By Edwin Chao

The Parthenon Marbles, otherwise known as the Elgin Marbles, is part of a

historically significant frieze made from marble, which was originally displayed
on the Parthenon on the Acropolis. The frieze, which went around the Parthenon
displayed the Panathenaic Procession, a ceremony held every four years in
Athena, the patron goddess of citys honour. Currently the marbles are in the
British Museum, after being sold by Lord Elgin to the British Parliament for a sum
of 35000 pounds. The other pieces of the Frieze currently are in the New
Acropolis Museum and various other museums around Europe. The Parthenon
and its marble designs were some-what damaged, due to centuries of foreign
occupying forces. When the Marbles were taken by Lord Elgin, the Ottoman
Empire was the ruler of Greece at this time. Lord Elgin, as the Ambassador from
Britain to the Ottoman Empire, used his influence to be able to acquire the
Marbles. After obtaining the Marbles, causing some damage to the Parthenon,
Elgin shipped the Marbles back to England. He however, was captured by the
French. Elgin by this stage was broke, due to the excessive finances required
throughout the project. The Marbles were then bought by the British Parliament,
and deposited in the British Museum, where they reside today. The Greek
government however, have been requesting for the Marbles to return to Greece,
however all past negotiations have failed.
The British Museum has long been considered as one of the best museums in the
world, with countless artefacts collected over centuries of British dominance. The
museum has artefacts from all over the world. The museum allows for effective
comparison between cultures and races, due the extensiveness of the Museum.
The Museum has become an all-important learning tool for the people of Britain.
The ability to compare the different cultures allows tolerance and understanding
for other races. This tolerance and understanding is important to the highly
diverse populations today, as it fosters better relations in the community. The
Museum has artefacts taken from many other countries, which often leads the
Museum to come under intense scrutiny when other countries try to claim their
artefacts back from the British Museum. However the Museum claims that if they
released the items into the care of their native countries, sooner or later all
museums would be stripped of their artefacts that were not from their own
country. Having this happen to museums would be a shame, due to the
educational value of the museums.
The Greeks have been requesting for the return of the marbles for many decades
already. In 2003, the Greek minister for Culture has stated that the Greek
position was that they would not accept that the British Museum owned The
Marbles. The problem being, was that the British Museum would not negotiate
with the Greeks without the pre-condition that the Greek government would
forfeit any ownership of The Marbles to the British Museum. However, the
Museums ownership is questionable, as there is no known firman, or legal
document citing permission from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire allowing
Elgin to take the Marbles, there is only a letter in Italian which says there was a
firman. The British Parliament itself questioned the legal legitimacy of the
acquisition before they purchased the Marbles. The legality of the purchase is
grey area that is highly questionable. A moral issue with purchase is that it was
not the Ottoman Empires to give away. It is a Greek carving, and should remain
Greek. If there was a firman, the gift of the Marbles to Lord Elgin would not have
been a decision of the Greek people, as they did not have a say in the decision.
The Marbles is a frieze, depicting the Panathenaic Procession. It is a piece of art,

By Edwin Chao
wondrously carved from solid marble and painted with bright colours. It is a
travesty that one part of it is in England, and another is in Greece. It is like
having part of the Mona Lisa in England whilst the other is in France. An even
greater farce is that in the British Museum, the Marbles are displayed next to one
another, in no particular order. It is supposed to depict the procession and the
robe that the statue of Athena is given, woven by the young girls of the city. As
stated before, it is a Greek artefact. Let it belong to the Greeks, let them display
it with pride in its own museums. It would be a sign of good will on the British
behalf.
Both sides present logical arguments, yet the Greek arguments are stronger. It is
a Greek sculpture, and should be rightfully returned to Greece, rather than being
jumbled up in a foreign museum. It is a farce that the British Museum make
excuses to prevent its return, and to also refuse to negotiate terms without
setting pre-conditions that are unreasonable and unacceptable to the Greeks.
Whilst emptying museums is unwise, an exception should be made for the return
of the Marbles, as it is a universal symbol of Greece and her contributions to the
western world. However, this return should have the condition that British
Museum be loaned a continuous supply of Greek artefacts for periods of time to
fill the galleries that are emptied by the Marbles departure. The loan should
make sure that the Duveen Gallery is always filled with Greek artefacts, to allow
the continual use of the British Museum as a Cosmopolitan, allowing the
continuous education and comparison of cultures from around the world. This
should allow The British Museum to educate and captivate the generations of
people to come.