Elgin Marble
The Parthenon in Athens is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. It was built to worship Athena-the goddess of war and wisdom in 448-432 BCE. This architecture included many sculptures such as metopes, free-standing, and frieze. Most Greek temples have few decorated metopes, but there is a difference because in the Parthenon all ninety-two metopes were decorated on all sides with scenes from Greek mythology. Each side of the Parthenon describes a different mythological and historical theme. At the East of the temple, the metopes described the Gigantomachy-the battle between the gods and the giants. The West side described the Amazonomachy-the mythical battle against the Amazons, while the North and South included scenes from the Trojan War and the mythical battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. The Parthenon frieze, which originally comprised of 115 plaques, represented the procession of the Great Panathenaic. That was an amazing architecture.
One of the most important events of Greece’s history was the ruin of the Parthenon. More than half of all sculptures of the Parthenon were taken by Lord Elgin in the 19th century. After that, the sculptures were bought and placed in the British Museum by the government in 1816 including 247 Parthenon frieze, 15 metopes, and 17 pediments. I think that was the reason why the sculptures were called with the name Elgin Marbles. Greek government has requested the return of the sculptures to Athens, but the British Museum has refused to return them with the reason that the sculptures are protected better in Britain. In my opinion the British Museum should return those sculptures to Greece because of following reasons.
The first reason is these sculptures should belong to their actual owner and that is an ethical problem. Lord Elgin’s action was illegal; the sculptures belong to the Parthenon and to Greece. He took them and brought them to Britain where the
One of the most important events of Greece’s history was the ruin of the Parthenon. More than half of all sculptures of the Parthenon were taken by Lord Elgin in the 19th century. After that, the sculptures were bought and placed in the British Museum by the government in 1816 including 247 Parthenon frieze, 15 metopes, and 17 pediments. I think that was the reason why the sculptures were called with the name Elgin Marbles. Greek government has requested the return of the sculptures to Athens, but the British Museum has refused to return them with the reason that the sculptures are protected better in Britain. In my opinion the British Museum should return those sculptures to Greece because of following reasons.
The first reason is these sculptures should belong to their actual owner and that is an ethical problem. Lord Elgin’s action was illegal; the sculptures belong to the Parthenon and to Greece. He took them and brought them to Britain where the
Cited: Elgin Marble Argument in a New Light, Michael Kimmelman, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/arts/design/24abroad.html Who Draws the Borders of Culture?, Michael Kimmelman, 2010 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/arts/09abroad.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all