Douglas Murray on the British Museum and the Elgin Marbles #britishmuseum #elginmarbles #politics

[ericbrown]

I would rather send George Osborne to Greece but I am not sure that even the Greeks would accept him.

[francisbrewster]

The famous《Venus》 statue
(Now in the Louvre i think)
---- it was saved from the lime kilns by an individual British traveller
Marble is burnt to produce lime powder

[stuartgrier]

The Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece, and they should remain there permanently

[padzzz]

If British Museum is to send all of its exibitions back to their original countries, they would have to renamed it British Air Museum

[mogbrown]

On a River Nile cruise we had a rather gifted Egyptian guide who was both a keen historian and an archaeologist. Young English people on the tour with us were very keen to show him how aware they were of our countries robbery of other countries historical artefacts and were calling Lord Elgin a thief and a corrupt robber he was. The guide was having none of it. He said that Lord Elgin had, at his own expense, saved the Elgin marbles from complete destruction as they had just been left to rot and decompose on the hillsides. He valued their history and importance and had saved them. How sad that someone from another culture has to teach English people about the significance and value of enlightened people within their own cultural history. Greece has only recently noticed their value?

[Wonda]

They don't want to give back the things they stole because "they look after it better"

[ElCampiador]

Douglas has just demonstrated the level of incompetence within the British Government.

[aphroditekerylidis]

First of all they’re not the Elgin marbles, they are the Parthenon marbles!!!! And the British museum should return them without the Greeks giving anything back, the British along with the Germans stole artefacts and gold throughout history. Shameful if you ask me.

[lawrencesmallman]

Didn’t Elgin buy the marbles when the Greeks wanted money for weapons? If they were bought, why should they be returned. One of the mosques I saw in Thessaloniki had been turned into an alcohol warehouse, it’s 14th century Arabic and Ottoman inscriptions almost entirely erased. Didn’t note much concern.

[jsjs]

Elgin Marbles? Since when a stolen asset takes the name of the thief?

[arthurwright]

Does anyone ever take into consideration what would have happed to many of the relics the museums around the world care for if they were never collected?

[scottn]

Traitors to out lands are in power . Think, grow, resist . Together we are strong

[JMKeynes]

What is the more appropriate home for the Elgin Marbles: Athens where, created by sculptor Phidias, they decorated the iconic Parthenon for 2200 years or a room in a London Museum where they have been for the last 200 years?

[arcabuz]

Why is a bad idea to return to Greece what belongs to them?

[cilla]

I wouldn't trust any negotiation with George Osbourne.

[wilfredruffian]

Had the marbles remained in Greece, they would have been destroyed.

[Gazman]

They should remain in The British Museum. Lord Elgin acquired them legally, with barely an eyebrow raised in Greece at the time, but now they are considered to be a treasure Greece wants them back. Nah, fuck that. Will all other museums around the world, Greece included, return their treasures? Of course they won't.

[mattrobert]

If you give us our shit back we'll send you some other interesting things you can look at

Posh man:well this is outrageous they probably won't give back the thing we rightfully stole from them

[stevenwatsham]

The way that I read it is that a well aimed cannon ball from a neighbouring hillside was shot at the Parthenon of which was being used as a gunpowder store at the time and the resulting explosion blew the roof of along with the marbles!..
Lord Elgin was the only one interested in them at the time and dug them out of the rubble..
If the Marbles had not been collected up and preserved they would have ended up scattered to the four corners of the world..
Either that or ground up for cement..

[stephfoxwell]

Lord Elgin was gifted the Marbles by the then owner, the Ottoman Sultan.