Greece to Britain: Hand over artwork

Seen on USA Today

LONDON — Greece is stepping up the pressure on Britain to return one of the ancient world's most valued treasures: the Elgin Marbles, sculptures removed from the Parthenon in the early 1800s and housed in the British Museum.

Greece announced earlier this month that, after years of delays, it would open its new Acropolis Museum in Athens in September. The modern structure would allow it to properly display and preserve the sculptures from the fifth century B.C.

And that, Greek Culture Minister Michalis Liapis said, "will be a strong argument against those who oppose the Marbles' return."

Not so, British Museum spokeswoman Hannah Boulton says. The Marbles, she says, won't be going to Greece — not out of fear they cannot be preserved, but because they fit in the museum's goal of displaying mankind's shared cultural heritage. "They should remain part of the collection," she says.

The dispute over the Elgin Marbles is part of a worldwide struggle over who owns antiquities. More nations are demanding a return of what they call their cultural heritage that they say was looted over the years, most often by richer nations. Museums, including major ones in the USA, are often the targets.

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Brief history of the Elgin Marbles Abstract from the Wikipedia

The Elgin Marbles also known as the Parthenon Marbles, are a collection of marble sculptures that originally decorated the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799 to 1803, obtained permission from the Ottoman authorities to remove sculptures from the Acropolis. From 1801 to 1812 Elgin's agents removed about half of the surviving sculptures of the Parthenon. The Marbles were transported to Britain, and were purchased by the British Government in 1816 after public debate in Parliament including strong censure of Thomas Bruce whom many condemned as a vandal, notably the famous English poet Lord Byron who is today revered as a national hero by the Greeks. The artifacts were placed on display in the British Museum, where they are now on view in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery... continue reading