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The Mentor was a
Commanded by Captain William Eglen, it left Piraeus on 18 September 1802 with seventeen cases full of antiquities, including:Smith, A. H. “Lord Elgin and His Collection.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 36, 1916, pp. 163–372. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/625773. Accessed 4 October 2022.
* 14 pieces of the Parthenon Frieze
* 4 pieces of the frieze of the temple known as Athena Nike on the Acropolis
* a marble throne
The ship sailed a longer route than to pick up additional cargo. Having spent the night at Cape Matapan, the ship departed during strong easterly winds, and aimed to anchor at Kythira, but the bad weather meant it could not dock at the small port of :el: Αβλέμονας, Avlemonas and it swung onto the rocks. The crew and passengers were saved by a nearby boat, but the Mentor and its cargo sank to a depth of 23 meters. In the two years following the shipwreck, with the help of local divers, most of the antiquities were recovered.
Between 2011 and 2016, divers organized by the Greek Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities uncovered some of the sunken antiquities.
The Mentor was a brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...
bought by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine, ( ; 20 July 176614 November 1841), often known as Lord Elgin, was a Scottish nobleman, diplomat, and collector, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures ...
, in order to transport antiquities from Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
. The cargo included a significant number of sculptures from the Parthenon.
Cargo
Commanded by Captain William Eglen, it left Piraeus on 18 September 1802 with seventeen cases full of antiquities, including:Smith, A. H. “Lord Elgin and His Collection.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 36, 1916, pp. 163–372. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/625773. Accessed 4 October 2022.
* 14 pieces of the Parthenon Frieze
* 4 pieces of the frieze of the temple known as Athena Nike on the Acropolis
* a marble throne
Sinking
The ship sailed a longer route than to pick up additional cargo. Having spent the night at Cape Matapan, the ship departed during strong easterly winds, and aimed to anchor at Kythira, but the bad weather meant it could not dock at the small port of :el: Αβλέμονας, Avlemonas and it swung onto the rocks. The crew and passengers were saved by a nearby boat, but the Mentor and its cargo sank to a depth of 23 meters. In the two years following the shipwreck, with the help of local divers, most of the antiquities were recovered.
Recovery attempts
Between 2011 and 2016, divers organized by the Greek Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities uncovered some of the sunken antiquities.
References
{{reflist Shipwrecks Shipwrecks containing antiquities Parthenon