The Acropolis is an ancient citadel on a rocky outcrop in the centre of Athens. It played a central role in ancient Greek society, serving as a religious centre and a site of political Athenian power. Most of the temples and structures inside the Acropolis were built in and around the 5th century BCE.
​
The Parthenon in the largest and most well-known of the structures on the Acropolis. It was built with as a temple to the goddess Athena and is considered a symbol of Greek democracy and western civilisation.
The Parthenon marbles refers to sculptures, the frieze, metopes (carved plaques) and pediments (triangular gables) originally made for the Parthenon from marble mined from Mount Pentelicus north of Athens. They were designed, we believe, by Phidus, a sculptor and architect in the 5th century BCE.
​
In the first decade of the eighteen hundreds agents of Lord Elgin removed around half the marbles that were remaining in what Lord Byron called acts of vandalism or looting. Elgin sold them to the British Government in 1816, which subsequently passed them into the trusteeship of the British Museum.
​
The Greek Government formally requested their return in 1983. Since then the issue has raged. The arguments for and against returning the Marbles back to Greece are well set out in an excellent article on Wikipedia. (see link at bottom of this page. My view is simple: It is the right thing to do.
When the new Acropolis Museum was built in 2009, a special viewing hall was constructed which will display the Marbles as they would have been seen on the Parthenon, but at eye level. It already contains the pieces that were not taken by Elgin's people.
​
There are some legal issues as the British Museums Act 1963 limits disposals of objects. However ways have been found to get around that before in the case of human remains in 2004 and in 2009 for works of art looted by the Nazis. Recent legal thought suggests the Trustees of the British Museum may have the power to return the Marbles under either clause 5 (c) of the 1963 Act (objects unfit to be retained) or under the Charities Act 2001, s106(2) if there is a "moral obligation" to return the Marbles.
​
What can you do to help?
Contact your local Member of Parliament using the link below. Simply put in your post code and, when you MP is displayed, press message. You will need to type in your message as the site will not accept cut and paste entries.
​
I suggest wording along the lines of:
"As a constituent of yours, I urge you to do whatever is in your power to ensure the return of the Parthenon (Elgin) Marbles to their rightful home in Athens. Why? Because it is the right thing to do. Why now? Because the matter has dragged on for too long. There will never be an optimal time, so do it now. A YouGov poll in 2021 found that 59% of respondents thought the Marbles belonged in Greece with only 18% saying they belonged in Britain. In the unlikely event that you are unaware of the matter, there is an excellent article on @Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elgin_Marbles. Please keep me informed of steps you have taken."
​
You will need to sign of with your full Name and address and email address. Click the link below to contact your MP.
LINKS:
​
​
​
​
​​
I'm a paragraph.Lord d Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
​
TheThere are some legal issues as the British Museums Act 1963 limits the disposal of objects to some degree. However, the determining authority rests with the Trustees of the British Museum.
The 1963 Act, clause 5 (c) allows disposal where “in the opinion of the Trustees the object is unfit to be retained in the collections of the Museum and can be disposed of without detriment to the interests of students:”.
The 2011 Charities Act s106 (2) (a) allows Trustees of charities (which the British Museum is) to make any application in respect to property where (1) (b) 2in all the circumstances regard themselves as being under a moral obligation to take it.”
re are so
There are some legal issues as the British Museums Act 1963 limits the disposal of objects to some degree. However, the determining authority rests with the Trustees of the British Museum.
The 1963 Act, claus
There are some legal issues as the British Museums Act 1963 limits the disposal of objects to some degree. However, the determining authority rests with the Trustees of the British Museum.
The 1963 Act, clause 5 (c) allows disposal where “in the opinion of the Trustees the object is unfit to be retained in the collections of the Museum and can be disposed of without detriment to the interests of students:”.
The 2011 Charities Act s106 (2) (a) allows Trustees of charities (which the British Museum is) to make any application in respect to property where (1) (b) 2in all the circumstances regard themselves as being under a moral obligation to take it.”
e 5 (c) allows disposal where “in the opinion of the Trustees the object is unfit to be retained in the collections of the Museum and can be disposed of without detriment to the interests of students:”.
The 2011 Charities Act s106 (2) (a) allows Trustees of charities (which the British Museum is) to make any application in respect to property where (1) (b) 2in all the circumstances regard themselves as being under a moral obligation to take it.”
me legal issues as the British Museums Act 1963 limits the disposal of objects to some degree. However, the determining authority rests with the Trustees of the British Museum.
The 1963 Act, clause 5 (c) allows disposal where “in the opinion of the Trustees the object is unfit to be retained in the collections of the Museum and can be disposed of without detriment to the interests of students:”.
The 2011 Charities Act s106 (2) (a) allows Trustees of charities (which the British Museum is) to make any application in respect to property where (1) (b) 2in all the circumstances regard themselves as being under a moral obligation to take it.”
The 1963 ACT,
The