The Parthenon’s Problematic Politics

Would not theft by another name still be theft? Just because there is no ruling political body of the art would to decree the British Museum’s actions as immoral and illegal does not mean that their actions are permissible. The looting of the Elgin marbles was undeniably an act of thievery, thus they should be returned to their original country of origin. Elgin claimed that the government of the Ottoman Empire gave him permission to do so, yet it seems paradoxical to continue to give any credibility to the questionable testimonies of fallen empires. More importantly, why should permission from the Ottoman government make Elgin’s actions permissible? The Elgin marbles belonged to neither of these entities; in truth they belong to the citizens of Greece or, more specifically, the citizens of Athens.

The paradoxes of the British government’s argument don’t just stop here. They have claimed that returning the marbles would “set a precedent” for returning other looted antiquities, leaving the British Museum empty. Furthermore, less people would see the marbles in Greece versus the British Museum, and fewer academics would have access to them. Another argument has been made that returning the marbles wouldn’t fully re-unite the Parthenon marbles since there are still pieces in other parts of the world, and they could never be remounted on the actual facade of the Parthenon again, so why even bother? When this logic is reframed outside of the art historial world, the major fallacies of the British government’s argument become much more apparent. Thus the case for reunification of the Parthenon marbles is not about rights of ownership, current or historic, but cultural and ethical. This is a case of morality. The responsibility of justification should be on those who resist restoring the integrity of the sculptures from the Parthenon. Restoring integrity in this manner allows future visitors to the Parthenon museum to fully appreciate the friezes in their proper context of the Acropolis mount, simultaneously promoting appreciation for the artistic and historical significance of the artifacts themselves, reunited one one sacred hill as their original artists intended.