Essay Sample on Reasons Why the British Should Return Elgin Marbles to Greece

The return of Elgin Marbles to Greece has been a major challenge since independence. In the early 19th century, when the Ottoman Empire was still ruling Greece, a large portion of the sculptures of the Parthenon temple, built 250 decades ago, were forcefully removed by Lord Elgin, a British diplomat during that period, and finally ended up being stored in the British National Museum in London (Browning, 39). Unfortunately, Greece has been requesting for the return of the Elgin or Parthenon Marbles for many years now, with no gain. The Elgin Marbles is a collection of various sculptures, inscriptions, statues, as well as architectural components, portraying various events from the Greek traditions (Kynourgiopoulou, 156). The Parthenon temple was constructed in the 5th century in honor of Athena. It became one of the most known and highly acknowledged Western Civilization symbols and is considered the European Ancient Greeks' biggest architectural success. In my opinion, the British should return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece as a symbol of goodwill after several years of arguments from all the stakeholders of this particular issue (Lyons, 180). The constant possession of Elgin Marbles by Britain is a way of constant colonialism. Hence, the United Kingdom should return the Parthenon Marble to correct the wrong imperialistic deeds of the past to Greece. Therefore, this paper outlines and discusses three major reasons; legality, appreciation, and cultural and historical context why the British should return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

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Appreciation Argument

The Parthenon Marbles were taken away from the Parthenon Temple between 1801 and 1802 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, by the Earl of Elgin. The Elgin was granted official permission from the Ottoman Empire, enabling him to take half of the Parthenon (Hamilakis, 310). However, most historians worldwide have disputed and highly criticized the agreement's content for removing the Parthenon Marbles from the temple. Some claimed that Elgin was only allowed to retrieve some stones that had fallen on the ground near the marbles (Kynourgiopoulou, 160). In comparison, other historians claimed that Elgin never received permission to remove the marbles because of a lack of documentation of the agreement even existing. Finally, he took away about 50% of the Parthenon Marbles (UNESCO). He later sold the marbles to the UK government, which was later presented and stored it until now in the British National Museum. The removal of the Elgin Marbles severely interfered with the walls and structures of the Parthenon Temple, causing more injury to the temple and the Greek cultural and historical elements.

Legality Argument

Typically, the legality of the Parthenon Marbles is still highly questionable between the two European countries (Britain and Greece), as Greek relevant bodies claiming that because of the Ottoman’s rule and occupation, the agreement was invalid, the Ottoman rulers had no authority or any say over the Greek Parthenon. Thus, the British should return Parthenon Marbles to Greece (Zucker and Harris). The removal of the Parthenon Sculptures made the temple to sustain a great injury. Additionally, the Greeks are still proud of their missing marbles. They have currently constructed a new and spacious museum in the Acropolis Hills to store the Parthenon sculptures and Greek historical and cultural components should the British return them (UNESCO). They claim that the British National Museum has not taken good care of the Parthenon Marbles effectively, as the British Museum scraped the marbles with the rough wire brush to make them appear whiter, removing most of the marbles' attractive features (Browning, 41). Therefore, the above argument then indicates that Parthenon marbles are very strange in the British National Museum and that no British acknowledge their importance. These sculptures should be returned to their original location, and keeping them away from their initial place demeans the Greek's value for art and traditional sculptures.

Historical and Cultural Perspective Argument

From a cultural perspective, the Elgin Marbles are a crucial part of Greek history and traditions. Furthermore, art should be acknowledged and effectively understood in its primary historical and cultural perspectives, unlike being typically spoils of wars and an excuse to attract many tourists across the globe yearly (Kynourgiopoulou, 168). Typically, the Parthenon Marbles represent a crucial part of the Greek cultural and historical context. These marbles were constructed in Greece by the Greek forefathers to honor and respect the achievements of Greece. They symbolize the cultural identity of the Greeks (Zucker and Harris). I always ask myself this question, how would I feel if a great feature symbolizing and representing my culture, life history, and ethnic identity is either stolen or removed to attract several tourists yearly in a foreign land? I would feel very bad. Hence, Greece is home to marbles, and they should be returned home.

Conclusion

In conclusion, people's cultural beliefs are usually determined based on their historical and cultural contexts. Therefore, in my opinion, the British should return the Parthenon Marbles to their original location, Greece, as goodwill and also as a way of respecting other people’s cultural beliefs. The Parthenon Marbles act as the symbol of the historical and cultural identity of the Greeks. These sculptures were removed and taken away by Lord Elgin illegally, as there was no clear documentation allowing him to take the marbles. Lastly, the British National Museum does not effectively take care of the marbles as they had scrapped its original color to attract more tourists yearly. Therefore, they should return the marbles to Greece.

Works Cited

Browning, Robert. "The case for the return of the Parthenon Marbles." Museum International 36.1 (1984): 38-41.

Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, "Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?," in Smart history, March 16, 2018, accessed September 9, 2020,

Hamilakis, Yannis. "Stories from Exile: Fragments from the cultural biography of the Parthenon (or 'Elgin') marbles." World Archaeology 31.2 (1999): 303-320.

Kynourgiopoulou, Vasiliki. "National Identity Interrupted: The Mutilation of the Parthenon Marbles and the Greek Claim for Repatriation." Contested Cultural Heritage. Springer, New York, NY, 2011. 155-170.

Lyons, Claire L. "Cleaning the Parthenon Sculptures. British Museum, London, England (November 30-December 1, 1999)." IJCP 9 (2000): 180.

UNESCO. "Mexico City declaration on cultural policies." World Conference on Cultural Policies. 1982.