Parthenon Sculpture Row Raises Tricky Questions
If stealing from other countries was a sport, the UK would be long retired, reflecting on a distinguished career while caressing priceless artefacts before a roaring fire.
Thanks to our imperialistic escapades, The British Museum is packed with curiosities from around the world. For those interested in history, it’s brilliant. But, many foreign governments and institutions disagree, arguing these links to their heritage should be returned to their ancestral homelands. The topic was thrust into the limelight Tuesday after Rishi Sunak cancelled a meeting with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The sticking point? The Parthenon Sculptures.
The Parthenon Sculptures
Back in the early 19th century, Greece was under Ottoman rule. Lord Elgin, who held the enviable job title of Ambassador to the Ottoman Court of the Sultan in Istanbul, had his eyes on a series of 5th-century BC sculptures, friezes and reliefs from the Athenian Acropolis, Greece’s foremost historic site.
As was the flavour of the time, Lord Elgin lobbied to have The Parthenon Sculptures returned to London, and the Ottomans, seemingly indifferent, extended special permission to take away “some pieces of stone with old inscriptions and figures”. Elgin interpreted this as a free-for-all, hacking away some choice portions to bring home. After sitting in his personal collection for a decade, the sculptures were eventually sold to the British Museum, adopting a new name - The Elgin Marbles - along the journey.
Some years later, Greece expressed seller’s remorse (although they argue it was never them who sold) and, in 1987, officially lobbied to have them returned to join the remaining sculptures in a purpose-built museum. Their request was cheerfully denied, partially thanks to a 1967 law prohibiting ‘borrowed’ items from being given back.
The Snub
Mitsotakis had been in the UK for a meeting on the 28th, with hot topics Gaza, immigration and Ukraine on the agenda. Sunak claimed he had assurances The Parthenon Sculptures would not be raised. Greek officials deny this.
At the start of his visit, Mitsotakis met with Kier Starmer, who, unless he turns out to be a Nazi, will succeed Sunak at the next election. Foreign leaders meeting the opposition during official visits can be seen as a slight. Still, with polls the way they are, it’s a prudent and forward-thinking strategy by any visiting politician – a fact likely to further irritate Sunak.
The nail in the coffin, however, was a BBC interview between Mitsotakis and Laura Kuensberg, in which, the Greek PM likened having the sculptures split between Athens and London tantamount to tearing the Mona Lisa in two. Shortly after, Sunak demonstrated his diplomatic poise by cancelling the meeting, offering time with Deputy PM Oliver Dowden. Unimpressed with the snubstitution, Mistokais returned to sunny Athens.
“Whoever believes in the correctness and justice of their views is never afraid of opposing arguments,” he said in a statement.
Domestic Fallout
At home, Sunak’s decision has baffled many. While many Conservatives have anonymously grumbled about the issue, opposition figures and journalists have rushed to drop the now desperately overused metaphor of ‘Sunak losing his marbles’. Hackneyed as it is, the sentiment rings true. With so many important topics to discuss, the snubbing of an economic and political ally demonstrates how deep this debate runs.
It also does little to help our dwindling global stock. As a nation known for having a historical propensity for plunder and a reputation for political circus, I would have liked to have seen the situation handled with grace and elegance. Instead, toys were forcefully ejected from the pram and once again, we are a joke.
The Wider Argument
Tory bashing aside, the gaffe has raised questions about our stolen goods policy, with Greece’s insistence the Parthenon Sculptures should be returned a reasonable request that’s hard to argue against. Not only were the marbles taken under dubious circumstances, but they remain an integral link to antiquity, the golden age of Greek history, long before Ottoman subjugation, EU bailouts, and economic strife.
The legitimacy of securing something of such value from a non-native, ruling regime 220 years ago is tenuous, and whether or not Lord Elgin had permission to take what he did is also hotly contested.
In all honesty, whether Lord Elgin looted these artefacts in good faith is beside the point. As a nation, we have taken some steps to address our questionable past behaviour, and while I don’t believe the sins of history are always the responsibility of modern governments, goodwill gestures like returning precious relics go a long way.
The British Museum’s position has always been that we saved them possible damage and therefore have some right to them, aka, stealers keepers. In actuality, if we returned The Parthenon Sculptures, Nigeria would almost certainly request the repatriation of the Benin Bronzes (as they have already done) and so on. Soon, there would be little left. A sad thought, but one thing is clear – these artefacts mean more to the nations they were taken from than they do to us.
