Meggie Macdonald

In an article by Stephen Moss in the Guardian’s G2 enclosure from June 16th, it is perfectly clear that the debate over the Parthenon or Elgin Marbles is far from over – and just as far from being a clear-cut case of theft, imperialism or identity.

In the nineteenth century, Lord Elgin, with permission from the Ottoman Empire that ruled over a not-yet-unified modern Greece, removed several large sculptures from the Acropolis in Athens that were originally part of the Parthenon.  These sculptures have, since Elgin sold them for £35,000, been on display in the British Museum in London for anyone and everyone to see, free of charge.

In the last decades, the Greek state has been continuously demanding the return of these sculptures, arguing that they are cultural property that were unlawfully removed from their country of origin.  At first, it was relatively simple:  curators of the British Museum suggested that the Greeks were unable to provide proper housing for the sculptures and that, until such a structure was available to safely protect the marbles, Greece would have no hope of getting them back.

In just under a week, Athens will unveil its newly completed New Acropolis Museum, built parallel to the Acropolis itself and with a singular purpose:  to properly house and display those sections of the Acropolis buildings that can no longer remain outside but should still be accessible to the world to see.  Inside, are the Caryatid statues from the Erechtheon and the remnants of the mighty frieze that decorated the exterior wall of the cella among other artifacts associated with the Acropolis.

The British Museum has denied that any overtures were made to the Greek government about permanently returning the Parthenon marbles that they hold to Greece.  In reponse, the New Acropolis Museum will also display plaster molds of those pieces that have not been returned – ‘reunited’ is the word the Greeks use, something that Mr Moss very astutely points out to focus on the attitudes of the situation – to accent what is still missing from the original collection.

In the British Museum, in the rooms immediately before the Parthenon gallery, is a short but accurate history of the marbles from when they were first constructed in the fifth century BC to when they were acquired by the British Museum, and includes a continuing summary of the international debate about their restoration to Greece.

The Brits make for a good argument:  the area known today as Greece was not a stable independent state in 1806 when Lord Elgin was studying the Acropolis.  Indeed, he sought permission to remove some of the sculptures from the only authority available at the time – the Ottomans – and it was granted to him.  When, ten years later, Elgin was short of funds, he sold the pieces to the British Museum where they have been on display to the world, free of charge, ever since.  The British Museum has never denied access to anyone and the marbles have been seen by millions of people since their arrival in London two hundred years ago.

However, the Greeks make a good argument as well:  the marbles are part of a structure that symbolises one of the lasting ideas Ancient Greek thinkers bestowed on the western world:  democracy, and that the permanent separation of the Acropolis’ constituent parts detracts from the original magnificence envisioned by Pericles, one of the heads of the state of Classical Athens.

Both institutions and governments are taking the high road saying that only in their possession will the true value of the Parthenon Marbles be communicated to the world at large, that the culture of Ancient Greece is a culture inherited not just by the modern western world but by the whole of human society.  The marbles represent the pinacle of the Classical Age of philosophy and government and of a culture that was capable of creating such beauty from stone.  But both also argue the selfish side, which has become so painfully obvious in the decades’-long debate because neither side is willing to compromise on any front, moral or practical.

This argument will continue to rage, and most likely without resolution, for decades more.  Until human society can recognise that human culture is pervasive and not the realm of one group over another, the Parthenon Marbles will exemplify our current conception of culture wherever they are.