The Parthenon Marbles Debate

In a political sense, the British have a powerful claim to the Parthenon marbles as they are the legal owners of the artefacts. This is due to Lord Elgin selling the Marbles to the British government when he was in bankruptcy. Since the British got ownership of the relics from Elgin instead of taking the Marbles out of the Parthenon, they have complete possession of the sculptures. But the Marbles were not even illegally taken from Greece, as a document was written that allowed Elgin’s men to take the statues to Britain. This document was created by Ottoman sultan in control of the Parthenon at the time in the form of a firman. As a firman was the most formal kind of permission available from the Ottoman Empire, meant Elgin’s transportation

This is shown in the Greek perspective on the disagreement. Greece is without a doubt in the right when based upon morals alone. Since the statues were originally in the care of Greece, and was in no position to protest when the Ottoman Empire allowed Lord Elgin to remove segments of the precious artefacts, it is only natural that Greece, now free from Ottoman rule, request for the reunification of the Parthenon marbles. Reason for such as decision is in the form of the marbles themselves. They are currently in disarray as parts of the sculptures are currently presiding in the British museum while the rest are in Greece. If the statues were returned, then Greece could finally complete their national treasure that has been left incomplete during Ottoman rule. In addition, the claim that the Parthenon marbles are safer in the hands of Britain is subjective throughout the statues care. The writer of “The Parthenon Marbles: The Case for Reunification” Christopher Hitchens had written “The marbles might have survived the Greek revolution and every subsequent vicissitude, or they might not have done… It is profitless to speculate.” Hitchens views have reasonable value as even though the situation in The Greek war of independence for artefacts was dire, it was also problematic when the statues under British care were mistreated through unauthorised means, which resulted in permanent damage. With these arguments, it is understandable why Greece is fighting furiously for the ownership of the marbles and they are not to blame for the loss of their artefacts in the first place because of Ottoman rule. However despite the significance of Greek’s arguments for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, there is a serious repercussion that may result from the marbles being reclaimed by