Political Significance Of The Parthenon Marbles
Elgin marbles collection of ancient greek sculptures and architectural details in the british museum london where they are now called the parthenon sculptures.
Political significance of the parthenon marbles. The parthenon was the center of religious life in the powerful greek city state of athens the head of the delian league. The elgin marbles are a collection of ancient sculptures friezes and other decorative art from the parthenon a. Since then the greek government has demanded the return of the marbles. There is no doubt that today the status of the parthenon as a greek national monument is an important factor in the campaign to restore the elgin marbles to greece.
You will need to consult encyclopedia articles and various books on this subject to gain a full understanding. They were originally part of the temple of the parthenon and other buildings on the acropolis of athens. The parthenon marbles greek. The parthenon frieze by phidias a caryatid and a column from the erechtheum were sold to the british government in 1816 and are now on view in the british museum in a gallery donated by lord duveen.
The elgin marbles are a source of controversy between modern britain and greece it s a collection of stone pieces rescued removed from the ruins of the ancient greek parthenon in the nineteenth century and now in demand to be sent back from the british museum to greece. In many ways the marbles are emblematic of the development of modern ideas of national heritage and global display which. Some of the marbles from the parthenon usually housed in their own gallery in the british museum are currently taking a starring role in an exhibition defining beauty at the same. The objects were removed from the parthenon at athens and from other ancient buildings and shipped to england by arrangement of thomas bruce 7th lord elgin who was british.
The marbles in london were removed from the parthenon in the first decade of the 19th century under the auspices of thomas bruce the seventh earl of elgin and were first exhibited in london in 1807. Britain s lord elgin removed these sculptures from the parthenon over a period of about 10 years in the early 19th century in what many consider to be one of the most egregious.