Why the Parthenon Marbles Fuel a 200-Year Dispute Between UK and Greece
Visitors view the Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum in London.
Photographer: Leon Neal/Getty Images
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s last-minute cancellation of a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis in London has brought renewed attention to the centuries-old dispute over the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures, sometimes referred to as the Elgin Marbles. Both countries claim ownership of the pieces housed in London’s British Museum, but in recent years the two sides had appeared close to a deal in which they would be loaned to Athens in exchange for other artifacts. Here’s an exploration of the history of the dispute and why it’s continued for so long.
The Parthenon Marbles are a collection of sculptures and friezes that were created by ancient Greek sculptor Phidias in the 5th Century B.C. to adorn the Parthenon and other parts of the Athens Acropolis. They are widely considered to be among the world’s finest examples of classical sculpture. They were removed from the Acropolis by agents of the 7th Earl of Elgin who had been the British ambassador to Constantinople -- then the capital of the Ottoman Empire -- at the start of the 19th century, when Greece was controlled by the Ottomans.