It has been brought to my attention that the British museum is in possession of the Parthenon Marbles. It has also been brought to my attention that in September of 2003, construction began for the Acropolis Museum and Greece has been demanding the return of the sculptures because they are a product of theft. The Greeks will not stop requesting the return for what is rightfully theirs.

            Lord Elgin, a Scottish nobleman, took the marbles from the Acropolis in Athens in the year 1801 and then sold the marbles to the British government in 1816. Since then, the sculptures have fond shelter in the British Museum where they represent the Greek galleries of the museum as its centerpiece.

            The Parthenon was an ancient structure built sometime between 447 and 432 B.C.E. this time was considered to Golden age of ancient Greece. The Parthenon became symbolic of an epic battle won by Athens against a Persian invasion. The victory preserved the Athenians’ democracy. The temple was adorned in beautiful sculptures depicting the trojan war, and other mythological battles along with sculptures displaying the birth of Athena, and her conflict with Poseidon over the land that became Athens.

            It is understood that the British people claim they came to possess the marbles legally because the British government purchased them. However, morals aside, the Greek government believes the marbles were stolen from them and therefor need to be returned to Greece. The British Museum has used serval excuses.  One of these excuses was that Greece didn’t have a decent enough area to display the marbles.  This is clearly false as the Acropolis was built as a home for the marbles. The Acropolis Museum, which has been open since 2009, is among the most popular global cultural institutions with over 1.8 million visitors in 2019.

            The Prime Minister of Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said Greece is prepared to allow treasures that had never travelled abroad to be exhibited in London for the promise that the marbles will be returned to Greece as they are a massive part of Greek heritage and culture.