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Lord Elgin Marbles Should Remain In The British Museum

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The Parthenon has transitioned through many different uses throughout its history, including a temple for the Greek goddess Athena, a church of the Virgin Mary, and a Mosque. Naturally, this results in it being an important site from Greek history. Thus, in 1801-1802, when Lord Elgin came to the acropolis when Greece was under Ottoman rule, he removed sculptures from the acropolis and took them back to England, where they were called the “Elgin marbles.” In the recent past, there has been some dispute between Greece and England about his justifications in taking the marbles, and whether or not they should be sent back to Greece. After analyzing the two arguments, I argue that the Elgin marbles should remain in the British museum. The first reason these marbles should remain in London is because Lord Elgin was not sporadically taking things from the acropolis, but he did so under the full knowledge and authorities of the Ottoman Empire, who were at this time in control of Greece. Some may argue that the Ottomans didn’t have the right to give away artifacts of Greek history, but if they were the ruling power, who is to say they didn’t? The rulers decide what actions to take, …show more content…
Being that the Elgin marbles represent a significant cultural achievement in world history, it provides a significant contribution to the knowledge and understanding that can be acquired from the museum. The context under which the marbles in London fall is also a different context than the artifacts in Greece. Those in Greece show such artifacts in the scope of Greek history whereas those in England show them in the context of the entire world. This provides even more potential to learn and understand Greek history in both an local and world-wide

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