What is the debate over the Elgin marbles?

What is the debate over the Elgin marbles?

The removal of the Elgin Marbles highlights debates about the ownership of cultural artifacts and the return of antiquities to their places of origin, with the British Museum accused of exhibiting “pilfered cultural property”.

Should the Elgin Marbles be returned to Greece debate?

A former UK culture minister says that the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Greece, fuelling the long-standing debate over the reunification of the fifth-century works that have been housed at the British Museum since the early 19th century.

Why the Elgin marbles should be returned?

Perhaps the most impassioned argument for the return of the Parthenon sculptures is that the pieces represent a vital and central part of Greek cultural heritage. That they are the most prominent and symbolic link that modern Athens and modern Athenians have with the greatness of their ancient ancestors.

What is the British Museum’s argument for keeping the marbles?

The British Museum argues that the sculptures in their collection should remain in London because there’s nowhere to house them in Greece and that the Greek authorities can’t look after them.

Why won’t Britain return the Elgin Marbles?

Maintenance work at the British Museum and the pandemic have prevented the Parthenon marbles from being publicly viewed for almost a year. The Acropolis Museum, which was purpose-built to house the classical carvings at the foot of the monument in Athens, reopened in May.

Did Lord Elgin steal the marbles?

On this day in 1801, Lord Elgin removed and stole the Parthenon Marbles from Greece. In the early morning light on July 31, 1801, a ship-carpenter, five crew members, and twenty Athenian labourers “mounted the walls” of the Parthenon and removed one of Greece’s most important pieces of history.

Why won’t the British Museum return the Elgin Marbles?

The British government’s official position is that it is not responsible for the marbles’ fate: That, it says, is a matter for the British Museum’s trustees, a group largely appointed by the prime minister that has repeatedly said the sculptures are integral to the museum’s mission of telling world history.

Why should the UK keep the Elgin Marbles?

Who stole the Elgin Marbles?

The sculptures – which adorned the Parthenon temple in Athens before they were removed by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, and brought to the UK more than 200 years ago – have long been a source of tension between Greece and the UK.