Parthenon Marbles

The Missing Pieces and the Misconceptions. Part One

All I know about the Parthenon is from images and messages sent from others. I've not had the privilege, or the opportunity to see this ancient building in person. Nor have I traveled to London to see  those missing pieces of this building. But I still know that the fragments of sculptured stone  belong together.  I sympathize with all those other people through-out the world who are brave enough to voice their messages of return of the fragments to Greece.  Unfortunately the pieces of this ancient building will never be re-united to the surface of the Parthenon, but those fragments held in the British Museum need to go back to the Acropolis Museum where they belong to place them side by side with all those other pieces found and returned to their place of origin. 

 They must return to the purpose built museum at the foot of the Acropolis the rock of the Parthenon,  to give reverence to the Ancient ones who made them. They must return to the place of their making.  The true understanding of the message those fragments hold can only be fully understood in the light of the Attica. The artists of ancient times need that respect and allow the sculptures placed in the way they were meant to be viewed.  

I see images of the Parthenon lite up as the crowning jewel of history, of not just Greece, but all western civilization. The tap root of our common cultural heritage reaches into our collective memories. The ideas weave into our everyday lives regardless of how some try to deny the strength of our understandings having these roots.  They are still there, in how we tell our stories, how we discover new ideas in science and our understandings of ourselves and society.  The Parthenon and the ancient sculptures are evidence of that connection to our world. They therefore need to be reunited.

The history of two hundred years of why they were taken is well documented. As for the excuses as to why the British Museum believes they have the right to still keep these sculptures are there as well. The reason why I know all this information is because of the world wide push for these Marble fragments return. The people who almost daily voice their condemnation of the British Museum imperialistic hold on property belonging to smaller nations of what this institution  believes they own by birthright.   

But history tells a different story of birthright and sovereign rights. 

The right of ownership is not a question of how much money one has paid for an item but if the item was stolen in the first place. 

History questions the fact that Thomas Bruce tricked the Ottomans who at the time occupied Greece. He was only given permission to remove fragments already  "broken" not to remove the instituted sculptures that were still on the Parthenon. So, he in fact stole them. A thief. The Parthenon Marbles in the British Museum are stolen property, and by the laws of UNESCO must be returned to Greece. 

Now comes the many pages of excuses that the British Museum have used to keep the fragments in Britain.  In summary : They believe in Cultural Imperialism, that their Museum is a World Museum which can give a Worldly view of their (Stolen) exhibits. If you wish to make up your own mind on their understandings here is the website. 

http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_us/news_and_press/statements/parthenon_sculptures/trustees_statement.aspx

The list of the misconceptions highlights their understandings as to why they believe they have the right to keep these sculptures. 

 Misconception One: The world knows that not all the sculptures are in the British Museum, but the majority of surviving sculptures are still there, illegally. (The Sculptures were stolen.)   

Point  two: is they insist the Parthenon Marbles where not stolen, but removed in the full knowledge of the laws of the Ottoman occupation of Greece. 

 The study of the original documents and the history have a different understanding of this matter, as summarized. Not true, Thomas Bruce used his position as the Ambassador of Britain to the Ottomans to obtain permission to remove only fragments that were already broken from the main building.  He then instructed the workers and artists to remove the sculptures.

The parliament select committee of 1816 didn't see any original documents in the evidence  because Thomas Bruce didn't give them to the committee. The man was bankrupt and owed taxes to the government. The sculptures were sold to the British Government to help pay this debt. The investigation was full of inconsistencies . Here is the report.

https://books.google.gr/books?id=NwUFAAAAYAAJ&lpg=RA1-PR1&ots=GiMElOqrbf&dq=lord+elgin+testified+1816+british+parliamentary+committee&hl=el&pg=PA35#v=onepage&q=lord%20elgin%20testified%201816%20british%20parliamentary%20committee&f=false

Misconception Three: The Greeks want the marbles back so why should they consider a loan? This point comes from backlash of the British Museum loaning one of the Sculptures to Russia.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/dec/05/parthenon-marbles-greece-furious-british-museum-loan-russia-elgin

I have put number four as an understanding of the sovereign right of the sculptures, because in history the British Museum did state that Greece didn't have anywhere to house the sculptures. True , that is why they built the Acropolis Museum. And that is where they need to be returned. 

The rest of the list details other misconceptions, and I will address them at a later date. 

The answer to the understandings for the return came from not just Greece, but from the people of Britain, as well as aboard. Here is one backlash, https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/nov/04/art-worlds-shame-parthenon-elgin-marbles-british-museums 

And not just Greece, but Egypt https://www.journeywonders.com/museums-owners-of-antiquity/ 

If  the sovereign status of the sculptures of the Parthenon were seen above any one nation's right then their true ownership would not be questioned as to where they belong. Many people voice this opinion over the internet, and they all agree that it is the place where they were made, Greece, Athens, and the Acropolis is where they should be housed.  The British ancient people didn't make these sculptures so why are they still in the British Museum?