappropriate for anybody to use public historic sites to shoot porn of any fashion. Why do people believe they can simply use public property for anything they desire without permission? This behavior only makes the gay community look bad.
mplssnowmonkey
Totally agree. Lil Nas Is play the same card with his Satan lap dances and naked shower and sex scenes. All sexual groups should respect appropriate cultural values that protect the young and people’s moral values
Jim
I checked out the movie. A bit dull. The entire time I felt it was the 60’s. Alas, nothing new here.
Mike Hunt
Can you post a link to the film!
SPEEDOSWIMMER
Yet ANOTHER CLICK-BAIT non-article.
Aaron
You can watch “Departhenon” on Internet Archive for free:
archive.org/details/Departhenon
The short hardcore gay sex scene starts at the 24:03 mark.
You’re welcome you horny bastards 😉
dannysax
So stupid and unrealistic, doing it in a crowd at the Parthenon? It could easily have been simulated, it was hard to see any penis going in and out of that ass. So amateur and awful!
Aaron
If you can’t see the video for whatever rare reason, it’s a closeup shot of two fully-clothed men with both their pants pulled down below their buttocks doing it doggy-style standing up, in public, during the day, in some corner of the Acropolis tourist site. You can see insertion from a side angle. They’re able to get away with this because their friends are creating a human wall to conceal their sex act.
The quality is lo-fi and handheld so quite similar to any public amateur video you’ll see out there. Still kinda hot though.
cuteguy
Thank you Aaron for posting link. I was more curious and after watching prefer real porn. This isn’t porn and I can understand the argument for “art”. They used to show Cinemax at nite. But of course it included women, even women on women. But have two men, and homophobia shows it’s ugly head, no pun intended lol. Overall the filmmaking was absolutely terrible. Looked like a bad home video. It’s 2022 and homophobia is still rampant in the world. Shame
dali
”Hardcore”? Please!
Fahd
First, on behalf of those interested, thanks to Aaron above.
Second, notwithstanding UNESCO funds, I think this is an internal matter, as Putin would say: Greek filmmakers on a Greek historic site violating Greek law. The Greeks will know best how to deal with it.
Most civilized places are way past (student) filmmakers using art as an excuse to violate local permit laws. In my opinion, they should be prosecuted.
Tarutaru
It’s literally just 2 clothed men hidden behind a crowd in the corner with their pants down just far enough to hump each other discreetly. Honestly this happened to me everywhere I went in Europe. Usually in crowded areas I would find myself getting dry jumped from behind by a strangers with very hard big dicks. I quite enjoyed it. Never turned around to look at them
RandomGuy
I hate it when pornographers try to call their videos “art”.
dannysax
When I was there as a student in the last century (lol), I took an illegal photo by stepping inside the Acropolis and getting one from there, but the security guard just waved me back out.
Jaquelope
You can’t take any photos inside the Acropolis? That’s weird. What harm could that do to it?
SoggyDuck
Sorry, Danny…I wish your “senior trip” was more informative. If you “stepped inside the Acropolis” as you said, you stepped into the mountain, not the Parthenon. But, that aside, having sex in a special place has been something a lot of people have desired…and done. So What??
SFMike
The horror is the excruciating bad student film that this is. Authorities would do best to ignore this.
afonso
I wonder how everybody that shamed the Greek government would feel if the same happened in one of their countries national landmarks? The Louvre, the Lincoln Memorial, The Towers of Pizza and London, etc, etc.
Squeak
The “Tower of Pizza” ? hahahahahahaha, ignoramus!
CurtisIsTheOne
I just love deep dish leaning tower of pizza
Jason207
The travesty here is the condition of what Greece is claiming is a national monument to be revered. It is in shambles. Shameful.
Heywood Jablowme
Would you like to see a new roof with fire-resistant shingles, fix the columns using concrete, that sort of thing? If Athens is anything like the neighborhood Historic Districts in NYC, they probably won’t approve that.
Openminded
It’s not the Acropolis, but here in Nashville, we have a full size replica of the Parthenon that is in great condition. It’s located in a city park where it’s not really that unusual to find people hooking up in either.
scotshot
jason207
The reason the Parthenon is in “shambles” is due to the fact that it was blown up in the 17th century – one of several times.
People have died at the Parthenon during wars. You’re upset because you lot are having a hissy fit because of a sex act.
Dunnedin
So, you can have sex in public, call it “art”, and it’s OK. Sigh. The wonders of social media.
ShiningSex
sex in public is trashy. calling it art is an excuse.
Kangol2
Why not at least make a more interesting movie? Maybe leave the Parthenon alone, especially given its fragility, though I do get the critique they were trying to make, but why not have sex in other parts of Athens, etc. and make it and your championing of gay & queer life engaging and compelling? Because this film, bared butts and all, is a snooze fest!
winemaker
Totally classless pigs! And the gay community wonders why people are intolerant of gays and lesbians and this is just one reason. Really, there’s a time and place for everything and on the Acropolis in public or for that matter many other places, most of them public, isn’t one of them. Why do some gay men, not all of them, seem to think they have the right to have sex anywhere with the attitude of it’s their right and anyone against it is homophobic. And yes I’m gay and have more class than to have a public tryst and think this is outrageous.
scotshot
winemaker
How many heteros have had sex at the Parthenon? Take your homophobic comments elsewhere.
theenchanter
Anyone have a link to the video? You know…for proof?
Kangol2
The link is listed above but if you still can’t find it, Google or DuckDuckGo “Departhenon.” You know, the name of the film mentioned in the article? 😐
Saps48
It was posted by Aaron about a dozen replies ago…
IanHunter
That was one of the most boring sex scenes I’ve seen. Old home movies show more than this.