Editing Elgin Marbles (section)

===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>