Why England should return the Parthenon marbles to Greece:
For nearly two hundred years, the largest collection of marble
sculptures from the Parthenon has been sitting on the other
side of Europe in the British Museum in England. The
collection of marble art from the Parthenon, sometimes known as
the Elgin Marbles, is the center of much controversy between
England and Greece. Originally sculpted in Greece during the 5th
century B.C, Lord Elgin seized the sculptures in 1816. At
this time, the Turkish Empire ruled Greece. Lord
Elgin believed he was rescuing the sculptures from untimely ruin.
Greece reclaimed the Parthenon during their bid for unification
in 1819. In accordance, Greece should reclaim the marble
sculptures from England.
Unfortunately, the marble sculptures deteriorated
significantly at the hands of the British. Ian Jenkins, sent by
the British Museum to report on the cleaning of the Parthenon
marbles while in British possession, discovered that a committee
issued by the museum admitted to damaging the marbles. "At a
meeting of the Standing-Committee of Trustees on 8 October 1938,
Forsdyke reported that 'through unauthorised and improper efforts
to improve the colour of the Parthenon sculpture for Lord
Duveen's new gallery, some important pieces had been greatly
damaged.'" In the 1930s, the British Museum attempted to
restore the Parthenon marbles to the original color. Somehow,
the museum believed the sculptures originally had a bright
white sheen. In fact, the original Parthenon featured a more
natural gray. Once exposed to air, the improperly cleaned
artifacts gave off an unnatural honey color. I twice had the
opportunity to view the expansive
exhibit in the British Museum. Although a casual observer, I can
testify to the poor quality of the specimens in relation to
photographs displayed nearby of the artifacts before the
cleaning. Also, I could not help but notice the amount of
suspicious white plaster used to haphazardly replace much of the
specimens.
Supporters of England's bid for the sculptures have always
pointed out that Greece lacks a proper location to store the
relics. At the time Lord Elgin captured the now infamous marble
sculptures, Greece was not able to care for the pieces. After
all, the Turks controlled the Parthenon in 1816 and were not
mindful of the relics within the structure. Soon, however, the
Greeks will be more capable of caring for the sculptures than
anyone else in the world. By 2004, the National Archeological
Museum of Athens will complete the New Acropolis Museum.
Situated adjacent to the hill on which the Parthenon stands, the
museum's major function will be to care for the Parthenon
marbles.
In fact, the British Museum lacks the proper funding to take
care of the Parthenon marbles. As recently as 10 November 2002,
the BBC news agency in England reports that the British Museum's
debt has reached six million pounds.
The Greek government already allotted twelve million U.S. dollars
to build the New Acropolis Museum. Even if the museum in Greece
does not attain any more operating money, the operation will
still have nine million more U.S. dollars than the British
Museum. Moreover, the British Museum has many other artifacts to
care for. The main focus of the New Acropolis Museum will be
the Parthenon marbles.
Another of the British government's arguments for retaining
the marbles is that England retains a receipt of purchase.
However, Lord Elgin made the transaction with the Ottoman Empire,
which stole the Parthenon from the Greeks to begin with. Such a
document is as persuasive as a receipt for stolen goods.
Regardless of whether or not the transaction was legal at the
time or is still legal today, most Britons would like to see the
marbles returned to Greece. A survey in 1987 by the British
Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles found
that only 7% of the population of England would be disappointed
if the artifacts returned to their original owners.
In his book "Lord Elgin and the Marbles," William
St. Claire speculates that if England returns the sculptures to
Greece then there will be a mass outcry for artifacts around the
globe to be returned to their lands of origin. Additionally,
Daniel Shapiro, in his essay "Repartation: A Modest
Proposal," predicts a "balkanization" of the
world's museums if England returns the Parthenon sculptures to
Greece. However, the Greek government refutes these accusations
in a statement released by the Minister of Greek Culture,
Evanghelos Venizelos. The statement announced that the Greek
government would not seek the return of any other antiquities. In
fact, "Greece would be willing to send rare and even newly
discovered antiquities, which have never been seen outside
Greece." Additionally, other high profile cases of artifact
relocation have already been solved in favor of the original
owners. For example, England returned the Stone of Scone to
Scotland in 1996. England, in their tradition of capturing
artifacts from less powerful nations and then returning them,
should similarly relinquish Greece's Parthenon marbles.
The British Museum believes that more people will see the
marbles in London. Of course, the conclusion that more visitors
will see the Parthenon marbles in London rather than Athens does
not follow. With a wholly restored Parthenon, Athens surely would
not reduce the amount of visitors to the location. The Parthenon
marbles in the British Museum are a portion of a greater relic,
as well as part of Greek heritage. Actually, taking into account
the size and national pride felt for the Parthenon, the building
is more of a monument than a simple relic. Greece will hold the
Olympic summer games in 2004, just in
time for the completion of the New Acropolis Museum. Then would
be an opportune time to display the artifacts to the world.
England has the opportunity to make Greece whole once more.
Imagine if some far away alien nation stole the Statue of
Liberty's torch to do with as they please. England has done this
to Greece, and she pines for the return of her statues. Without
these sculptures, the Parthenon and Greece are incomplete.
References
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/02/04/tschumi_nam.html
http://www.parthenonuk.com/index.php
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/parthenon/app11.html
http://www.nyu.edu/pubs/jilp/main/issues/31/pdf/31f.pdf
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2388405.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/543077.stm