Should The Elgin Marbles Be Returned To Greece?

The controversy began almost one hundred years ago. Between 1801 and 1812, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, removed several sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens and shipped them to England, where he sold them to the British Museum in 1816. 167 years later, Melina Mercouri, Greek Minister of Culture, requested that the “Elgin” Marbles be returned. This request sparked one of the greatest debates the art world has ever known. For the past two decades, people have argued over who has the rights to these Marbles. The Greek position is certainly understandable from a cultural and emotional point of view. However, from the standpoint of

In December 2002, the directors of 18 museums located throughout Europe and the United States issued the Declaration of the Importance and Value of Universal Museums. The declaration is an attempt, by the directors of major Western museums, to defend against demands for restitution of museum objects by defining themselves as “universal museums” which are of value to all of humanity. This document fails as a convincing defence against restitution claims for several reasons. First, it dismisses circumstances of older acquisitions without considering the ethics or legality of surrounding the acquisition. Second, while it pronounces these museums “universal,” it approaches this from a distinctly Western perspective and perpetuates colonial and imperialist ideas. Finally, it ignores important debates that are occurring between and within scholarly, professional, and activist communities.

One thinks that it is wrong to keep something from its original home. In the article “Returning Antiquities to Their Countries of Origin” in paragraph three, sentence two, it states “In the early 19th century, the Earl of Elgin had numerous sculptures taken from Greece to the Uk.” also in paragraph three, setance three, it states “These include half of the surviving sculptures from the Parthenon in Athen.” If one takes away the sculptures ones taking away the history. The sculpture were built to show the history of the past. They were built to show what had happened in the past and who was in it. They show Greeces culture and beliefs. If one wants to take the sculptures, than the Greeks and other countries won't know what their past was. People and historians have learned alot from the Greek artwork, sculpture, books , paintings, and much more. When

As I mentioned, this is an extremely controversial topic that has raised a lot of difference in opinions. Furthermore, I must admit that those arguing for the sculptures to remain in Britain do make some interesting points that plenty of people have taken into consideration. One of their arguments is that the sculptures were already in a damaged and fragile condition, and leaving them in Greece would have destroyed them completely (‘The Parthenon Marbles: Refuting the Arguments”, par 6). In the YouTube video, “Parthenon Marbles Debate ", one of Tristam Hunt’s arguments is if the Greeks are able to acquire their historic artwork, this may cause other countries to demand their historic artifacts as well, not just from the British Museum, but from museums all over the world as well. I can see the counter arguments that this controversy issue involves. However, regardless of whether they were in a horrible condition, the Greeks were never consulted, nor did they have a say regarding the selling of this artwork to Elgin. Now, when it comes to everyone claiming and demanding they receive their ancient artwork, like historian Hunt said; this is true. It can happen, but I don't believe that any other artifacts have the amount of significance that these sculptures do. The Greeks worked their hearts

The Parthenon was an amazing and expensive achievement of ancient Greece. Although it is mostly in ruins today, there is enough knowledge about its construction to allow others to recreate the structure. The Parthenon is often constructed not only to honor the ancient Greeks, but also to honor the culture and place where it is recreated. Although the Parthenon’s influence is tremendous throughout the western world, it is generally only faithfully represented in part- the nearest representations found during my research include the Walhalla and the Nashville Parthenon. This paper focuses mostly on the original building’s history and its influence on American architecture, with a short discussion on a site in Germany. Research was conducted through the use of our course’s textbook, our consortium library, and educational websites. After my research was concluded, I became particularly fascinated with the golden ratio, which is debated to have been used during the construction of the Parthenon. I would like to research this in future work.

Acropolis of Athens, and more specifically the Parthenon is the most mysterious. It is thought to be the most characteristic monument in in Greek history. Symbolizing the beginning of Western civilization, it is also an icon of European history. The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena, Goddess of the city of Athens and the goddess of wisdom. In modern culture, more than half the sculptures are now located in the British Museum in London. Christianity was established in the 6th century. With this development, the temples were changed to Christian churches. Today the return of the Parthenon sculptures to their original home of Acropolis is highly anticipated.

The Elgin Marbles is the common name for an extensive collection of the Ancient Greek sculpture which has been on display in the British Museum since the early-1800s. The collection includes 75 meters (247 feet) of the original 160-metre (524-foot) frieze from the Parthenon temple in Athens. The frieze is the highly decorative section above the columns in classical Greek architecture. The collection is controversial because of its namesake the seventh Earl of Elgin removed the treasures from Greece with the permission of the Ottomans, who occupied Greece from the mid-15th century until 1821. For decades, the Greeks have called for the priceless artifacts’ return, but the British Museum defends its ownership as legitimate.

“Who Owns the Elgin Marbles?” this question continues to linger in some minds today, and just so happens to be reviewed in the respectfully titled article written by John Henry Merryman in 1986. In this article, Merryman, in the most unbiased way possible, assesses both Britain’s and Greece’s side of the argument pertaining to the ownership of the Elgin Marbles and whether they should be returned to Greece after being removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century. Within the article, the main points discussed regard the morality and legality of the removal of the marbles. Merryman goes on to discuss three more main concerns dealing with the marbles and where they belong:

This sculpture is comprised of marble, and due to its large size it was easier for me to develop an impression about the piece because I can focus on specific parts in more detail. To understand the piece, a very visual and detailed perspective is needed. Judging by the way the thighs are represented, it appears as though she is striking a contrapposto pose, which makes her appear static. She has most of her weight shifted on her left leg, but not all of it The focal point of this piece I believe is her robe. It skillfully falls down her left side, while leaving other parts exposed, drawing the main attention of this piece. Few different types of shapes are displayed, except the shape of her legs and the form of the robe. The physical texture was smooth throughout the entire piece, partly due to the material it is made of. There is only this one texture, as her robe and body parts all feel the same.

The Frieze was taken from the Parthenon between 1801 and 1812 by Thomas Bruce the Earl of Elgin after he was granted permission to take them by the Ottoman Empire. He later sold them to the British Government in 1816 where it was moved to the British Museum in 1832. The Frieze was shipped in two stages with the first set going in 1803 in 200 boxes with the second shipment in 1809. The transportation of the marbles took so long as Elgin was imprisoned on the Spanish border at Pau for three years. The entire removal process of the marbles taken from the Parthenon cost Elgin £74,000. (4)

I believe that Lord Elgin did the right thing. He helped preserve the statues because there would have been no statues left, if he did not. Athens had already pulverized about forty percent of the statues, for the limestone. They would have pulverized the rest if Lord Elgin had not stepped in. If every country got to keep their own artifacts, how would anyone ever get to visit all the different artifacts that one museum can offer? If the artifacts were donated or purchased, would that be fair to the purchaser? No, it is not. Lord Elgin did everything legally, including getting an export permit from Ottoman authorities, so that he could bring them to Britain

The marble used to create the sculpture brings out the fine quality of such material. It also adds elegance and sensuous grace to the whole sculpture. The use of marble links the sculpture to the radiance and softness of the female skin. The hips of the

This building still partly stands today, but pillaging of artifacts, as well as destruction from war has left the building in shambles. However, the frieze is still largely in tact and is now located in the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum. These friezes are still under ownership discrepancies, as Greece feels Lord Elgin illegally acquired them and Britain feels that he was allowed excavation from the Ottomans, whom reigned supreme over Greece at this time. This monument helps explains a broader context of world culture, it was highly pillaged, and tells its own story. The monument is also known as the Temple of Athena Parthenos, which was designed by Itkinos and Kallikrates. This building, which is part of a larger Acropolis, would have taken many years to build. The monument began its construction around 447 BC and has several key architectural features. First, the pediments contain chiseled works such as the birth of Athena. Secondly, the building is equipped with metopes, friezes, and artifacts like the Selene horse or artworks of a centaur which make this monument a cultural icon even today. The Parthenon is also the only temple from the era where real-life scenes are

The Parthenon is located on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece; is a former temple which was dedicated to Greek goddess Athena, whom the Athens considered their leader. According to the British Museum (2015), The Parthenon was built nearly 2500 years ago and has a long and complex history. After thousands of years it became a church of the Virgin Mary of the Athenians, then a mosque and then finally resulted in a archaeological ruin. After the result of a ruin, the buildings were reformed in which various sculptures were damaged. During the 1800’s after the Parthenon being damaged, the Elgin marbles (Elgin) a part of the remaining sculpture, was removed and given to a British museum. For hundreds of years there has been a question if the British museum should return the Elgin marbles back to the Athenians or not. I believe that that the safest and most beneficial place for the Elgin marbles is the British museum, therefore the British should not return the marble to the Athenians.

This is why I think the author wanted Tomas to drop the marble. First, maybe the author wanted to show that the marble is a special marble because it didn’t break. In the text it says, “the marble was not broken.” It shows that it is a special marble because if it was a normal it would break. Also, maybe the author wanted you to think it will open up and something will magically come out. In the text it says,“it did not break open and magically turn into a chair on a ladder”. may be the author wanted to surprise you. People probably expect that something will magically come out when Tomas dropped the marble, but it didn’t. Finally, maybe the author wanted us to think