The Controversy Of The Elgin Marbles

A select committee of parliament was established to examine the sculpture and the possibility of acquiring it for britain.
The controversy of the elgin marbles. The elgin marbles are a source of controversy between modern britain and greece. The marbles have suffered considerable damage while in london. In 1810 elgin published a defence of his actions but the subject remained controversial. A public debate in parliament followed elgin s publication and parliament again exonerated elgin s actions eventually deciding to purchase the marbles for the british nation in 1816 by a vote of 82 30.
Today much controversy surrounds the ownership elgin marbles both the british and greeks argue that each have legal and moral claim over the parliament s marble adornments. Lord byron and many others attacked elgin s actions in print. An outcry arose over the affair and elgin was assailed for rapacity vandalism and dishonesty in hauling the grecian treasures to london. The first serious discussion about returning the elgin marbles is said to have been initiated in an exchange of correspondence in a newspaper in 1925 with courtenay pollock arguing that the time.
The british defend their ownership of the marbles based on greece s lack of an adequate museum and the fact that they paid for the pieces mcguigan 2. Greece rules out suing british museum over elgin marbles. It is still doubtful whether lord elgin was ever truly granted permission to take the marbles. Controversy over their acquisition by the british museum continues to this day.
These actions were controversial from the very beginning. In 1801 a british nobleman stripped the parthenon of many of its sculptures and took them to england. The elgin marbles have been controversial for over 200 years with the acropolis museum in athens which houses the remaining sculptures keeping a space empty for them amongst its current. Even before all the sculptures soon known as the elgin marbles went on display in london lord byron attacked elgin in stinging verses.
It s a collection of stone pieces rescued removed from the ruins of the ancient greek parthenon in the nineteenth century and now in demand to be sent back from the british museum to greece.