The Elgin Marbles Debate

A broader question which is an increasingly important one transcends the legal.
The elgin marbles debate. Curently the elgin marbles constitute one of the most important collections of the british museum. Lord elgin a staunch patriot had turned down lucrative offers from other governments for the treasures and argued all along that the marbles would add luster to britain s imperial image. Even before all the sculptures soon known as the elgin marbles went on display in london lord byron attacked elgin in stinging verses lamenting in childe harold s pilgrimage how the. 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.
The objects were removed from the parthenon at athens and from other ancient buildings and shipped to england by arrangement of thomas. When lord elgin removed the sculptures athens was under the control of the ottoman empire and had been. A 75 m long part of the original 160 m parthenon frieze. Making a grand gresture by returning the elgin marbles.
The real story of the elgin marbles. Greece rules out suing british museum over elgin marbles a team of lawyers in london had recommended taking legal action for the long disputed collection of artifacts but athens has opted for. There is a longstanding debate over whether the elgin marbles should be returned to greece. Live broadcast of the intellegence squared parthenon marbles debate at the new acropolis museum.
15 of the 92 original metopes from the parthenon representing the fight between the centaurs and the lapiths. The elgin marbles controversy does not of course begin and end with elgin and the wording of his permits. Greece maintains that their demand is for permanent return of the parthenon marbles. Elgin marbles collection of ancient greek sculptures and architectural details in the british museum london where they are now called the parthenon sculptures.