Elgin Marbles
The Elgin Marbles are a collection of Ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures from the Acropolis of Athens, removed from Ottoman Greece in the early 19th century and shipped to Britain by agents of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and now held in the British Museum in London. The majority of the sculptures were created in the 5th century BC under the direction of sculptor and architect Phidias.
The term Parthenon Marbles or Parthenon Sculptures refers to sculptures—the frieze, metopes and pediments—from the Parthenon held in various collections, principally the British Museum and the Acropolis Museum in Athens.
From 1801 to 1812, Elgin's agents removed about half the surviving Parthenon sculptures, as well as sculptures from the Erechtheion, the Temple of Athena Nike, and the Propylaia, sending them to Britain in efforts to establish a private museum. Elgin said that he removed the sculptures with the permission of the Ottoman officials who exercised authority in Athens at the time. The legality of Elgin's actions has been disputed.
Their presence in the British Museum is the subject of longstanding international controversy. In Britain, the acquisition of the collection was supported by some, while others, such as Lord Byron, likened Elgin's actions to vandalism or looting. A British parliamentary inquiry in 1816 concluded that Elgin had acquired the marbles legally. Elgin sold them to the British government in that year, after which they passed into the trusteeship of the British Museum. In 1983, the Greek government formally asked the British government to return them to Greece and listed the dispute with UNESCO. The British government and the British Museum declined UNESCO's offer of mediation. In 2021, UNESCO called upon the British government to resolve the issue at the intergovernmental level.
The Greek government and supporters of the marbles' return to Greece have argued that they were obtained illegally or unethically, that they are of exceptional cultural importance to Greece, and that their cultural value would be best appreciated in a unified public display with the other major Parthenon antiquities in the Acropolis Museum. The British government and the British Museum have argued that they were obtained legally, that their return would set a precedent which could undermine the collections of the major museums of world culture, and that the British Museum's collection allows them to be better viewed in the context of other major ancient cultures and thus complements the perspective provided by the Acropolis Museum. Discussions between British and Greek officials are ongoing.
Name
The Elgin Marbles are named after the 7th Earl of Elgin, who, between 1801 and 1812, oversaw their removal from the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Temple of Athena Nike and the Propylaia and their shipment to England. By an act of parliament, the British Museum Act 1816, the collection was transferred to the British Museum on the condition that it be kept together and named "the Elgin Marbles". The term "Parthenon Marbles" or "Parthenon Sculptures" refers to the sculptures and architectural features removed specifically from the Parthenon. These are currently held in seven museums around the world, principally the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum. The term "Parthenon Sculptures" is used in this sense by both the British Museum and the Greek government.Mario Trabucco della Torretta argues that while "Elgin Marbles" is the legal name of the collection, those advocating restitution prefer "Parthenon Sculptures".
Background
The Parthenon was built on the Acropolis of Athens from 447 BCE as a temple to the goddess Athena. It is likely that Phidias was responsible for the sculptural design. In subsequent centuries the building was converted into a church and a mosque and the sculptures were extensively damaged, although the building remained structurally sound. During the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, the defending Turks fortified the Acropolis and used the Parthenon as a gunpowder store. On 26 September 1687, a Venetian artillery round ignited the gunpowder, and the resulting explosion blew out the central portion of the Parthenon and caused the cella's walls to crumble into rubble. Three of the four walls collapsed, or nearly so, and about three-fifths of the sculptures from the frieze fell. About 300 people were killed in the explosion, which showered marble fragments over a significant area. For the next century and a half, portions of the remaining structure were scavenged for building material and many valuable objects were removed.Acquisition
In November 1798, the Earl of Elgin was appointed as "Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Britannic Majesty to the Sublime Porte of Selim III, Sultan of Turkey". Before his departure to take up the post, he had approached officials of the British government to inquire if they would be interested in employing artists to take casts and drawings of the sculptured portions of the Parthenon. According to Elgin, "the answer of the Government ... was entirely negative."Elgin decided to carry out the work himself, and employed artists to take casts and drawings under the supervision of the Neapolitan court painter, Giovanni Lusieri. Although his original intention was only to document the sculptures, in 1801 Elgin began to remove material from the Parthenon and its surrounding structures under the supervision of Lusieri. According to a Turkish local, marble sculptures that fell were being burned to obtain lime for building, and comparison with previously published drawings documented the state of rapid decay of the remains. Pieces were also removed from the Erechtheion, the Propylaia, and the Temple of Athena Nike, all inside the Acropolis.
They were brought from Greece to Malta, then a British protectorate, where they remained for a number of years until they were transported to Britain. The excavation and removal was completed in 1812 at a personal cost to Elgin of £74,240. Elgin intended to use the marbles to enhance the art of Britain, and his ultimate goal had been for them to be purchased by the Government.
To build the case for the public expenditure, Elgin bought a house in London and set up the sculptures there as a private museum, making them accessible to artists, and eventually, the public. Elgin resumed negotiations for the sale of the collection to the British Museum in 1811, but talks failed when the government offered only £30,000; less than half of his expenses relating to them. The following years marked an increased interest in classical Greece, and Elgin procured testimonials from Ennio Quirino Visconti, director of the Louvre, and Antonio Canova of the Vatican Museums, who affirmed the high artistic value of the marbles. In 1816, a House of Commons Select Committee, established at Lord Elgin's request, found that they were of high artistic value and recommended that the government purchase them for £35,000 to further the cultivation of the fine arts in Britain. In June 1816, after further debate, parliament approved the purchase of the marbles by a vote of 82–30. The marbles were transferred to the British Museum on 8 August.
Description
The marbles acquired by Elgin include some 21 figures from the statuary from the east and west pediments, 15 of an original 92 metope panels depicting battles between the Lapiths and the centaurs, as well as 75 metres of the Parthenon frieze which decorated the horizontal course set above the interior architrave of the temple. As such, they represent more than half of what now remains of the surviving sculptural decoration of the Parthenon.Elgin's acquisitions also included objects from other buildings on the Athenian Acropolis – a caryatid from the Erechtheion; four slabs from the parapet frieze of the Temple of Athena Nike; and a number of other architectural fragments of the Parthenon, Propylaia, Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike – as well as the Treasury of Atreus in Mycenae.
The British Museum also holds additional fragments from the Acropolis, acquired from various collections without connection to Elgin, such as those of Léon-Jean-Joseph Dubois, William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, and the Society of Dilettanti.
Legality of removal from Athens
In February 1816, a House of Commons Select Committee held public hearings on whether Elgin had acquired the marbles legally and whether they should be purchased by the government. In his evidence to the committee, Elgin stated that the work of his agents at the Acropolis, and the removal of the marbles, were authorised by a firman from the Ottoman government obtained in July 1801, and was undertaken with the approval of the voivode and the dizdar. In March 1810, another firman was obtained, authorising the second shipment of marbles from Athens to Britain. Elgin told the committee, "the thing was done publicly before the whole world... and all the local authorities were concerned in it, as well as the Turkish government".The committee cleared Elgin of all allegations that he had acquired the marbles illegally or had misused his powers as ambassador. Elgin's version of events, however, remains controversial. No official record of the July 1801 firman has been found in the Turkish archives. The original document was still in Athens in 1810, where it was seen by English writer John Galt, and was probably destroyed with the voivode's archives during the outbreak of the Greek Revolution in 1821. An Italian translation of the purported firman is held by the British Museum, and an English translation was submitted to the 1816 Select Committee. The document states in part,
Vassilis Demetriades, of the University of Crete, argues that the document is not a firman, or a buyruldu, but a mektub from the Sultan's acting Grand Vizier which did not have the force of law. Dyfri Williams states that although the document is not a firman in the technical sense, the term was widely used informally in diplomatic and court circles to refer to a range of official Ottoman documents. He argues that the document is possibly a buyruldu, but "hatever the exact form of the document was, it clearly had to be obeyed, and it was." Historian Edhem Eldem also argues for the likely authenticity of the document and calls it a firman in the broad meaning of the word.
There is debate over whether the document authorised Elgin's agents to remove sculptures attached to the Parthenon and other structures. Demetriades, David Rudenstine and others argue that the document only authorised Elgin's party to remove artefacts recovered from the permitted excavations, not those still attached to buildings. Williams argues that the document was "rather open ended" and that the civil governor agreed with the interpretation of clergyman Philip Hunt—who was attached to the party as Elgin's chaplain—that allowed them to remove sculptures fixed to buildings. Beard concludes, "No amount of poring over the text can provide the answer. As often with documents sent out from head office, the precise interpretation would rest with men carrying out the orders on the spot."
Legal academic John Henry Merryman argues that the document provides only "slender authority" for the removal of the fixed sculptures, but that legally Elgin's actions were ratified by the conduct of Ottoman officials. In 1802, Ottoman officials in Constantinople issued documents to the civil governor and the military commander of Athens ratifying their conduct and, in March 1810, issued a command allowing Elgin to transport a shipment of marbles from Greece to Britain.
Legal academic Catharine Titi states that Sir Robert Adair reported that the Ottomans in 1811 "absolutely denied" that Elgin had any property in the sculptures. Legal scholar Alexander Herman and historian Edhem Eldem state that documents in the Turkish archives show that this denial was only a delaying tactic for reasons of diplomacy, and that the Porte eventually granted permission for the transport of the marbles to Britain later in 1811.
A number of eyewitnesses to the removal of the marbles from the Acropolis, including members of Elgin's party, stated that expensive bribes and gifts to local officials were required to ensure their work progressed. Williams states that it was normal for the Disdar to be paid for access to the Acropolis and that an exchange of gifts with the voivode was normal practice. In a 2025 study, Mario Trabucco della Torretta argued that bribes were not behind the permission as the evidence cited for bribery records amounts paid after the removal had already been completed.
Merryman argues that, even if proved, bribery would not have rendered the acquisition of the marbles illegal by the standards of the time:
Rudenstine, states that further investigation would be required to determine whether, at the time, bribery would have been a significant legal consideration in such official transactions under Ottoman or British law. Herman argues that bribing officials was illegal under British and Ottoman law at the time, but that the Porte took no action against its officials in Athens and therefore tacitly tolerated their actions.
In May 2024, a spokesperson for Turkey, which is a successor or the continuing state of the Ottoman Empire, denied knowledge of the firman and stated that Turkey supported the return of the marbles. The spokesman stated that the marbles' removal was carried out by "UK colonialists", adding: "I don't think there's room to discuss its legality, even during the time and under the law of the time." In response, archaeologist Mario Trabucco della Torretta stated that the firman never left Athens, that scholars such as Rudenstine and St Clair consider that the British copy of the firman is genuine and that it is arguable that it did grant Elgin permission to remove the sculptures.