The Elgin Marbles, or the Parthenon Marbles? Greece's Argument

            Britain had made quite the claim regarding why they should keep the Parthenon marbles. Overall, they want the marbles because they feel it had been in their possession long enough that they should keep it. Of course, Greece is not at all happy about that. Reflecting back on Morag Kersel’s article, “The Politics of Playing Fair, or, Who’s Losing Their Marbles?” , Kersel offered many legitimate reasons why Greece wants the marbles;

1. First, “The monument to which the sculptures belong is in Athens (Hellenic Ministry of Culture 2002).”
2. Second, “in Athens the Marbles will be exhibited within sight of the Parthenon, and the visitor can form a complete image of the temple in its entirety (Prunty 1984. I 178).”
3. Third, “the cultural and historical significance of the sculptures as well as their aesthetic importance to Greece act as symbols of national heritage-the symbol of Greek Classical civilization at its apogee.”
4. Lastly, “the Marbles were removed during a period of foreign occupation when the Greek people had no say in the matter (Greenfield 1996. 83).
5. “The Marbles were wrongly taken by Lord Elgin and have never legally or morally belonged to him or Britain (Merryman 1985, 1897)” (Kersel 48).

http://action.hellenicleaders.com/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=7659 (a website asking for the marbles back, pretty interesting!)

Greece, as they should, feels the marbles are rightfully theirs. In came from their land, and was basically stolen from them by Lord Elgin. Greece, at the time, was under control of the Ottoman Empire, therefore they did not really have a true say in the matter. The means by which Britain obtained the marbles is sketchy, and Britain even knows that.

      The marbles are a symbol of democracy and of the Classical era of Greece. They want the marbles back in the Pantheon to, perhaps, show the world how proud they are of their culture, and to display the marbles in their own home to offer more meaning to the marbles.  Furthermore, Greece is capable of taking as well as care of the marbles as Britain is. Also, regarding Britain’s thought that the marbles have become their history too; the marbles are a symbol of Greece, made in Greece, and have nothing to do with Britain. They are essentially in the museum illegally if one was to think about it: they were stolen after all. Greece is simply asking for a part of their culture back, which they ultimately deserve.

      In Conclusion, both sides offer compelling reasons as to why they should own the marbles. It is a tricky situation. Perhaps in the future, the two countries could work out a deal. Maybe Greece could give them another artifact, or maybe the two countries could share the marbles. Britain could display them for a year, and then Greece could, over and over. My personal opinion is that I feel it is silly that two countries are fighting over the marbles. They could work something out, but then again, if Greece wanted them that bad, I feel they would make sure that they got them. On the other hand, there are many campaigns to get the marbles back to Greece, such as this one; http://www.cyprusnewsreport.com/?q=node/5436. The situation is like a ping pong match going nowhere. Hopefully a deal will come out of this one day.