Here’s the debate in a nutshell: the Parthenon is perhaps the
most famous icon of Athens. Between 1801 and 1812, during the
Ottoman occupation of Greece, Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of
Elgin removed many of the Parthenon’s sculptural elements and
took them to London. The so-called Elgin marbles now reside in
the British Museum. Greece would like to have the Elgin marbles
back, and has just opened the New Acropolis Museum in Athens to
house them. The argument for returning them is more than simply
an appeal to return art to its land of origin. As a single work
of art, proponents, say, the Parthenon cannot be fully
understood unless the pieces are seen together. Why keep them in
London? Some argue that their safekeeping in London has
protected them from looting, weathering, and other damage that
might have occurred in the intervening years. But the British
Museum admits that they have suffered from the act of removal,
from overzealous cleaning, and from the 19th century pollution
of London. It’s safe to assume t