It’s no new to the public the controversy that the Parthenon Marbles are to the British museum. The museum acquired the sculptures back in the 1800’s after the Scottish nobleman Lord Elgin, stripped them from the ancient Acropolis in Athens in 1801 and sold them to the British government in 1816.
The Parthenon was constructed between 447 and 432 B.C.E., a period of artistic and military triumph considered the golden age of ancient Greece. And since the beginning of the 20th century, Greece has officially requested the return of the 75 metre-long frieze.
In October of last years, a UNESCO advisory committee recommended that the British Museum revisit its stance on the marbles and to open dialogue with Greece on their return. UNESCO also announced it would facilitate talks between the two countries to discuss the return of the marbles.
Although, the British Museum has always claimed that the sculptures were legally acquired and was never really open to discussion to return the marbles until now.
“Deal is to be done where we can tell both stories in Athens and in London if we both approach this without a load of preconditions, without a load of red lines,” has said the president of the British Museum.
STORYTELLME Junior Technician
