The Elgin Marble Debate

Global fame local claim by e yalouri berg 2001 links.

The elgin marble debate.

Lord elgin and the marbles. 15 of the 92 original metopes from the parthenon representing the fight between the centaurs and the lapiths. Elgin marble argument in a new light the new york times june 2009. The temple was the centrepiece of an ambitious building programme on the acropolis of athens the british museum explains in 1687 the temple which had stood for about 2 000 years was largely destroyed during a war between venice and the ottoman.

A marble frieze temple aka a doric temple on the athenian acropolis greece built in 447 432 bc and dedicated to the goddess athena. All acropolis marble held by greece have had the entire faces of the statues eaten away by the pollution not so to the elgin marbles for visual prove look at wikipedia page caryatid and compare the photo of a caryatid in the british museum vs the porch of the caryatids on the erectheion in greece. Works cited kimmelman michael. Curently the elgin marbles constitute one of the most important collections of the british museum.

Elgin had managed to keep the marbles from the french but the same could not be said about his own person. The elgin marbles refer to a collection of ancient greek sculptures and architectural details dating back to the fifth century bc which are currently kept in the british museum london. These objects are a significant part of athenian and greek history a culture founded on nationalistic pride. In 1810 elgin published a defence of his actions but the subject remained controversial.

After filling in the sheet we stood up and ranged ourselves along the lenght of the classroom to represent our positions and moved ourselves around as we listened to the debate. A public debate in parliament followed elgin s publication and parliament again exonerated elgin s actions eventually deciding to purchase the marbles for the british nation in 1816 by a vote of 82 30. The controversial history of the parthenon sculptures by w st clair oxford 1998 the acropolis. I believe that based on greece s efforts and heritage the elgin marbles should be repatriated to athens.