The Man Who Stole The Parthenon Sculptures

Greece and the UK have been allies for over 2 centuries, but one dispute keeps simmering in the background... The Elgin Marbles debate.
In 1802, Lord Elgin who was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire managed to pull off one of the biggest artistic heists in history.
He secured a formal permission by the Ottomans to take the sculptures adorning the Parthenon from antiquity.
He took those sculpture back to Britain, where they still live today in the British Museum.
Greece wants them back, but the British Museum has been refusing this request from the beginning.
This video explores the story of Lord Elgin, who he was, how he managed to do this, and how the sculptures ended up in the British Museum.
The video also explores the main talking points on both sides of this debate. Should they stay in Britain? Or be sent back to Greece?

Written, Edited and Narrated by Jordan Amit

Historical Reconstructions by:

Nikita Tomilo
3D Modeling & Animation


Dimitris Tsalkanis
Ancient Athens 3D

Special thanks to Marco Tranchino for the British Museum footage.

0:00-1:14 - Introduction
1:15 - 5:58 - Who was Lord Elgin?
5:59 - 7:17 - Ad Break
7:18 - 10:25 - Return to Greece argument
10:26 - 16:29 - Keep in Britain argument

#ancientgreece #parthenon #acropolis #greekhistory #greekheritage #greekart #greece #athens #ancientgreek #ancientgreeks #arthistory #lordelgin #elginmarbles

[AlexAmit-hz]

This video was extremely well presented. A great piece of history was provided in a very clear, sharp and interesting way. I am glad to be exposed to this part of the history which I was not aware of. Please create more of those lost historic places and events.

[WilliamSarginson]

I reckon they should have a collaboration of stonemasons from around the world to recreate the sculptures as a celebration of cultural heritage.

[JerryFisher]

My overall take on the issue of the return is that everyone is getting bogged down in historical semantics. What does it matter if he was taking the marbles for himself or not? What does it matter why they were removed? The end result would always be the same. They were removed, period. The past can't be changed, and arguing endlessly about it doesn't serve any useful purpose. All the parties involved should put aside the arguments and historic grievances, and deal directly with the logistics of what to do today. I understand that everyone in the controversy has a passion and a point of view to frame their position, but does it serve any tangible, consequential purpose? Just get on with the here and now today, which can be changed.

[lobodawg]

All items should be returned to Greece.🇬🇷

[pietervoogt]

My very subjective argument: I have seen them in London and I think they look isolated and sad. Formulated in a less subjective way: because they are so damaged, they need a lot of context to give you a picture of the culture they were part of. Only Greece can give that context.

[FreeTibetFTW]

Wonderful video, kudos to you sir. I really like this channel and have enjoyed every video it has been posted in.

[joseeduardotschen]

It was a terrible thing to take them away and how they did it. But on the other side, they wouldn’t be around if Elgin had not removed them.
I think they should stay as a reminder of what happened in the past.

[SkBettty]

6:19 When you make me lol during an ad, imma click over to it even if I don’t buy it. 😂✌️

[Nick-ixij]

Very informative video, I read a little information about Elgin Marbles before, but understood little, and now after watching this video, everything fell into place, thank you!

[markaxworthy]

Elgin's motives are irrelevant to the discussion today. All that matters is the legality, or otherwise, of his actions.
Not noted here is that the Greek War of Independence two decades later was largely financed in Britain. It should also be noted that Greece defaulted five times over the following century, (1826, 1843, 1860, 1894 and 1932), and each time the cost was largely borne in London. Overall, the UK has not been inimicable to Greek national interests and the marbles are a historical footnote.

[adolfoformoso]

Should give back to Greece, as the Turkics was the invade too. That monument is very important to Greece, as "Stone Age" is to Britain.
All the stolen pieces of British Museum has to give back too.

[PiedFifer]

I’m surprised the Ottomans didn’t destroy every single marble. Thank you Lord Elgin.

[Grzegorz_]

Fantastic! I love your channel. My favorite is the Ephesus series but others videos are great too! I like how you explain the place's history over the centuries.

[Vickeymouselover]

I see both arguments but as an Irishman I gotta side with Greece. Screw colonialism

[andreavgr]

Elgin deceived everyone on Kythira as well (the island at which they were shipwrecked for 4 years). He used the local sponge divers and everyone he could to get them out of the wreck not showing his true intent and the sculptures sat for 4 years at the port exposed to the elements, waiting for the ship to take them to Britain. The argument that they were kept in good condition has also been disproven plus the British museum has had many scandals including antiquities stolen from inside their own warehouses and being sold on ebay. They have already 3d scanned the sculptures and could have exact matching copies to display. The Parthenon sculptures are not just any Hellenic antiques. Countless of other Hellenic antiquities have been stolen by Northern Europeans over the years. We are not fighting to get them all back. We need the Parthenon sculptures because they are defining our city's cultural significance and are the utmost symbols of Athenian democracy and democracy in general. With that said, Britain has generally been a good friend to our troubled nation and there is no hate whatsoever between our peoples. Most British I've spoken to in my lifetime agree they should be returned. I certainly hope I get to see it in my lifetime.

[Peter-ewdf]

It is hard to deny that what Lord Elgin did was all negative, as he likely saved many of the Parthenon's statues and important pieces from further destruction. However, Greece did not have a choice in the matter at the time, and returning them now is the right thing to do. Britain already has tremendous amounts of preserved English artifacts, castles, and manor houses of its own to see, not including all of the great pieces in its museums from other cultures. The Parthenon is one of the most important cultural heritages of ancient Greece, and they would have likely never given up these statues if they had remained independent. If anything, marble copies can be kept in the British museum too. I don't think anybody would suffer if the statues there weren't the originals.

[overallthis]

Another fantastic video! High quality and well articulated and presented. Am a fan

[Kujien]

I think he stole them and by doing so incidentally saved them. Much like the Ancient Egyptian artifacts that were being destroyed by these same people. They had no respect for the history of the people that live there before. Now that the original owners are back in power in Egypt and Greece I do think its right to give them back.

[richardaltares]

Very nice and well detailed video of the history of the Parthenon i learned a lot of new information 😊 i hope you also make a video about the history of ancient delos 😊

[olbiomoiros]

The only reason the marbles in London look like that is because they are bleached. Pentelic marble is supposed to have a sand like colour over time.