Editing Elgin Marbles (section)

===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>