When you read the title of this article, you’re not alone in picturing a collection of spherical glass objects. The Elgin Marbles, after Thomas Bruce, the Seventh Earl of Elgin, are a collection of sculpture and other artifacts taken from Greece and currently housed in the British Museum. The word “marbles” in the name of this collection of artifacts refers to the fact that the majority of them are made of marble, a material that the Ancient Greeks had plenty of.
The Parthenon Marbles are another name for the Elgin Marbles, which refers to the location where they were taken in the early 1900s. Thomas Elgin obtained permission from the Ottoman Empire, which had jurisdiction over the Parthenon at the time, to remove the statuary and other objects. Several items were removed from the site and shipped to Britain over the course of a decade.
There was some debate at the time about whether the removal of the Elgin Marbles was legal or ethical. Some compared it to vandalism, claiming that some of the statues were damaged or lost in transit and that they should have remained in their cultural context. Others saw the Elgin Marbles as a major victory for Britain, and they ultimately prevailed, ensuring that the art would be permanently displayed in the British Museum.
The Elgin Marble controversy is still going on today. The Greek government has made repeated requests to the British Museum for the return of the Elgin Marbles, as well as similar requests to other museums and private collections that hold Parthenon artifacts. The Elgin Marbles should be returned, according to supporters, both because they were illegally removed and because they should be reunited with their original location so that visitors to the Parthenon can see it in its entirety.
Others, on the other hand, believe that the Elgin Marbles are safer in the British Museum. Athens is known for its pollution, which has already wreaked havoc on the remaining parts of the Parthenon in Greece. Returning the statues to Greece could be viewed as signing their death warrant, as pollution could cause irreversible damage. Furthermore, the museum’s charter expressly prohibits the return of artifacts (except those on loan), and the British Museum has suggested that repatriating the Elgin Marbles could result in a flood of requests for the return of cultural artifacts appropriated by nations all over the world.