The tragedy of the Parthenon Marbles is illustrated by this image from the British Museum online sho

The tragedy of the Parthenon Marbles is illustrated by this image from the British Museum online shop.The Parthenon, a magnificent temple honoring Athena, patron goddess of Athens, was built in the 5th century BCE. The Parthenon Marbles (also known as the Elgin Marbles) are sculptures from the frieze and metopes (plaques) which originally decorated the Parthenon. They were created under the supervision of Phidias, the famous Greek sculptor who designed the monumental statue of Athena Parthenos inside the Parthenon, as well as the monumental statue of Zeus at Olympia, which was regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.Structural damage to the Parthenon occurred in 500 CE, when it was converted to a church, in the 1460s, when it was turned into a mosque, and again in 1687, when was used to store ammunition, and an explosion destroyed a large portion of the building. Casual souvenir-seeking followed, and parts of the remains were hauled away to be reused in building projects.In 1801, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, claimed to have obtained a permit to haul away portions of the Parthenon and other ancient Greek sculptures, and another permit to ship these treasures to England. Elgin’s claim to having permits is not, however, universally accepted as true, and some historians believe it was fabricated. Elgin displayed the sculptures at his home for a time, then sold them to the British Government in 1816 to pay off personal debts. The Parthenon Marbles have been on public display at the British Museum since 1817.Elgin’s removal of the Parthenon Marbles and other sculptures from Greece was highly controversial from the start. Some people felt the removal of the Marbles was the only way to preserve them from seemingly inevitable destruction, while others regarded it as the wholesale looting of an ancient site of cultural and artistic importance to the entire world. Members of Parliament vigorously protested the government purchase of the Marbles. Lord Byron  wrote “a satirical poem, “The Curse of Minerva”, attacking Elgin. After gaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832, the government of Greece expressed strenuous disapproval of Elgin’s removal of the Marbles, and has engaged in negotiations for their repatriation. More recently, UNESCO and other international organizations, as well as a number of celebrities, have campaigned for the restoration of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece.It has been over 200 years since the Parthenon Marbles were first displayed at the British Museum. Selling replicas of the Parthenon Marbles to the public, when it could easily create replicas for public display, and return the originals to Athens, is both arrogant and heartbreaking.Sources:How the Parthenon Lost Its Marbles - from National Geographic A Sacred Space: History of the Marbles - from Classical WisdomThe Parthenon Sculptures - from The British MuseumFirst-ever legal bid for return of Elgin Marbles to Greece thrown out by European Court of Human Rights - from The IndependentLord Byron and the Elgin marbles - Prof. Panos KaragiorgosGreece looks to international justice to regain Parthenon marbles from UK - from the GuardianIll-Gotten Goods - The Elgin Marbles - from TimeInternational Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon SculpturesThe British Museum, Room 18 - The Parthenon Galleries. Photo by  Mujtaba Chohan via Wikimedia Commons (X)  CC BY-SA 3.0 -- source link

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