Metope from the Elgin marbles depicting a Centaur and a Lapith fighting.

General view of the room displaying the Elgin Marbles.

Parthenon Selene Horse. ( 3d alt)

Statuary from the east pediment.

The Elgin Marbles (IPA: /'ɛl gən/), also known (slightly inaccurately) as the Parthenon Marbles or Parthenon Sculptures, are a large collection of marble sculptures removed from the Parthenon at Athens to Britain in 1806 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799 to 1803. Taking advantage of Ottoman occupation over Greece, he obtained a firman from the Ottoman Sultan to remove movable sculptures or inscriptions. However, taking advantage of the political situation, he also managed to remove the famous Parthenon Friezes. The sculptures were deposited in the British Museum, London in 1816, and in 1936 were placed into the purpose-built Duveen Gallery. Download high resolution version (890x916, 134 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (890x916, 134 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1298x1007, 263 KB) The room containing the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1298x1007, 263 KB) The room containing the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (804x722, 165 KB)This is a standard image. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (804x722, 165 KB)This is a standard image. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1048x875, 692 KB)[[3d alt| Elgin horse 3d>jpg}} Image uploaded under GFDL. Photo-journalist waives all rights to Wikipedia and will do so to Commons as well. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 2. ... A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of a triangular section or gable found above the horizontal superstructure (entablature) which lies immediately upon the columns. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... Marble sculpture is the art of creating three-dimensional forms from marble. ... The Parthenon seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... Athens (Ancient Greek: αἱ Ἀθῆναι (plural), evolving into the modern Αθήναι in Greek until recently, and Αθήνα nowadays (IPA ); is both the largest and the capital city of Greece, located in the Attica periphery. ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine (July 20, 1766 - November 14, 1841) was a British nobleman and diplomat, known for the removal of marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens -- popularly known as the Elgin Marbles. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–65) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (Ä°stanbul, 1453–1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy [[Category:Former monarchies}}|Ottoman Empire, 1299]] Sultans  - 1281–1326... Firman refers to a royal mandate or decree issued from a sovereign in Western Asian countries such as Iran under the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi or the Ottoman rulers. ... Sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... Cavalry from the Parthenon Frieze, West II, British Museum. ... The British Museum in London, England is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Description

Main articles: Parthenon Frieze and Metopes of the Parthenon

The Elgin Marbles include some of the statuary from the pediments, the metope panels depicting battles between the Lapiths and the Centaurs, as well as the Parthenon Frieze which decorated the horizontal course set above the interior architrave of the temple. As such, they represent more than half of what now remains of the surviving sculptural decoration of the Parthenon: the Elgin marbles and frieze extend to about 1km when laid out flat, 15 out of 92 metopes; 17 partial figures from the pediments, as well as other pieces of architecture. Elgin's acquisitions also included objects from other buildings on the Athenian Acropolis: the Erechtheion, reduced to ruin during the Greek War of Independence (1821–33); the Propylaia; and the Temple of Athena Nike. Lord Elgin took half of the marbles from the Parthenon and wax casts were produced from the remaining ones. Cavalry from the Parthenon Frieze, West II, British Museum. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of a triangular section or gable found above the horizontal superstructure (entablature) which lies immediately upon the columns. ... In classical architecture, a metope is the rectangular blank spaces on the surface between two triglyphs on a Doric frieze which were often decorated with carvings. ... In Greek mythology, the Lapiths were a semi-legenday, semi-historical race, whose home was in Thessaly in the valley of the Peneus. ... In Greek mythology, the Centaurs (Greek: Κένταυροι) are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. ... Cavalry from the Parthenon Frieze, West II, British Museum. ... The Acropolis of Athens is the best known acropolis (high city, The Sacred Rock) in the world. ... Erechtheum, from SW The Erechtheum, or Erecththeion, is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens in Greece, notable for a design that is both elegant and unusual. ... Combatants Greek revolutionaries United Kingdom Kingdom of France Russian Empire Ottoman Empire Egyptian Khedivate Commanders Theodoros Kolokotronis Alexander Ypsilanti Georgios Karaiskakis Omer Vryonis Mahmud Dramali Pasha ReÅŸid Mehmed Pasha Ibrahim Pasha. ... Crowds of tourists climb the steps to the Propylaea of the acropolis of Athens Stairs leading up to a Propylaea Propylaea, Propylea or Propylaia (in Greek — Προπυλαια) is the monumental gateway that serves as the entrance to an acropolis. ... Reconstruction of the temple Nike means Victory in Greek, and Athena was worshiped in this form, as goddess of victory, on the Acropolis, Athens. ...

Legality of the removal of the sculptures

Despite the firman mentioned above, the notion that Ottoman authorities granted Elgin legal title to the Parthenon sculptures, which has been the main British argument for keeping them, was recently challenged in a detailed study by Professor David Rudenstine of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, in the International Journal of Cultural Property. Rudenstine concludes that the premise that Elgin obtained legal title to the marbles, which he then transferred to the British government, "is certainly not established and may well be false." ^{[1] [2]} Firman refers to a royal mandate or decree issued from a sovereign in Western Asian countries such as Iran under the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi or the Ottoman rulers. ... The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University, located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. ...

Criticism by Elgin's contemporaries

When the marbles were shipped to Britain, there was criticism of Elgin (who had spent a fortune on the project) but also much admiration of the sculptures. Lord Byron strongly objected to their removal from Greece: Lord Byron, English poet Lord Byron (1803), as painted by Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, (January 22, 1788 – April 19, 1824) was the most widely read English language poet of his day. ...

Dull is the eye that will not weep to see

Thy walls defaced, thy mouldering shrines removed

By British hands, which it had best behoved

To guard those relics ne’er to be restored.

Curst be the hour when from their isle they roved,

And once again thy hapless bosom gored,

And snatch'd thy shrinking gods to northern climes abhorred!

—"Childe Harold's Pilgrimage"

Byron was not the only Englishman to protest the removal at the time:

"The Honourable Lord has taken advantage of the most unjustifiable means and has committed the most flagrant pillages. It was, it seems, fatal that a representative of our country loot those objects that the Turks and other barbarians had considered sacred,"

said Sir John Newport.

A contemporary MP Thomas Hughes, an eye witness, later wrote: A statue of Thomas Hughes at Rugby School Thomas Hughes (October 20, 1822 – March 22, 1896) was an English lawyer and author. ...

"The abduction of small parts of the Parthenon, of a value relatively small but which previously contributed to the solidity of the building, left that glorious edifice exposed to premature ruin and degradation. The abduction dislodged from their original positions, wherefrom they precisely drew their interest and beauty, many pieces which are altogether unnecessary to the country that now owns them."

John Keats was one of those who saw them privately exhibited in London, hence his two sonnets about the marbles. Some scholars, notably Richard Payne Knight, insisted that the marbles dated from the period of the Roman Empire, but most accepted that they were authentic works from the studio of Phidias, the most famous ancient Greek sculptor. They were eventually purchased by Parliament for the nation in 1816 for £35,000 and deposited in the British Museum, where they were displayed in the Elgin Saloon (constructed in 1832), until the Duveen Gallery was completed in 1939. Keats grave in Rome (left). ... Francesco Petrarca, or Petrarch, one of the best-known early Italian sonnet writers. ... Richard Payne Knight (15 February 1750 - 23 April 1824) was a Classical scholar and connoisseur best known for his theories of picturesque beauty and for his interest in ancient phallic imagery. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friends by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema Phidias (or Pheidias) (in ancient Greek, ) (c. ... 1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The British Museum in London, England is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ... Year 1832 (MDCCCXXXII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Damage to the Marbles in the UK

To facilitate transport, the column capital of the Parthenon and many metopes and slabs were either hacked or sawn and sliced into smaller sections causing irreparable damage to the Parthenon itself to which these Marbles were connected. One shipload of marbles on board the British brig Mentor was caught in a storm off Cape Matapan and sank near Kythera, but was salvaged at the Earl's personal expense; it took two years to bring them to the surface.^[3] The Parthenon seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... Cape Tenaro (Greek: Ταίναρο) also known as Cape Tainaro (older forms: Tenaron and Tainaron) and Cape Matapan is situated in Mani, Laconia, Greece. ... Kythira, also seen as Kythera, Cythera or Tsirigo, is an island, one of the Ionian Islands. ...

While the artifacts are held in London they have been saved from the hazards of pollution, neglect, and war (unlike those remaining on the Parthenon), but they have also been irrevocably damaged by the unauthorized "cleaning" methods employed by British Museum staff in the 1930s, who were dismissed when this was discovered^{[citation needed]}. Acting under the erroneous belief that the marbles were originally bright white - under the orders of Joseph Duveen the marbles were cleaned with copper tools and caustics, causing serious damage and altering the marbles' colouring.^{[citation needed]} (The Pentelicon marble on which the carvings were made naturally acquires a tan colour similar to honey when exposed to air). In addition, the process scraped away all traces of surface colouring that the marbles originally held, but more regretably, the detailed tone of many carvings were lost forever^{[citation needed]}. The British Museum held an internal enquiry and the officers responsible ceased museum employment. Joseph Duveen (1869 – 1939), later made Baron Duveen of Millbank, was one of the most influential art dealers of all time. ...

According to a list of facts revealed by appeals to the UK Freedom of Information Act, the Elgin Marbles were damaged by two schoolboys fighting in the British Museum in 1961. One of the boys fell and knocked off part of a centaur's leg.^[4] Nearly sixty countries around the world have implemented some form of freedom of information legislation, which sets rules on governmental secrecy. ...

Section of a frieze from the Elgin Marbles.

Section of frieze from the Elgin Marbles Image by ChrisO File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Section of frieze from the Elgin Marbles Image by ChrisO File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

The Greek claim to the Marbles

The Greek government claims that the marbles should be returned to Athens on moral and artistic grounds^{[citation needed]}, although it is no longer feasible or advisable to replace them on the Parthenon. The main stated aim^{[citation needed]} of the Greek campaign is to reunite the Parthenon sculptures around the world in order to restore the unity of the monument. Already, two fragments of the monument have returned from Sweden and Germany^{[citation needed]}. The New Acropolis Museum, designed by the Swiss-American architect Bernard Tschumi, is designed to hold the Parthenon sculptures arranged in the same way as they would have been on the Parthenon. It is intended to leave the spaces for the Elgin Marbles empty, rather than using casts in these positions, as a reminder to visitors of the fact that parts are held in other museums. The new museum plan also attracted other controversy; the construction site contains late Roman and early Christian archaeology, including an unusual seventh-century Byzantine bath house and other finds from Late Antiquity. A court challenge in Greece from the International Council on Museums and Sites (ICOMOS) to the site was rejected by the Greek civil courts in 2004. The new design incorporates the archaeological finds within the building.^[5] A museum by architect Bernard Tschumi located near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. ... Bernard Tschumi (born January 25, 1944 Lausanne, Switzerland) is an architect, writer, and educator. ... Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. ... Late Antiquity is a rough periodization (c. ... The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) was founded in 1965 as a result of the Venice Charter of 1964 and offers advice to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites. ...

The British Museum position

A range of slightly different points have been put by British Museum spokespersons over the years in defence of retention of the Elgin Marbles within the museum. The main points include the maintenance of a single worldwide-oriented cultural collection, all viewable in one location, thereby serving as a world heritage centre; the saving of the marbles from what would have been, or would be, pollution and other damage if relocated back to Athens; and a legal position that the museum is banned by charter from returning any part of its collection.^[6] The latter was tested in the British High Court in May 2005 in relation to Nazi-looted Old Master artworks held at the museum; it was ruled that these could not be returned.^[7] The judge, Sir Andrew Morritt, ruled that the British Museum Act – which protects the collections for posterity – cannot be overridden by a "moral obligation" to return works known to have been plundered. It has been argued however, that connections between the legal ruling and the Elgin Marbles were more tenuous than implied by the Attorney General.^[8] Despite the British Museum remaining in ardent refusal, the British people according a MORI Institute opinion poll conducted in the UK found^{[citation needed]} that a substantial majority of the population is in favour of returning the Elgin Marbles to Greece and that a previous opinion poll organised by Channel 4 TV showed over 90% in favour. ^[9] The British Museum in London, England is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ...

Other displaced Parthenon art

Lord Elgin was neither the first, nor the last, to disperse elements of the marbles from their original location. The remainder of the surviving sculptures that are not in museums or storerooms in Athens are held in museums in various locations across Europe. The British Museum also holds additional fragments from the Parthenon sculptures acquired from various collections that have no connection with Lord Elgin.

Material from the Parthenon was dispersed both before and after Elgin's activities. The British Museum holds approximately half of the surviving sculptures. The remainder is divided among the following locations:

• Athens:

• Extensive remains of the metopes (especially east, north and west), frieze (especially west) and pediments
• Less than 50% is on public display and some is still on the building.

• Louvre, Paris:

• One frieze slab
• One metope
• Fragments of the frieze and metopes
• A head from the pediments

• National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen:

• Two heads from a metope in the British Museum

• University of Würzburg, Würzburg:

• Head from a metope in the British Museum

• Museo Salinas, Palermo:

• Fragment of frieze

• Vatican Museums:

• Fragments of metopes, frieze and pediments

• Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna:

• Three fragments of frieze

• Glyptothek, Munich:

• Fragments of metopes and frieze; not on display

The collection held in the British Museum includes the following material from the Acropolis: Athens (Ancient Greek: αἱ Ἀθῆναι (plural), evolving into the modern Αθήναι in Greek until recently, and Αθήνα nowadays (IPA ); is both the largest and the capital city of Greece, located in the Attica periphery. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) The Eiffel Tower in Paris, as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen is Denmark’s central museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. ... Copenhagen (IPA: or ; Danish: IPA: ) is the capital of Denmark and the countrys largest city. ... [ recorded in this] The University of Würzburg is a university in Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. ... Würzburg Residenz. ... For other uses, see Palermo (disambiguation). ... Entrance to the museum Staircase of the Vatican Museum The Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) are the public art and sculpture museums in the Vatican City, which display works from the extensive collection of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Kunsthistorisches Museum at Maria-Theresien-Platz, Vienna. ... “Wien” redirects here. ... The Glyptothek is a museum in Munich, Germany, which was commissioned by the Bavarian King Ludwig I to house his collection of Greek and Roman sculptures (hence Glypto-, from the Greek root glyphein, to carve). ... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ...

• Parthenon: 247ft of the original 524ft of frieze

• 15 of the 92 metopes
• 17 pedimental figures; various pieces of architecture

• Erechtheion: a Caryatid, a column and other architectural members
• Propylaia: Architectural members
• Temple of Athena Nike: 4 slabs of the frieze and architectural members

A caryatid (also spelt Karyatid), is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. ...

Further reading

• Mary Beard, The Parthenon (Profile Books, 2004) ISBN 978-1861973016
• Marc Fehlmann, "Casts and Connoisseurs. The Early Reception of the Elgin Marbles" (Apollo, June 2007, pp. 44-51)^[10]
• Christopher Hitchens, Imperial Spoils: The Curious Case of the Elgin Marbles (with essays by Robert Browning and Graham Binns) (Verso, March 1998)
• Ian Jenkins, The Parthenon Frieze (British Museum Press, 2002)
• Dorothy King, The Elgin Marbles (Hutchinson, January 2006)
• William St. Clair, Lord Elgin and the Marbles (Oxford University Press, 1998)

Mary Ritter Beard (1876 - 1958), was an American historian and campaigner for womens suffrage. ... Christopher Eric Hitchens (born April 13, 1949) is an Anglo-American author, journalist and literary critic. ...

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Elgin Marbles

• The British Museum Parthenon pages

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

Campaigning websites

• The Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles
• Acropolis of Athens — AcropolisofAthens.gr — one monument, one heritage
• British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles' site
• Marbles Reunited: Friends of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles
• The International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures
• Elginism — Collection of news articles relating to the Elgin Marbles
• An interpretation of the meaning of the Marbles
• A guide to the case for the restitution of the Parthenon Marbles
• Gillen Wood, "The strange case of Lord Elgin's nose": the cultural context of the early 19th century debate over the marbles, the politics and the esthetics, imperialism and hellenism
• Information about arguments for the marbles to be returned to Greece
• Marbles with an Attitude — a different approach to the cause of reuniting the Parthenon Marbles
• BBC News -- Swede gives back Acropolis marble
• Demand for the return of Elgin Marbles