Elgin Marbles
The Present and Forward Fate of the Elgin Marbles
The Parthenon marbles are works of art taken from the Acropolis of Athens by Lord Elgin and brought to England while Greece was under the control of the Ottoman Empire.. Lord Elgin received permission from the Sultan to remove the statues at a price less than what it takes to transport them. Money was not the main motive for Elgin in acquiring them, there were wealthy bidders who attempted to buy them from him but he refused. Once in England many found a great interest in them as well as controversy. Elgin was tried for theft even though Greece 's contemporary law had allowed him to remove them. The charges could not hold up in court and he was eventually and rightfully exonerated. After falling into dept Elgin had little choice in but to the British government. I firmly believe the statues should remain in Britain, the opposition might claim that the Greeks have a cultural right to them. But as Appiah argued in chapter 7, the Greeks of the 21st century are no culturally similar to the ancient Greeks than someone in the U.S. They are the descendents of the ancient Greeks after all, but that does not take history into account. The people of Greece only exist today as a result of the past good or bad. Ancient Greece is known for its militant and philosophical way of life; they gained large amounts of wealth from war; should the current Greeks return whatever they can identify as having been gained from war? I don 't think they should, instead of living with the consequences of yesterday they should focus on the yet to be determined tomorrow. We cannot just go around returning everything we see as a wrong in the past. The United States or many nations for that matter would not be able to exist with that policy.
One of the reasons the statues should remain in England is due to the fact they were lawfully taken out of Greece. Once your land has been conquered all the accessories on it go to the victor or victors as
The Parthenon marbles are works of art taken from the Acropolis of Athens by Lord Elgin and brought to England while Greece was under the control of the Ottoman Empire.. Lord Elgin received permission from the Sultan to remove the statues at a price less than what it takes to transport them. Money was not the main motive for Elgin in acquiring them, there were wealthy bidders who attempted to buy them from him but he refused. Once in England many found a great interest in them as well as controversy. Elgin was tried for theft even though Greece 's contemporary law had allowed him to remove them. The charges could not hold up in court and he was eventually and rightfully exonerated. After falling into dept Elgin had little choice in but to the British government. I firmly believe the statues should remain in Britain, the opposition might claim that the Greeks have a cultural right to them. But as Appiah argued in chapter 7, the Greeks of the 21st century are no culturally similar to the ancient Greeks than someone in the U.S. They are the descendents of the ancient Greeks after all, but that does not take history into account. The people of Greece only exist today as a result of the past good or bad. Ancient Greece is known for its militant and philosophical way of life; they gained large amounts of wealth from war; should the current Greeks return whatever they can identify as having been gained from war? I don 't think they should, instead of living with the consequences of yesterday they should focus on the yet to be determined tomorrow. We cannot just go around returning everything we see as a wrong in the past. The United States or many nations for that matter would not be able to exist with that policy.
One of the reasons the statues should remain in England is due to the fact they were lawfully taken out of Greece. Once your land has been conquered all the accessories on it go to the victor or victors as
Citations: 1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8420053.stm - Autzwitz sign stolen Apia - Chapter 7 2. Wikipedia on history of Greece