Britain Eyes Return of Marble Statuary That Once Topped Athens’ Parthenon

ATHENS — The famed Elgin marbles that once formed part of the iconic Parthenon atop the Acropolis could soon be heading back to Athens from their current abode in the British Museum, but not necessarily on a one-way ticket.With Greek legislative elections six months away, how and when one of the world’s most intractable disputes comes to a resolution will almost certainly have a political impact that resounds beyond museum walls in either London or Athens.The fate of the renowned statuary looms large in the Greek public consciousness. In advocating for their return, a famed Greek actress, Melina Mercouri, who served as Greece’s minister of culture for many years in the 1980s and 1990s, once said, “You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are the supreme symbol of nobility.”Calls for their return to Greece have intensified in recent years. Prime Minister Mitsotakis even mentioned it in a speech he delivered to a joint session of the U.S. Congress last May.The story of how the 21 figures from the Parthenon’s pediments sculpted by Phidias some 2,450 years ago, along 246 feet of the Parthenon frieze, ended up in the British Museum is well known: In 1801, Lord Elgin set about removing the mostly loose statuary from the Acropolis with the consent of the Ottoman Empire. They now form an integral part of the collection of the world-renowned British Museum.Lingering debate about the legality of the acquisition that Lord Byron decried as “pilfered prey” has receded and the literally weighty matter of getting the marbles back to their original home is at the fore.An editorial in the Times of London last week indicated the chairman of the British Museum, George Osborne, has warmed to a compromise that would allow the sculptures to return to Athens “on an open-ended loan in return for shorter loans of exhibits stored at the Acropolis Museum.” Such a proposal would “circumvent the obstacle presented by the fact that the trustees of the British Museum own the friezes and are prevented by law from giving them away.”In a press statement, the British Museum said, “We’re actively seeking a new Parthenon partnership with our friends in Greece, and as we enter a new year constructive discussions are ongoing.” The contours of a long-term loan could resemble those of a deal struck last year between Greece and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art for the progressive return to Athens of 161 ancient artifacts, in exchange for others going to the Met. In that deal, the process could last until 2048, and the artifacts do not carry the same psychological weight as those from the Parthenon.What has truly stymied the marbles’ Acropolis-bound trajectory to date is less about bureaucracy than culture. Ancient treasures such as the Parthenon statuary have long been regarded in Britain as part of what makes the British Museum a universal institution. As a sign of how difficult it is to part with what is a legitimate portion of a world-class collection for some but is considered loot by others, a museum official insisted last year that much of the frieze had been removed not from the Parthenon itself, but from the rubble around it. “These items were not all hacked from the building as has been suggested,” the museum’s deputy director, Jonathan Williams, told delegates to a Unesco meeting. Indeed, should the carved figures and frieze be returned to Athens, they would be put on display in the Acropolis Museum and not reinserted on the fragile ancient temple itself. The museum has already set aside gallery space for the artifacts. As of yet, though, no official announcement has been made nor a timeline of eventual return proffered. According to Greek press reports, Mr. Osborne, who is also a former Tory politician and newspaper editor, has held secret negotiations with Greek officials over the past year. This is where the plot thickens, and not only because Prime Minister Sunak is reportedly cool on any adjustments to British law that might be necessary to cut the treasures loose.It is because even if London relinquishes its grip on the antiquities, the fine print could turn into the making or unmaking of Mr. Mitsotakis, who faces a challenging re-election campaign. Should he be able to wrangle full restitution of the goods, it will be considered a coup and give a boost to his poll numbers, which though robust are wobbling under pressure from opposition socialist parties that have capitalized on a wiretapping scandal and other domestic issues. If Greece is granted a deal as part of a long-term loan, though, the narrative would put London, and not Athens, in the driver’s seat. That is something upon which Mr. Mitsotakis’ chief rival, Alexis Tsipras of the radical left Syriza party, a former premier, will surely pounce. Mr. Mitsotakis is well aware the stakes are high. There has been speculation in the Greek press that the subject of the Elgin marbles was evoked during the premier’s meeting with King Charles at Windsor Castle in November. The Greek news site Newsbreak was unsparing in its assessment, stating that “if we judge by Mitsotakis’s performance in his secret diplomacy with Erdoğan, we should expect the same disastrous results with regard to the sculptures of the Parthenon which were stolen by Elgin and are still owned by the thieves of the British museum.”More substantively, Newsbreak pointed out that because Greece does not actually recognize British ownership rights over the marbles, the agreement now ostensibly under discussion “constitutes a betrayal of history and of the permanent positions of Greece.”No one can say that the Greeks don’t love a good drama, but how this one ends — if it actually ends — will have repercussions across the political spectrum as Greece swings into election mode.

Britain Eyes Return of Marble Statuary That Once Topped Athens’ Parthenon

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