Campaigners call for return of Elgin Marbles

The Elgin Marbles, sculptures which once graced the pediments of the Parthenon in Athens, should be returned to the Greek capital to coincide with the Olympic games, according to a London-based campaign group.

The ‘Marbles Reunited’ campaign was launched in London today to put pressure on the government to reunite those sections of the Parthenon sculptures currently housed in the British Museum with sections remaining in their original home city of Athens.

Campaigners have proposed that the Marbles could remain in the ownership of the British Museum but be offered on loan to Greece – in exchange for other "priceless Greek antiquities" in return.

The sculptures once adorned the friezes and pediments of the Parthenon – a temple dedicated to Athene which was completed in around 439BC. The temple, and its sculpture, were created at the height of Athenian dominance over the eastern Mediterranean and was a monumental declaration of its wealth and power.

They remained in place surviving, though damaged during, Ottoman and Venetian invasions, until 1801 when Thomas Bruce, the Earl of Elgin, removed the sculptures and took them to England, where they have remained ever since.

The complex disputes over ownership (Elgin had removed the sculptures from the Sultan in possession of Athens at the time) and questions over the appropriate location for the Marbles in terms of tourism and conservation, have been re-ignited with the return of the Olympic Games to Greece – where it was first celebrated in 776BC.

Speaking at the launch of ‘Marbles Reunited’ at the ICA, The Mall, London, campaign spokesman Professor Anthony Snodgrass said: “For 200 years Britain and Greece have been locked in argument over the question of who owns the sections of the Parthenon Sculptures currently housed in London.

“This fresh initiative is seen by many as the best solution to this long-running dispute. It would enable the Parthenon Sculptures, a unique work of art that makes sense only as a whole, to be reunited and displayed in its original city of Athens for the first time in hundreds of years in the new museum at the foot of the Acropolis."

However, the British Museum has countered, saying that the "best possible place for the sculptures" is in its current location.

Museum director Neil MacGregor said that the broad range of exhibit and comprehensive nature of the displays housed in London, provides for a "uniquely rich setting" for the Parthenon sculptures.

He added: "The Parthenon itself has been much damaged since antiquity. The restoration of the integrity of the building is thus an unachievable goal. Only about 50% of the original sculptures survive in a state fit for display, of which about half are in the British Museum. The other half are in Athens already.

"The British Museum is a truly universal museum of humanity, accessible to five million visitors from around the world every year entirely free of entry charge. Only here can the worldwide significance of the Parthenon sculptures be fully grasped.”

In support of the group's position, an opinion poll commissioned by Marbles Reunited found that 73% of those surveyed believed that the British Museum should allow the Parthenon Sculptures to be reunited and displayed again in Athens.

(gmcg)