The so-called Elgin Marbles A reminder that many of the objects that you love at your local museum actually came from a place in which they often have an even greater meaning.
posted by feelinglistless on Dec 6, 2002 - 38 comments

Petition to return the Parthenon (Elgin) Marbles to Greece. Nice background on the marbles here. Cliffnotes version here.
posted by skallas on Feb 21, 2002 - 19 comments

"The marbles belong to the British Museum ... which does not intend to return any part of the collection to its country of origin," PM Tony Blair ruling out the return to Greece of the so-called "Elgin" marbles, the stone carvings that were unceremoniously hacked off the Parthenon by the Earl of Elgin and carted back to Britain. Nearly 200 years later and despite years of Greek protest, the British Museum is not budging and has maintained thoughout that it has been protecting these antiquities from almost certain destruction (although their own record in this regard has not been great). Should museums today be returning treasures that have were obtained though such looting?
posted by lagado on Mar 25, 2001 - 29 comments