Further Elgin Marbles Row

As the opening ceremony for Athens’ new Acropolis Museum approaches, a new row has broken out over the ownership of the Elgin Marbles. According to reports such as this one from the Guardian, a British Museum spokesman told an Athens radio station that the museum would consider loaning the Marbles back to Greece for a short period of three to four months if Greece acknowledged that the British Museum legally owned them. Athens’ Minister for Culture replied in a forthright manner: “…agreeing to the condition [of ownership] would be like sanctifying Elgin's deeds and legitimising the theft of the marbles and the break-up of the monument 207 years ago. No Greek government could accept that." Meanwhile many of the people invited to represent Britain, including the Queen and Prime Minister, have turned it down.

Give your views on the Elgin Marble’s ownership.