UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been in something of a spat with the Greek government—he cancelled a forthcoming meeting with Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The UK government claims that Mitsotakis had made a prior promise that the housing of the Elgin Marbles in London’s British Museum would not be raised as an issue of discussion. But Mitsotakis then made public remarks about his disapproval regarding the Marbles’ location in London, rather than in Athens where he thinks they should be.
A UK government spokesperson recently told the BBC that Mitsotakis’ “assurances were not adhered to.” Downing Street issued a statement that Sunak felt it would “not be productive to have a meeting dominated by that issue.” Sir Kier Starmer, leader of the UK opposition Labour party, took the opportunity to criticise Sunak and the governing Conservative Party as “pathetic.” Greek television channels have since been buzzing with outrage at the supposed insult dealt out to their nation by Sunak’s decision to cancel the meeting.
The Marbles were originally from the ancient Parthenon at Athens’ Acropolis, and were taken in the early 19th century by the agents of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, from the then Ottoman-occupied Greece to Britain via Malta. What no one seems to mention in any polemics over the Elgin Marbles—polemics which have been going on for decades—is that at the time Lord Elgin secreted them away (both legally and paid for, I should add), locals in Athens were in the habit of taking many of the city’s marble antiquities, including reliefs and sculptures, grounding them down, and burning them to obtain lime for new buildings. What people also fail to acknowledge is the terrible state of so much ancient material culture in Athens to this very day.
For centuries, the whole Acropolis remained largely neglected by the inhabitants of Athens, and it took a visiting 19th century Bavarian architect and painter, Leo Von Klenze, to insist that something must be done for its restoration and conservation. Still, no proper project of this kind began until the ‘Acropolis Restoration Project’ was launched in 1975 to reverse the decay of centuries of erosion, pollution, and direct destruction from military actions. Since then, damage has nonetheless continued, with the great antiquities of Greece being insufficiently protected from acid rain caused by the country’s excessive historical pollution.
Greece arguably owes England a great debt of gratitude for looking after these marble marvels. They are in the superb condition in which they’re found today because of their 19th, 20th, and 21st century history of conservation under the constant and loving care of the British Museum’s dedicated staff since 1816.
And what if they were returned to Athens? What would that mean for the museums of the world, including Greece’s museums? Museums and galleries the world over are full of collected artifacts from all around the world; should each and every one of these be returned to the geographical territory where they were found? And if so, why, given that it is natural for tangible goods to travel and be bought and traded? If one starts playing the history game over treasures and artifacts, one can soon find oneself in hot water. Is Greece ready to apply its principle to all its own collections?
The Elgin Marbles should stay where they are, for it is due to where they are that they look the way they do.
The Elgin Marbles Must Stay in London
Dennis Diatel / Shutterstock
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been in something of a spat with the Greek government—he cancelled a forthcoming meeting with Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The UK government claims that Mitsotakis had made a prior promise that the housing of the Elgin Marbles in London’s British Museum would not be raised as an issue of discussion. But Mitsotakis then made public remarks about his disapproval regarding the Marbles’ location in London, rather than in Athens where he thinks they should be.
A UK government spokesperson recently told the BBC that Mitsotakis’ “assurances were not adhered to.” Downing Street issued a statement that Sunak felt it would “not be productive to have a meeting dominated by that issue.” Sir Kier Starmer, leader of the UK opposition Labour party, took the opportunity to criticise Sunak and the governing Conservative Party as “pathetic.” Greek television channels have since been buzzing with outrage at the supposed insult dealt out to their nation by Sunak’s decision to cancel the meeting.
The Marbles were originally from the ancient Parthenon at Athens’ Acropolis, and were taken in the early 19th century by the agents of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, from the then Ottoman-occupied Greece to Britain via Malta. What no one seems to mention in any polemics over the Elgin Marbles—polemics which have been going on for decades—is that at the time Lord Elgin secreted them away (both legally and paid for, I should add), locals in Athens were in the habit of taking many of the city’s marble antiquities, including reliefs and sculptures, grounding them down, and burning them to obtain lime for new buildings. What people also fail to acknowledge is the terrible state of so much ancient material culture in Athens to this very day.
For centuries, the whole Acropolis remained largely neglected by the inhabitants of Athens, and it took a visiting 19th century Bavarian architect and painter, Leo Von Klenze, to insist that something must be done for its restoration and conservation. Still, no proper project of this kind began until the ‘Acropolis Restoration Project’ was launched in 1975 to reverse the decay of centuries of erosion, pollution, and direct destruction from military actions. Since then, damage has nonetheless continued, with the great antiquities of Greece being insufficiently protected from acid rain caused by the country’s excessive historical pollution.
Greece arguably owes England a great debt of gratitude for looking after these marble marvels. They are in the superb condition in which they’re found today because of their 19th, 20th, and 21st century history of conservation under the constant and loving care of the British Museum’s dedicated staff since 1816.
And what if they were returned to Athens? What would that mean for the museums of the world, including Greece’s museums? Museums and galleries the world over are full of collected artifacts from all around the world; should each and every one of these be returned to the geographical territory where they were found? And if so, why, given that it is natural for tangible goods to travel and be bought and traded? If one starts playing the history game over treasures and artifacts, one can soon find oneself in hot water. Is Greece ready to apply its principle to all its own collections?
The Elgin Marbles should stay where they are, for it is due to where they are that they look the way they do.
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