Greece has argued for years that Britain should return famous sculptures from the Parthenon to Greece. The spectacular Elgin marbles, which make up about 60% of the surviving Parthenon sculpture, were taken from the Parthenon in Athens more than 200 years ago by Lord Elgin, then British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. They are currently housed in London's British Museum.
A new museum in Athens has been created in hopes that all of the Parthenon sculptures can be reunited in this specially designed building. The first carvings and architectural fragments from the Parthenon are being moved to the museum now, and places of honor will be kept for the Elgin marbles.
The British currently have no plans to return the sculptures, citing the number of visitors who see them in London each year (~6 million), and the excellent care they receive there.
Read full article at washingtonpost.com
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Our Greece tours for women begin in Athens, and you can see the Parthenon from the hotel's rooftop pool. I'm always on the lookout for interesting, relevant items, and will post whatever I find in our Greece category.
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1 pottery » Greeks go for all the marbles // Oct 14, 2007 at 10:07 pm
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