The Battle Over Ownership Of Marble Sculpture

The Greeks and the British are still battling over ownership of marbles sculptures from 2,400 years ago. Parthenon Marbles was the name given to marble sculptures by the Greeks, who believe these sculptures belong to them because they were originally located in the Temple of Athena Parthenos in Athens. Elgin Marbles was the name given to marble sculptures by the British. The British believe they are the rightful owners of the marbles sculptures because British ambassador Thomas Bruce, who was the seventh earl of Elgin, purchased them. Although the British believe they are rightful owners of marble sculptures, they should be returned to there originally location in Athens. I will explain how the history of the marbles and the actions Elgin give
The permits for removal were acquired from local Ottoman officials through payments of presents that totaled 21,902 pounds. According to one of the permits that stills survives to this day, Elgin was granted access to, “ some pieces of stone with inscriptions or figures” (Brysac, 74). Elgin was able to come away with around pieces from the Temple of Athena Parthenos which included things like pediment sculptures and other pieces of the of the temple itself. Years later in 1816, Britain purchased Elgin’s collection of marbles for 35,000 pounds when he was experiencing some personal issues. The marbles were stored in the British Museum for years before being displayed. New ownership of the marbles was not only a controversy itself, but it also initiated a new controversy over the treatment of the marbles. The marbles had previous been put through the punishment of war, earthquakes, and fires in its’ original location in Athens. Elgin’s acquisition of the marbles did obvious damage to marble since they had to cut out of their original location. Not to mention the marbles that remained under water for 2 years, after one of the
An archeologist from the University of California-Berkeley said it best, “ unlike other works in the world wide diaspora of Greek art, the Parthenon marbles were a gift to Athens by her citizens and are thus uniquely symbolic of her culture” (Brysac, 76). The Parthenon Marbles are much more than sculptures are much than art. These sculptures represent the accomplishments and the history of Greek culture. Not only are the sculptures representative of Greek culture, but also the Greeks have been trying to recover these sculptures since 1816 (Brysac, 76). Michael Foot and Niel Kinnock who members of the British Labor Party were pushing for the marbles return to Greece. This idea was shot down when Tony Blair became prime minister in 1997 (Brysac, 76). Chris Smith who was the minster for Tony Blair said that the Parthenon Marbles were an, “integral part” of the British Museum (Brysac, 76). Soon after, European Parliament passed a vote 339 of 626 to potentially send the marbles back to their original location in Greece. (Brysac, 76). Unfortunately, the marbles have still not returned home to Greece. Not only do the Greeks believe the Parthenon Marbles should return home, but even some Brits agree that they should be returned as well. As you can tell the Greeks made an effort to retrieve the Parthenon almost nearly after the marbles were taken. This gives me another reason to believe that the