Editing Elgin Marbles (section)

==Return controversy==
===Greek requests for return===
In 1836, King Otto of the newly independent Greece, formally asked the British government to return some of the Elgin Marbles (the four slabs of the frieze of the Temple of Athena Nike). In 1846, following a request from Greece, Britain sent a complete set of casts of the Parthenon frieze, and in 1890, the city of Athens unsuccessfully requested the return of the original frieze. In 1927, the Greek minister in London unsuccessfully asked for the return of some architectural fragments.<ref>{{cite book |last=Herman |first=Alexander |author-link= |url= |title=The Parthenon Marbles Dispute |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] |year=2023 |isbn=978-1509967179 |edition= |place=London |pages=68}}</ref> In 1983, the Greek government formally asked the UK government to return "all the sculptures which were removed from the Acropolis of Athens and are at present in the British Museum", and in 1984, it listed the dispute with UNESCO.<ref name=":202"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Herman |first=Alexander |author-link= |url= |title=The Parthenon Marbles Dispute |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2023 |isbn=978-1509967179 |edition= |place=London |page=71}}</ref> In 2000, a select committee of the UK parliament held an inquiry into the illegal trade in cultural property, which considered the dispute over the marbles. The committee heard evidence from the then Greek foreign minister, [[George Papandreou]], who argued that the question of legal ownership was secondary to the ethical and cultural arguments for returning the sculptures. The committee, however, made no recommendations on the future of the marbles.<ref name="Beard 2002. pp. 177–181">Beard (2002). pp. 177–181</ref>

In 2000, the Greek government commissioned the construction of a new Acropolis Museum, which opened in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Museum history |url=https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/museum-history |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=The Acropolis Museum}}</ref> The museum was, in part, designed to arrange the surviving Parthenon sculptures (including those in the Elgin collection) as they originally stood on the Parthenon itself, and to counter arguments that the Elgin Marbles would be better preserved and displayed in the British Museum.<ref>Beard (2002). pp. 176, 184</ref> The Acropolis Museum displays a portion of the remaining frieze (about 30% has been lost or destroyed), placed in their original orientation and in sight of the Parthenon. The position of the elements held in London are clearly marked with white casts, and space is left where the sculptures no longer survive.<ref name="acrop museum2">{{Cite web |title=The Frieze &#124; Acropolis Museum |url=https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/content/frieze-0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206111947/https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/content/frieze-0 |archive-date=6 December 2020 |access-date=19 August 2018 |website=www.theacropolismuseum.gr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Herman |first=Alexander |author-link= |url= |title=The Parthenon Marbles Dispute |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]] |year=2023 |isbn=978-1509967179 |edition= |place=London |pages=75–76}}</ref>

In 2013, the Greek government asked UNESCO to mediate between the Greek and UK authorities on the return of the marbles, but the UK government and the British Museum declined UNESCO's offer to mediate. In 2021, UNESCO concluded that the UK government had an obligation to return the marbles and called upon the UK government to open negotiations with Greece.<ref name=":202"/>

In late 2022, British and Greek authorities resumed negotiations on the future of the marbles.<ref name=":172"/><ref name=":212"/> Asked about the possible return of the Marbles, the British Culture Secretary, [[Michelle Donelan]] replied: "I can sympathise with some of the arguments but I do think that is a very dangerous and slippy road to embark down",<ref name=":19">{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Anita |date=7 December 2022 |title=Return of Elgin Marbles to Greece would be a 'dangerous and slippery road', warns Culture Secretary |work=Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/06/return-elgin-marbles-greece-would-dangerous-slippery-road-warns/ |access-date=7 December 2022}}</ref> expressing the worry that other cultural items now held in Britain might also have to be returned to the places they were acquired from.

In November 2023, Prime Minister [[Rishi Sunak]] cancelled a meeting with the Greek prime minister [[Kyriakos Mitsotakis]] over public comments Mitsotakis made regarding the marbles.<ref name=EM_1>{{cite news |last=Zakir-Hussain |first=Maryam |title=Elgin Marbles row erupts as Greek PM accuses Sunak of cancelling meeting at 11th hour |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/elgin-marbles-rishi-sunak-kyriakos-mitsotakis-b2454461.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=28 November 2023 |language=en-GB |access-date=29 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Zeffman |first1=Henry |last2=Jones |first2=Harrison |last3=Mason |first3=Chris |date=28 November 2023 |title=Greece denies promising not to raise Parthenon Sculptures on UK visit |language=en-GB |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67551732 |access-date=28 November 2023}}</ref>

===Rationale for returning to Athens===
Those arguing for the marbles' return cite legal, moral, cultural, conservation and artistic grounds. Their arguments include:

* The marbles were obtained illegally, or at least unethically, and hence should be returned to their rightful owner.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 April 2007 |title=Parthenon Fragments Won't Go Back Home |url=http://www.elginism.com/20070401/702/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615183515/http://www.elginism.com/20070401/702/ |archive-date=15 June 2009 |access-date=20 January 2009 |publisher=Elginism}}</ref>
* While the marbles are of universal cultural value, they are also part of the unique cultural heritage of Greece, and this is the most fitting location for them to be displayed.<ref name="Beard 2002. pp. 177–181"/>
* The Parthenon sculptures around the world should be reunited in order to restore "organic elements" which "at present remain without cohesion, homogeneity and historicity of the monument to which they belong" and allow visitors to better appreciate them as a whole.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Special Issues |url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/a/1/12/ea121.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017204203/http://odysseus.culture.gr/a/1/12/ea121.html |archive-date=17 October 2007}}</ref><ref name="Nicoletta Divari-Valakou 20082">Nicoletta Divari-Valakou, (Director of the Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Athens), "Revisiting the Parthenon: National Heritage in the Age of Globalism" in Mille Gabriel & Jens Dahl, (eds.) Utimut : past heritage&nbsp;– future partnerships, discussions on repatriation in the 21st Century, Copenhagen : International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs and Greenland National Museum & Archives, (2008)</ref><ref name="European Parliament Resolution for the return of the Elgin Marbles2">{{Cite news |title=European Parliament Resolution for the return of the Elgin Marbles |publisher=Greek Ministry of Culture |url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/a/1/12/ga123_3.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304230217/http://odysseus.culture.gr/a/1/12/ga123_3.html |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>
* Presenting all the extant Parthenon Marbles near their original historical and cultural environment, and in the context of other Greek antiquities, would permit their "fuller understanding and interpretation".<ref name="Nicoletta Divari-Valakou 20082" /><ref name="Who owns the marbles? The debate hits Sydney2">{{Cite news |title=Debate of the Elgin Marbles |publisher=University of Sydney |url=http://sydney.edu.au/senate/documents/History/Elgin_marbles_articles.pdf}}</ref>
* Safekeeping of the marbles would be ensured at the Acropolis Museum, as it is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for the protection and preservation of exhibits.<ref name=":02">{{cite web |title=Bernard Tschumi Architects |url=http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Tschumi/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928051614/http://www.arcspace.com/architects/Tschumi/ |archive-date=28 September 2007 |work=arcspace.com}}</ref>
* The Elgin Marbles have suffered significant damage from poor conservation and accidents in London and it cannot be assumed they will be better preserved there.<ref>Beard (2002). pp. 166–178</ref>
* Returning the Parthenon sculptures would not set a precedent for other restitution claims because of the distinctively "universal value" of the Parthenon.<ref>Nicoletta Divari-Valakou, (Director of the Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Athens), "Revisiting the Parthenon: National Heritage in the Age of Globalism" in Mille Gabriel & Jens Dahl, (eds.) Utimut : past heritage&nbsp;– future partnerships, discussions on repatriation in the 21st Century, Copenhagen : International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs and Greenland National Museum & Archives, (2008) passim; (see also [http://www.natmus.gl/con2007/pdf/Concluding_summary_Nuuk_2007_revised.pdf Conference summary] {{dead link|date=November 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}})</ref>

===Rationale for remaining in London===
A range of arguments has been presented by scholars, British political leaders and the British Museum for the retention of the Elgin Marbles in London.<ref name="newsweek stones22"/> These include the following:

* Elgin acquired the marbles legally and no court of law would find in favour of a Greek complainant.<ref>Jenkins (2016). p 99</ref><ref>Herman (2023), chapter 3.</ref>
* Elgin rescued the marbles from destruction and those in the British Museum are in better condition than those left behind. The British Museum has a right to retain and publicly display what it preserved from destruction.<ref name="guardian faq2">{{cite news |last=King |first=Dorothy |date=21 July 2004 |title=Elgin Marbles: fact or fiction? |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2004/jul/21/highereducation.parthenon |access-date=25 June 2009}}</ref>
* Bringing the Parthenon sculptures together as a unified whole is impossible as half had been lost or destroyed by 1800.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Parthenon Sculptures, the Trustees' statement |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/parthenon-sculptures/parthenon |access-date=9 January 2023 |website=The British Museum}}</ref>
* The British Museum display allows the marbles to be better viewed in the context of other major ancient cultures and thus complements the perspective provided by the Acropolis Museum collection.<ref name=":233"/>
* Fulfilling all restitution claims would empty most of the world's great museums{{snd}}this has also caused concerns among other European and American museums, with one potential target being the [[Nefertiti Bust]] in Berlin's [[Neues Museum]]; in addition, portions of Parthenon marbles are kept by many other European museums.<ref name="guardian faq2" />
* The British Museum receives about 6 million visitors per year as opposed to 1.5 million visitors to the Acropolis Museum. The removal of the marbles to Greece would significantly reduce the number of people who have the opportunity to visit the marbles.<ref>{{cite news |last=Trend |first=Nick |date=5 June 2018 |title=Why returning the Elgin Marbles would be madness |website=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/why-returning-the-elgin-marbles-would-be-madness/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/why-returning-the-elgin-marbles-would-be-madness/ |archive-date=12 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* The Elgin Marbles have been on public display in England since 1807<ref name="Jenkins 2016. p. 102"/> and in that time have become a part of the British cultural heritage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Merryman paper |url=https://law.wustl.edu/harris/Conferences/imperialism/Merryman_PAPER_FINALelgin2.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422040718/https://law.wustl.edu/harris/Conferences/imperialism/Merryman_PAPER_FINALelgin2.pdf |archive-date=22 April 2018 |access-date=20 August 2018}}</ref>

=== Public campaigns for return ===
Outside Greece, a campaign for the return of the marbles began in 1981 with the formation of the International Organising Committee – Australia – for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Committee History |url=https://iocarpm.wordpress.com/about-2/committee-history/ |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=International Organising Committee – Australia for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles|date=13 January 2016 }}</ref> and in 1983, with the formation of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who We Are |url=https://www.parthenonuk.com/about-bcrpm/who-we-are |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles}}</ref> Campaign organisations also exist in Greece and around the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bring Them Back |url=http://www.bringthemback.org |access-date=17 April 2010}}</ref>

A number of British and international celebrities, such as comedian [[Stephen Fry]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sanderson |first=David |date=30 May 2022 |title=Stephen Fry: Be classy and return the Elgin Marbles |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/art/article/stephen-fry-be-classy-and-return-the-elgin-marbles-mj2zmxgrj |url-access=subscription |access-date=31 May 2022 |work=[[The Times]] |language=en |issn=0140-0460 |quote=He said the return of the statues from Britain "would be an act that uses a word that we haven't been able to use of Britain's acts lately, much: it would be classy".}}</ref> and actors [[Liam Neeson]] and [[George Clooney]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=Gareth |date=8 March 2021 |title=George Clooney wades into Parthenon Marbles debate – again |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/03/08/george-clooney-wades-into-parthenon-marbles-debateagain |access-date=10 January 2023 |work=The Art Newspaper}}</ref> have expressed their support for the return of the marbles.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Herman |first=Alexander |title=The Parthenon Marbles Dispute: Heritage, Law, Politics |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2023 |isbn=9781509967179 |location=London |pages=4, 78–80 |postscript=. Note: In addition to Fry, Neeson and Clooney, Herman also cites Tom Hanks, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Ian McKellen, and Joanna Lumley as prominent supporters of the campaign.}}</ref>

===Opinion polls===
An [[Ipsos MORI]] poll of British voters in 1998, found 39% in favour of returning the marbles to Greece and 15% in favour of keeping them in Britain; 45% had no opinion or would not vote if the question were put to a referendum.<ref name="autogenerated12">{{cite web |title=Public and MPs would return the Elgin Marbles! |url=http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130126092318/http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=2001 |archive-date=26 January 2013 |work=ipsos-mori.com}}</ref> Another Mori poll in 2002 showed similar results.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Return Of The Parthenon Marbles |url=http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=1053 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409021725/http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=1053 |archive-date=9 April 2014 |access-date=18 June 2012 |publisher=Ipsos MORI}}</ref> A YouGov poll in 2021 found that 59% of British respondents thought the Parthenon marbles belonged in Greece, 18% that they belonged in Britain, and 18% did not know.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/travel/survey-results/daily/2021/11/23/9b053/2|title=The Parthenon Marbles are a collection of Ancient Greek sculptures that were removed from the Acropolis in Athens from 1801–12 (when Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire) and have been on display in the British Museum since 1817. The Greek government has requested their permanent return, but the British Museum has refused. Where do you believe the Parthenon Marbles belong? &#124; Daily Question|website=yougov.co.uk}}</ref>

=== British press ===
''The Guardian'' published an editorial in 2020 reiterating its support for the return of the Parthenon marbles.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 February 2020 |title=The Guardian view on the Parthenon marbles: not just a Brexit sideshow |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/23/the-guardian-view-on-the-parthenon-marbles-not-just-a-brexit-sideshow |access-date=8 January 2023 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> In January 2022, ''[[The Times]]'' reversed its long-standing support for retaining the marbles, publishing an editorial calling for their return to Greece.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 January 2022 |title=The Times view on the Elgin Marbles: Uniting Greece's Heritage |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/the-times-view-on-the-elgin-marbles-uniting-greeces-heritage-spdz5vz6k |access-date=8 January 2023 |work=The Times}}</ref> ''The Daily Telegraph'' published an editorial in January 2023 arguing that any decision on the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece should be made by the UK parliament.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 January 2023 |title=The fate of the Elgin marbles can't be George Osborne's choice |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2023/01/06/fate-elgin-marbles-cant-george-osbornes-choice/ |access-date=8 January 2023 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref>

===British Museum Act 1963===
The [[British Museum Act 1963]]<ref>{{cite web |title=British Museum Act 1963, as amended |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1963/24/contents |website=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=27 August 2023}}</ref> is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which forbids the British Museum from disposing of its holdings, except in a small number of special circumstances. Any change to the Act would have to be passed by Parliament.