The Elgin Marbles: what are they and how did they end up in the British Museum? | UK News

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Elgin Marbles could soon be returning to Greece – more than 200 years after they were shipped out of the country to Britain.

Greece has made repeated requests to return the sculptures after they were controversially removed from one of the world’s most historic monuments.

Now, the British Museum has an agreement with Athens to borrow the Elgin Marbles in a long-term “cultural exchange,” according to the Daily Telegraph.

The museum said it was still having “constructive discussions” about their possible return.

What is Elgin Marble?

They are 17 2,500-year-old sculptures.

The marbles were part of the frieze of the ancient Parthenon temple on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

Marble made up about half of the 160-meter-long frieze at the Parthenon, considered one of the world’s greatest cultural monuments.

The statues are seen as symbols of freedom in Greece, where they are known as the Parthenon Marbles.

How did they end up in Britain?

British diplomat Lord Elgin removed the sculptures from the majestic Parthenon in the early 19th century.

At that time, he was an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which then ruled Greece.

Beginning in 1801, Lord Elgin is said to have supervised the removal and shipment of marble to the United Kingdom in 170 chests.

He is said to have claimed permission from the Ottoman Empire to move the marbles – but despite the massive documentation from the period, nothing has been found to support his actions.

In the UK, Lord Elgin has received both support and criticism.

He sold it to the UK government in 1816 before it passed into the trusteeship of the British Museum.

Photo: the ancient Parthenon temple in Athens

When did the feud begin – and how did it begin?

The controversy can be traced back to when the marbles first arrived in Britain due to criticism of their removal.

Then, in 1832, Greece gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire before it began trying to recover sculptures and other works of art that had been taken from the country.

In the early 1980s, actress and then Greek Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri, reignited the campaign when she made it her mission to secure the return of the glass globes.

In 1983, she met the director of the British Museum, Dr. David Wilson, in London, and demanded the return of the sculptures.

She continued to lobby the museum and the British government until her death in 1994.

Despite other requests and high-profile media coverage, no agreement was reached in the years that followed.

Then in 2009, Greece stepped up its campaign to return the marbles after opening a new museum at the hillside of the Acropolis that it hopes will one day house them.

In 2014, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney called on Britain to begin talks with Greece regarding the return of the Elgin Marbles.

“This is an injustice that has been going on for too long and in a world of intractable conflict,” said the lawyer, who is wife to Hollywood star George Clooney.

In 2015, Greece ruled out any legal action against the UK over Elgin Marbles.

In May 2022, the so-called Fagan fragment – ​​a piece showing the seated foot of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis, was permanently returned to Athens from a museum in Italy.

It was originally part of the eastern frieze of a temple in the 5th century BC.

What was the reaction in the UK?

In 2022, there have been calls to make it easier for UK museums to consider returning cultural objects – but this has been rejected by the government.

Former Conservative culture minister Lord Vaisey also chairs a new body aimed at returning the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

It comes after the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, told the Greek prime minister during talks in Downing Street in 2021 that the issue of the sculptures is “one for the trustees of the British Museum”.

Then at the beginning of December George Osborne, the head of the British Museum, was reported to have held secret talks with the Greek Prime Minister about the possible return of the marbles.

Negotiations between the former chancellor and Kyriakos Mitsotakis have been taking place in London since November 2021, according to Greek daily Ta Nea.

The Greek Prime Minister has called for the transfer of the sculptures on numerous occasions, even offering to loan other treasures to the British Museum in return.

A spokesperson for the Parthenon Project, a campaign that advocates for the Return of the Balls, hailed the talks as a “positive sign” that a “win-win solution” to the centuries-old debate is possible.

Image: Part of the group of sculptures known in the UK as the Elgin Marbles

What was said about a potential deal?

In December, Downing Street said there were no plans to change the law that prohibits a museum from disposing of objects from its collection except in very limited circumstances.

“The Parthenon sculptures are legally owned by the guardians and are practically independent of the government,” said the Prime Minister’s spokesperson.

Last month, the British Museum issued a statement saying it would not dismantle its collection “because it tells a unique story of our common humanity” – but added that it wanted to forge a new “Parthenon Partnership” with Greece.

Lord Pheasey used a debate at Westminster to press again for the return of the sculptures.

He said that the frieze in Athens “is like a film that has been cut in half and half of which has been transported against the will of its owners to another country.”

Image: The British Museum says it is still in discussions with Athens

Is agreement with Greece imminent?

It is understood that George Osborne has made an agreement with Athens, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Current legislation prevents the museum from legally giving away treasures, but Mr Osborne is said to be seeking the return of the artifacts as part of a long-running “cultural exchange”.

But the loan deal is not expected to permanently end the long-running dispute.

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