Metope from the Parthenon marbles depicting a Centaur and a Lapith fighting

The Elgin Marbles is the popular term for the Parthenon Marbles, a large collection of marble sculptures brought to Britain between 1801 and 1805 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the official British resident in Ottoman Athens, who had ordered them removed from the Parthenon. Since 1939 they have been housed in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery of the British Museum, London. 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. ... This article needs cleanup. ... 1801 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (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, notorious for the removal of marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens -- popularly known as the Elgin Marbles. ... The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power Imperial motto El Muzaffer Daima The Ever Victorious (as written in tugra) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital İstanbul (Constantinople/Asitane/Konstantiniyye ) Sovereigns Sultans of the Osmanli Dynasty Population ca 40 million Area 6. ... The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... The Parthenon seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west The Parthenon (Greek: Παρθενων) is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum is one of the worlds largest and most important museums of ancient history. ... The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ...

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: 247 feet from the original 524 feet of frieze; 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 Erechtheum, reduced to ruin during the Greek War of Independence (1821-33); the Propylaea, and the Temple of Athena Nike. 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. ... Metope from the Parthenon marbles depicting a Centaur and a Lapith fighting In classical architecture, a metope is the space between two triglyphs of a Doric frieze. ... In Greek mythology, the Lapiths were a semi-legenday, semi-historical race, whose home was in Thessaly in the valley of the Peneus. ... Guido Reni, Abduction of Deianira, 1620-21 In Greek mythology, the centaurs (Greek: Κένταυροι) are a race part human and part horse, with a horses body and a human head and torso. ... Frieze of the Tower of the Winds. ... This article refers to acropoleis in general. ... 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. ... The Greek War of Independence was fought from the Greeks declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire on March 25 (now Greek Independence Day) 1821 until the modern state of Greece was granted independence by the Treaty of Constantinople in July 1832. ... Crowds of tourists climb the steps to the Propylaea, gateway to the Acropolis, Athens The Propylaea or Propylaia (Greek Προπυλαια) is the monumental gateway leading to the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. ... The Athena Nike was the earliest Ionic building to be built on the Acropolis around 427 BC. The temple was completed during the unrest of the Peloponnesian war. ...

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 collections that have no connection with Lord Elgin.

When the marbles were shipped back 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.

—"Childe Harold's Pilgrimmage"

Byron was not the only Englishman to protest the pillage 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:

"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 a much lower sum than the £75,000 Lord Elgin had been asking. The marbles were subsequently deposited in the British Museum, where they were displayed in the Elgin Saloon (constructed in 1832), remaining there until the Duveen Gallery was completed in 1939. John Keats John Keats (October 31, 1795 – February 23, 1821) was one of the principal poets in the English Romantic movement. ... Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch, one of the best-known of the early Italian sonnet writers The term sonnet is derived from the Provençal word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning little song. ... 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. ... The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Caesar Augustus. ... Phidias, (or Pheidias), son of Charmides, (circa 490 BC - circa 430 BC) was an ancient Greek sculptor, universally regarded as the greatest of Greek sculptors. ... 1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum is one of the worlds largest and most important museums of ancient history. ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

There has been considerable debate over what should now be done with the marbles. Although Elgin's motives in removing them from a hazardous environment may have been of the best, many people, especially the Greek government, feel that they should be returned to Athens and displayed in a museum on the Acropolis site. No one is at present recommending that they be returned to their places on the Parthenon, exposed to the elements. However, no consensus has been reached, and the British Museum strongly defends its right to own and display the marbles.

Section of a frieze from the Parthenon Marbles

At present, approximately two-thirds of the frieze is in London and a third remains in Athens. Considerable debate surrounds the meaning of the frieze but most agree that it depicts the Panathenaic procession that paraded through Athens every four years. The procession on the frieze culminates at the East end of the Parthenon in a depiction of the Greek gods who are seated mainly on stools, either side of temple servants in their midst. This section of the frieze is currently under-appreciated as it is split between London and Athens, a doorway in the British Museum masking the absence of the relevant section of Frieze. An almost complete copy of this section of the Frieze is displayed and open to the public at Hammerwood Park near East Grinstead in Sussex. 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 Panathenaic Games were a set of games held every four years in Athens in Ancient Greece. ... Greek mythological characters (Most of the gods and goddesses had Roman equivalents. ... Hammerwood Park was the first work of the Architect Benjamin Latrobe. ... East Grinstead is an historic town in north-east West Sussex in the UK near the East Sussex, Surrey and Kent borders, and only a few miles from Ashdown Forest. ... Sussex as a traditional county. ...

The Greek Government are in the process of building the New Acropolis Museum, designed by the Swiss / American architect Bernard Tschumi. The new museum 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 Acropolis Museum is due to be completed in late 2006. Bernard Tschumi (born 1944 Switzerland) is a contemporary French/Swiss architect, writer, and academic; US permanent resident; 1988-2003, Dean of Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation, and Planning. ...

See also

• British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles
• William Martin Leake. Sailed with the original ship engaged to convey the Elgin marbles from Athens to England.

The British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) is a group of British people who support the return of the Parthenon (Elgin) marbles to Greece. ... William Martin Leake (January 14, 1777 - January 6, 1860), British antiquarian and topographer, was born in London. ...

External links

• A guide to the Marbles (http://www.mistral.co.uk/hammerwood/elgin.htm)
• British Committee for the restitution of the Parthenon Marbles' site (http://www.parthenonuk.com/)
• The British Museum Parthenon pages (http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/gr/grparth.html)
• A site by Ian Swindale (http://www.uk.digiserve.com/mentor/marbles/)
• A collection of all current news articles relevant to the marbles (http://www.elginism.com/)
• Gillen Wood, "The strange case of Lord Elgin's nose" (http://prometheus.cc.emory.edu/panels/5E/G.Wood.html): 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 (http://www.museum-security.org/elginmarbles.html)