Parthenon Marbles
- Pentelic marble
- Circa 432 B.C.E
- Also known as Elgin Marbles
- Current Location: British Museum, London
- Ownership disputed by: Greece
Built on the Acropolis in Athens Greece, The Parthenon is a Doric temple that is dedicated to the god Athena. The temple was designed by architects Iktinos and Kallikratis and was built between 447 and 432 BCE.
The Parthenon served as a pagan temple for over one thousand years and was converted into a Christian Church in the 5th century CE. It survived as a Christian Church for almost another thousand years. In 1687, the Ottoman Turks used The Parthenon as a powder magazine during The Great Turkish War when the site was bombarded by the Venetian Army. A majority of the interior walls were destroyed as well as a great deal of the columns.
The Ottoman Turks remained in control of the area until 1812. In 1801, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, who was serving as an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, secured a permit from the indifferent Turks to remove the surviving pieces of sculpture. Elgin and his team removed approximately half of the remaining parts of The Parthenon and shipped them to England.
It was Elgin’s plan to use the pieces in his personal home in Scotland, however the cost of removing and transporting the sculptures put him into considerable debt. Elgin sold the pieces of The Parthenon to The British Museum in1816 for £35,000, which is roughly half of what his expenses were to obtain them.
Beginning in the 1980’s, Greece has petitioned The British Museum to return the pieces of The Parthenon. In 2009, the museum released a statement via their website saying “The Trustees are convinced that the current division allows different and complementary stories to be told about the surviving sculptures, highlighting their significance within world culture and affirming the place of Ancient Greece among the great cultures of the world.” See Further Reading for a link to the Full Statement.
As of 2015, Greece is still attempting to retrieve the pieces thru diplomatic channels.
The Parthenon served as a pagan temple for over one thousand years and was converted into a Christian Church in the 5th century CE. It survived as a Christian Church for almost another thousand years. In 1687, the Ottoman Turks used The Parthenon as a powder magazine during The Great Turkish War when the site was bombarded by the Venetian Army. A majority of the interior walls were destroyed as well as a great deal of the columns.
The Ottoman Turks remained in control of the area until 1812. In 1801, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, who was serving as an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, secured a permit from the indifferent Turks to remove the surviving pieces of sculpture. Elgin and his team removed approximately half of the remaining parts of The Parthenon and shipped them to England.
It was Elgin’s plan to use the pieces in his personal home in Scotland, however the cost of removing and transporting the sculptures put him into considerable debt. Elgin sold the pieces of The Parthenon to The British Museum in1816 for £35,000, which is roughly half of what his expenses were to obtain them.
Beginning in the 1980’s, Greece has petitioned The British Museum to return the pieces of The Parthenon. In 2009, the museum released a statement via their website saying “The Trustees are convinced that the current division allows different and complementary stories to be told about the surviving sculptures, highlighting their significance within world culture and affirming the place of Ancient Greece among the great cultures of the world.” See Further Reading for a link to the Full Statement.
As of 2015, Greece is still attempting to retrieve the pieces thru diplomatic channels.