The Elgin Marbles

The Elgin Marbles may ring a bell with most pub quiz regulars across the globe – but who actually knows what they are, by whom and to where they were taken – and if they will ever be restored to their original owners?

What Are They?

The Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, are a series of marble friezes and sculptures, depicting humans, horses and mythical Greek creatures. These include, in total, 247ft of the original 524ft frieze, which adorned the interior lining of the Parthenon; 15 of 92 metope panels (panes used to bridge the gap between friezes), depicting fighting between the mythical Centaurs and Lapiths; and 17 statues. Some had previously suggested the marbles were created during the Roman occupancy of Greece, yet modern scholars seem to agree they were most probably created about three hundred years earlier, in the famous workshop of the great sculptor Phidias, around the mid-fourth century BC. They had stood proud in Athens as a great work of antiquity, until an Ottoman ruler allowed a British Earl to have his way at the turn of the 19th century…

Losing Their Marbles

Thomas Bruce, the Seventh Earl of Elgin (a remote royal town in the Scottish Highlands) had lived an already colourful life by the time fortunes brought him to Greece, as British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1799. Following a brief stint in the army Elgin moved as an envoy-extraordinary (the highest diplomatic envoy) to Austria in 1791, before taking up the same role in Brussels and Prussia. By all accounts a very wealthy and powerful man, Elgin was then sent to the Ottoman Empire – then spanning much of Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East – to serve in Constantinople.

With his love of classical sculpture and artwork, Elgin adored the Acropolis of Athens, and received a firman to carry out sketches, excavate and take away reliefs from the site. It is this document that to this day causes ruptures between Greece and Britain as to the legality of Elgin’s actions to take the Parthenon Marbles from their original home between 1801 and 1812.

Opposers claim there was never any agreement to take his collecting as far as the actual Parthenon itself; advocates of Elgin argue they were being destroyed at the time of their removal, and that he saved them from inevitable destruction. The latter group point to the notorious Athenian traffic, which was causing the marbles to become dirty, dilapidated and broken. They also cite robberies and civil unrest (to crescendo in 1821 with the Greek War of Independence; in which the Acropolis was besieged twice), which had blighted the ancient Acropolis for centuries. Finally, Elgin’s fans believe his telling a Parliamentary enquiry that the Ottomans, wanting to destroy any statues made in man’s image, had in fact been filing the marbles down for mortar. However, the British climate has long been said to have damaged the statues itself, and the taking of the marbles from their home has led many to declare that they are bereft of the beauty they once held.

Surprisingly for an age of upper-class decadence and imperialism, Elgin faced much opposition to his acts back home in Britain. As well as being called to Parliament to explain his wide interpretation of the firman, Byron named Elgin alongside Alaric as the Temple of Athens’ greatest enemy – dubbing him the ‘Pictish Peer’. This may have a lot to do with the fact that, while constraining to dedicate his actions to the marbles’ posterity, he planned to have them erected in his private home. Following further debate, the government agreed to buy the marbles for £35,000 – a huge sum at the time. From then until today, the marbles have been exhibited in the British Museum, and remain one of the establishment’s most visited collections.

A Titanic Tug of War

So what happens next? As well as the Elgin Marbles, other Parthenon marbles are scattered across eight different countries – all of which the Greek government are attempting to retrieve. The official Greek perspective is that the marbles were taken in an act of thievery and must be returned immediately. In 2004 the Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis gave this statement: “The return of the Parthenon Marbles is a fair request of all the Greeks. It is a request of all the people, regardless of nationality, who visualise the reunification of a mutilated monument belonging to the world cultural heritage. We are dedicated to our goal, the return of the Marbles, and we shall remain so. We have persuasive arguments for our just cause. We feel optimistic that in the end, even the most doubtful will be convinced, and will change their attitude forward the matter.”

So the Greek government are unwilling to budge in their view of the Elgin Marbles as their rightful cultural capital. Yet they remain British property, a view the British Museum is quick to quote. The British Museum also claims that the Elgin Marbles are not specifically Greek property, but part of a wider understanding of world culture. This is a portion of their official viewpoint:

“The current division of the surviving sculptures between museums in eight countries, with about equal quantities present in Athens and London, allows different and complementary stories to be told about them, focusing respectively on their importance for the history of Athens and Greece, and their significance for world culture. This, the Museum’s Trustees believe, is an arrangement that gives maximum public benefit for the world at large and affirms the universal nature of the Greek legacy.”

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Well, it appears not. The debate surrounding the legality of the Elgin Marbles’ removal from Greece, and their exhibition in London, rages on to this day, with arguments clashing between those who feel the marbles are purely Greek, and those who say they are worldly possessions which should be available to the whole world. Should they, then, be moved from place to place so that everyone can seen them? Don’t ask the British.

Image Credits - Brian Ritchie and picnmix

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About The Author

Sean Williams

Last three pieces by this author:

Join Heritage Key Live from Stonehenge Spring Equinox | Celebrate St. Patrick's by Visiting Loughcrew for Spring Equinox | What can you Expect from Stonehenge Spring Equinox 2010?

Sean is an English Literature graduate, who currently works as a writer and journalist in London. He enjoys ancient history, theatre and sport. He does not enjoy Big Brother.