Parthenon Marbles

The Elgin Marbles is the common name for an extensive collection of the Ancient Greek sculpture which has been on display in the British Museum since the early-1800s. The collection includes 75 meters (247 feet) of the original 160-metre (524-foot) frieze from the Parthenon temple in Athens. The frieze is the highly decorative section above the columns in classical Greek architecture. The collection is controversial because of its namesake the seventh Earl of Elgin removed the treasures from Greece with the permission of the Ottomans, who occupied Greece from the mid-15th century until 1821. For decades, the Greeks have called for the priceless artifacts’ return, but the British Museum defends its ownership as legitimate.

Therefore, the Greece government demands for their Elgin Marbles or the Parthenon Sculptures to be send back to their rightful home, Greece. In the modern days the argument has arisen about weather or not they should return the Elgin Marbles to Greece? In my opinion, I think that it should remain

The controversy began almost one hundred years ago. Between 1801 and 1812, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, removed several sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens and shipped them to England, where he sold them to the British Museum in 1816. 167 years later, Melina Mercouri, Greek Minister of Culture, requested that the “Elgin” Marbles be returned. This request sparked one of the greatest debates the art world has ever known. For the past two decades, people have argued over who has the rights to these Marbles. The Greek position is certainly understandable from a cultural and emotional point of view. However, from the standpoint of

The Parthenon was built in Greece in 447 B.C, and was a strong symbol of Athenian wealth in Ancient Greece. Located in Athens, the Parthenon was dedicated to Athena, an important patron to the city. The Parthenon holds the city of Athens treasury office (Doc 6). The Parthenon's purpose

The Parthenon, built around 490 BCE, was one of the most explicit structures created in the Classical Era. Made from marble, it measures roughly 228 feet long and 100 feet wide, huge in comparison to the Pantheon which is located in Rome. The Parthenon was constructed and dedicated to the goddess Athena, while the Pantheon

In approximately 450 BC Athens’ premier statesman, Pericles, initiated a program of works designed to embellish his city in order to demonstrate the superiority of the city of Athens3. This crowing achievement of this program was The Parthenon, supervised by Pheidias3. It was built on the Acropolis; a mass of rock sharply rising out of the plain around Athens. The Parthenon is a replacement for an unfinished earlier temple that was destroyed by the Persians; the archaic remains of this were partially used to construct this magnificent building. The construction began in about 447 BC and was completed by 432 BC3. The three major elements forming the sculpted ornament on The Parthenon consists of the metopes, pediments, and the frieze. While

The Parthenon Frieze is the inner most decorative piece on the outside ceiling of the Parthenon. Its construction finished in 447BC and it was built by Phidias on the orders of Pericles. (1) The Frieze today is situated in multiple museums around Europe. The majority of the Frieze is located in the British Museum where the 80m’s of Frieze has its own room in the Duveen Gallery that was built to replicate the position from where it was taken from on the Parthenon in Athens. In 1938 Duveen and his associates undertook a cleaning process on the marbles using copper tools and carborundum which damaged the marble but gave it a whiter, more authentic classical look, due to the decolouration which had happened to it. When this came to the attention of the public years later, it caused outrage as the directors had chosen to do nothing about it. (2) The second largest collection of the Frieze is in the Acropolis museum in Athens with smaller parts in museums around Europe such as Paris. (3)

As we are all aware, the Parthenon bears immeasurable cultural importance as a surviving example of Classical architecture in the modern world. The structure also bears many artefacts, including friezes depicting significant historical events such as the occurrences at the Battle of Marathon. The ‘Elgin Marbles’, which were removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin upon the agreement of the Ottoman Empire between 1801 and 1805, depict such a scene. The Greek Government have requested that the British Museum return the Marbles, on the basis

The Parthenon is located on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece; is a former temple which was dedicated to Greek goddess Athena, whom the Athens considered their leader. According to the British Museum (2015), The Parthenon was built nearly 2500 years ago and has a long and complex history. After thousands of years it became a church of the Virgin Mary of the Athenians, then a mosque and then finally resulted in a archaeological ruin. After the result of a ruin, the buildings were reformed in which various sculptures were damaged. During the 1800’s after the Parthenon being damaged, the Elgin marbles (Elgin) a part of the remaining sculpture, was removed and given to a British museum. For hundreds of years there has been a question if the British museum should return the Elgin marbles back to the Athenians or not. I believe that that the safest and most beneficial place for the Elgin marbles is the British museum, therefore the British should not return the marble to the Athenians.

One of the most well-known components of the Parthenon are the enormously beautiful and important marble sculptures that were placed in the pediment of the monument. These marbles are shrouded in controversy as to whom they belong: Greece or Britain. These marble sculptures were removed between 1801 and 1812 in order to protect them from possible destruction caused by the war between the Grecians and the Venetians, taken to Britain for refuge by the Earl of Elgin, and sold to the British Museum to be displayed. John Henry Merryman discusses his view on the issue of the ownership of marbles by presenting two main points and the validity of both sides. One aspect of his examination revolves around the legality of the removal of these sculptures.

What is the Elgin Marbles also called the “Parthenon Marbles”? Based on my reading and understanding, the Elgin Marbles were ancient Greek sculptures that were removed from the Parthenon at Athens and from other ancient buildings and transported to England at the direction of Thomas Bruce, 7th Lord Elgin. Elgin Marbles. (2017) retrieved from http://www.Britannica.com/topic/Elgin-Marbles Lord Elgin was known as the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from the time of (1799-1803). Elgin Marbles (2017) retrieved from http://www.Britannica.com/topic/Elgin-marbles The controversy comes from the British government allowing Lord Elgin the acting ambassador at the time to submit a letter to the Turkish government requesting permission to move

Building the Parthenon was a greater feat than they ever would have known. Work on the Parthenon began in 477 BC. A much smaller shrine already stood on this site, one to which we can attribute various pieces of surviving decorative material--lions and snakes, a cornice incised with flying birds, and a blue-bearded trinity that may conceivably represent Cecrops, Erechtheus, and Poseidon. If such an edifice in fact existed, it was torn down to make way for a huge limestone platform, roughly 252 by 103 feet in size, that was built as a base for the new temple. The slope of the Acropolis was such that while on the north side the foundations rested directly on bedrocks, the southeast corner needed to be built up with no

“The Parthenon was commissioned by Pericles sometime after Greek victories over the Persians between 490 and 480 BC” (Glancey 26, 27). During the Persian Greek wars, Athens believed that Athena watched over them and that she helped them throughout the war. The Parthenon represents the wealth, power, society, and culture of Athens. The building of the Parthenon cost the Athenians four hundred and sixty nine talents, which symbolized Athens as wealthy.

Therefore, I strongly believe that these exquisite sculptures need to return to where they were originally built, in Greece.

Moving to the other building swiftly, the Parthenon in Athens is a Greek temple. It was built in 432 B.C.