Britain vs. Greece for All the Marbles

Some fights for antiquities never get old. Here is selected background on one of the most intriguing of those disputes. The Parthenon Marbles (a.k.a. the Elgin Marbles) are part of a stunning 160-meter marble frieze of a religious procession that adorned the top of the ancient citadel?s grandest structure, the Parthenon. The temple was built at the height of Athens? glory between 447 and 432 BC in honor of the city?s patron goddess, Athena. Britain?s envoy, Lord Elgin, pried them off the building in the early 1800?s while Greece was still an unwilling part of the Ottoman Empire. Facing bankruptcy, he eventually sold the artworks to the British Museum, where they have been displayed ever since. In 1989, Melina Mercouri, Greece?s culture minister, led the effort for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum. Mercouri initiated an international architectural competition for a new museum.

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