Becca Drustrup
MST 503
The Elgin Marbles Controversy
The Elgin Marbles is a collection of ancient Greek objects from Athens that was acquired
by Lord Thomas Elgin during his time as an ambassador to the Ottoman court of the Sultan of
Istanbul between 1799 and 1803. The collection consists of “sculptures from the Parthenon,
roughly half of what now survives: 247 feet of the original 524 feet of frieze; 15 of 92 metopes;
17 figures from the pediments, and various other pieces of architecture. It also includes objects
from other buildings on the Acropolis: the Erechtheion, the Propylaia, and the Temple of Athena
Nike” (britishmuseum.org). The marbles later were moved to London and have been on
permanent public display in the British Museum since 1817, free of charge. There the marbles
are seen by a world audience and have been actively studied and researched to promote a
worldwide understanding of ancient Greek culture. The controversy of the Elgin Marbles
concerns the removal of these objects and whether or not they should be returned to Athens.
Lord Elgin had a great passion for antiquities and wanted to gather Ancient Greek art to
use as models for artistic practice in Britain. He bribed local Ottoman authorities into permitting
the removal of about half of the Parthenon frieze, fifteen metopes, and seventeen pedimental
fragments (Venieri). Elgin first used the collection to decorate his mansion in Scotland and then
later sold them to the British Museum as an attempt to pay off his debts. The objects were bought
by Great Britain in 1816 for £35,000, considerably below their cost to Elgin (estimated at
£75,000), and placed in the British Museum (St. Clair). Currently, the marbles are located in the
Duveen Gallery at the British Museum.
When Elgin’s men removed the objects, the Parthenon was in a fragile and decrepit state.
From the fifth century BC to the 17th century AD, the building was in continuous use. “It was
built as a Greek temple, was later converted into a Christian church, and finally (with the coming
of Turkish rule over Greece in the 15th century) it was turned into a mosque” (Beard). In 1687,
fighting broke out between the Venetians and Turks, and a Venetian cannonball hit the
Parthenon, consequently ruining the building. By 1800 a small replacement mosque had been
build inside the Parthenon, while the outer part of the building was left to ruin. Local Athenians
had used the Parthenon as a quarry and reused a large amount of the original sculpture and
building pieces for either local housing or cement. There were also high numbers of travellers
and antiquarians from northern Europe who took objects from the Parthenon, such as the Elgin
marbles collection.
The Acropolis hill houses famous monuments of the fifth century BC, including the
Parthenon, the small temple of Victory, the Erechtheum, and another shrine of Athena. In the
1800s, the Parthenon stood in the middle of the village surrounded by houses and gardens, as
well as Byzantine, medieval and Renaissance remains. According to Mary Beard “it is quite
wrong to imagine Elgin removing works of art from the equivalent of a modern archaeological
site- it was more of a seedy shanty town” (Beard). After the 1830s the hill was stripped to its
bedrock, with the monuments preserved or reconstructed, to serve as a symbol of the nation’s
history. It is a common belief that the Parthenon could be better appreciated if it could be seen
close to the sculptures that once adorned it, which is why the demand for the return of the
marbles continues to be discussed.
The removal of these objects was controversial from the beginning. “Even before all the
sculptures - soon known as the Elgin Marbles - went on display in London, Lord Byron attacked
Elgin in stinging verses, lamenting (in ‘Childe Harold's Pilgrimage’) how the antiquities of
Greece had been ‘defac’d by British hands’” (Beard). Where Lord Byron criticized the
acquisition of these objects, others supported it. John Keats wrote a sonnet about “seeing the
Elgin Marbles” in the British Museum and in Germany, JW Goethe believed that the acquisition
was the “beginning of a new age for Great Art” (Beard).
Elgin took the marbles in an effort to bring artistic innovation to Britain. It does not
appear he was being malicious or wanting to take away objects that represented Athenian history
and culture. There is no doubt that he saved the objects from further damage, from looters and/or
the elements. Some argue in Elgin’s favour that he housed and took care of the objects, while
Athenians let their history potentially go to ruin. However, in prising out some of the pieces that
were still attached to the Parthenon, Elgin’s agents inflicted additional damage to the already
fragile building. While the objects were on display, they suffered from 19th century pollution,
which persisted until the mid-20th century (St. Clair). Greek conservators have stated that the
objects have been irrevocably damaged by previous cleaning methods employed by British
Museum staff. Efforts were made to clean the marbles in the mid-1850s as well as the late 1930s.
The latter cleaning effort was fully financed by Lord Duveen, who later built the wing where the
marbles are currently held.
Such controversies can involve politics, where policies may be created to protect
institutions and their collections. The British Museum Act of 1963 consequently forbids the
British Museum from disposing its holdings, except in a small number of special circumstances.
The Act states that the Elgin Marbles, Benin Bronzes and its Nazi-looted artworks are to remain
at the Museum. In 2009, however, the Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Act was created. The
act now gives institutions in England and Scotland the power to return art stolen during the Nazi
era. In an effort to have an amicable relationship with Greece, Britain offered a three-month loan
of the marbles to the Acropolis Museum on condition that Greece recognizes Britain’s
ownership. Greece countered that Britain could borrow any masterpiece it wished from Greece if
it relinquished ownership of the Parthenon sculptures. Since Britain wants to claim ownership of
the collection, they will not hand over the marbles.
In the debate it has been said that Athens did not have an adequate place to house the
Elgin Marbles. However, in 2009 Athens built the New Acropolis Museum, which is a $200
million, 226,000-squarefoot, state of the art rebuttal to that argument. The Acropolis, designed
by Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi, includes weathered original sculptures from the Parthenon,
as well as plaster casts of Elgin’s marbles to “complete” the collection. “The clash between
original copies makes a not-subtle pitch for the return of the marbles. Greece’s culture minister,
Antonis Samaras said what Greek officials have been saying for decades: that the Parthenon
sculptures broken up are like a family portrait with ‘loved ones missing’” (Kimmelman).
Although the Elgin marbles are the most often debated about, they are not the only
surviving Parthenon sculptures in the world. Such sculptures are found in museums across
Europe. The majority of these are roughly equally divided between Athens and London, but
others are held in museums such as the Louvre and the Vatican. Why is it that the Elgin
collection must go back to Athens when these other museums also house Parthenon objects?
True, the Elgin marbles are a larger collection and have generated more publicity, but why is it
that the Grecian government is making an effort to reclaim only these objects? It is
understandable that Athens wants what was taken from them, but returning the Elgin marbles
could spark a bigger controversy in who actually owns history.
Many important points have been raised in this controversy and will most likely continue
to be debated. For example, would all looted material have to be returned to its original owner?
During World War II, Nazis plundered priceless works of art, and now these objects are
displayed throughout the world. If the Elgin marbles are returned to Athens, will this be the
beginning of repatriating all displaced objects to their homeland? Many questions come to mind
when thinking of this ethical concept, such as: Is it right to remove objects from the museums
who have been caring for and storing them all of these years? Who are the rightful owners of
objects that were taken during war conflicts?
I have known about the Elgin marbles debate for several years and have had conflicting
opinions. I believe in the education of cultures, their history and objects. Furthermore, I believe
in museums housing these historical objects. People go to museums to see objects from around
the world that they will most likely not see in their neighborhoods. What better way to learn
about ancient Greece than to go to the museum and admire the Grecian objects they house?
Having a collection of objects from around the world helps visitors learn about various cultures
without having to travel across the globe. For Athens to reclaim the Parthenon sculptures would
be a great accomplishment as they would also be reclaiming a part of their past. They feel drawn
to these objects as they represent the thousands of years their people have been in existence. I
recognize that the sculptures are Greek and originally came from the Parthenon, however the
British Museum has cared for and built a gallery specifically for the purpose of exhibiting these
objects. Even though I can understand both sides, I believe that this debate will continue as both
sides fight passionately for the right to call themselves the true owner of the Elgin marbles.
Bibliography
Beard, Mary. "Lord Elgin -Saviour or Vandal?" BBC News. BBC. Web. 17 Feb. 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/parthenon_debate_01.shtml
Kimmelman, Michael. "Elgin Marble Argument in a New Light." New York Times. 23 Jun 2009.
Web. 27 Mar. 2013.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/arts/design/24abroad.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
St. Clair, William. Lord Elgin & The Marbles: The Controversial History of the Parthenon
Sculptures. Third edition. London: Oxford University Press, 1998 (originally, 1967).
Venieri, Ioanna. "Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism | Acropolis of Athens." Hellenic
Ministry of Culture and Tourism | Acropolis of Athens. Ministry of Education and Religious
Affairs, Cultures and Sports, 2012. Web.
http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2384
"What Are the 'Elgin Marbles'?" The British Museum. British Museum, 2013. Web.
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/w/what_are_the_elgin_marbles
.aspx