Learning Activity 1_CSTU 101

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Liberty University *

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101

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Arts Humanities

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Apr 3, 2024

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1 Running head: LEARNING ACTIVITY 1: WHO OWNS THE PAST? Learning Activity 1: Who “Owns” The Past Brian J. Cauguiran Evans Liberty University Author Note This short essay was prepared for CSTU 101, Western Culture, taught by Professor Dennis Rawls.

2 Running head: LEARNING ACTIVITY 1: WHO OWNS THE PAST? In London at the British Museum rests a gallery of artifacts known to be the most extensive collection of surviving classical Greek marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens. This collection is the heart of a 200-year dispute between the Greek government and the British Museum. It was named after its exporter, Thomas Brute, 7th Earl of Elgin and, the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople (Merryman, 1985). Amid increased interest of Greek and Roman antiquities during the 18th century, Lord Elgin separated “247 of the 524 feet of frieze…15 metopes out of 92 and…17 sculptures of from the pediment” of the Parthenon (Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?, n.d.). With substantial personal financial loss funding the undertaking, the British Lord sold the collection to the museum in 1816, where to this day, they are displayed and known as the Elgin Marbles. (Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?, n.d.; Merryman, 1985) Since Greece gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832, the government has expressed the restitution of monuments and art, which includes the highly regarded Elgin marbles. The Greek Minister of Culture made the first official request for return in 1983. A Plea was also conveniently publicized with the upcoming 2004 Olympics. However, the British Parliament has continued to decline. This only makes sense as the marbles have been in the custody of British museum scholars for over 200 years. Moreover, Greece has not had the infrastructure to properly maintain and display these artifacts until the opening of the Acropolis Museum in 2009. This also directs to the opinion that at this point, the marbles belong as much to British and international historical culture since they have been there so long (Greene et al., 2002). (Word Count:265)

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