They are owned by the British Museum, which has exhibited them for more than years; and they are widely regarded as the most important items in its entire collection. Over the last 40 years, the Greek government has been calling for their return to Athens.
Reportedly, the Museum is now negotiating a deal involving some kind of long-term partial loan. So there are three options: keep, lend, or return. In this authoritative study, the eminent historian Sir Noel Malcolm analyses all the issues involved. He finds that:. This work is concerned with the arguments for and against keeping the Elgin Marbles in London.
The topics discussed here are, therefore, the ones that seem most relevant to those arguments; many other aspects of the story of the Marbles, beginning with their original creation and artistic meaning, are therefore left aside. Most obviously, it includes:. That is the core meaning of the term; those are the items at the heart of the controversy.
The Museum holds, for example, a capital of a column of the Parthenon, transported by Elgin to England and now displayed in a side-room off the Duveen Gallery. The Museum holds other items acquired by Elgin directly or indirectly from other ancient buildings on the Acropolis:. Although these do not form part of the Elgin Marbles, it is very likely that any demands for the return of the Marbles to Athens would also include them.
They include, for example, a huge Egyptian sculpture of a scarab beetle, made of granite. Items of that kind can be disregarded here. It will be used throughout this work, not out of any desire to provoke or offend, but for two simple reasons.
