Trash or Treasure?

The saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" came to mind during our group adventure into Athens today as we joined the milling masses that were flocking to the Acropolis. That isn't the traditional thought that passes through a tourist's mind as they are surrounded by centuries of history, so let me explain. Mr. Dr. Kaplan, our ancient Greek expert, educated us on the history of the site as we walked, explaining that as Athens had been occupied at different times there had been different buildings erected on the Acropolis. At one point there was a mosque inside the Parthenon which the Greeks decided was not the history they wanted to preserve and so they tore it out. There was also a 13th century tower which was reduced to rubble, something that would be unthinkable anywhere else in the world. This got me thinking, when is something considered trash or a treasure? Where is the line? Who has the right to decide where that line is drawn? Common sense would say that these things are in Greece and so the Greeks should have the final say in what stays and what goes. But the answer shouldn't be so simple. Greece has been occupied many times, intertwining the history of the people here and the occupying people. Should that shared history only mean something to one side? Why can't both sides be represented in the historical record? As I stood and stared up at the Parthenon, I considered all of this from a different perspective. What if another country invaded the United States and occupied us, erecting monuments and religious centers near some of our most beloved monuments. The White House, the Washington Monument, Mt. Rushmore, etc. How would we react once that country was pushed out? I imagined mobs of Americans rushing to tear down the traces of any foreign occupation, bellowing "Don't tread on me!" or "Murica!" in fits of frenzied nationalism. So can I really blame the Greeks for seeing those things as trash, not treasures?