The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of classical Greek art, and the Parthenon is considered an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, democracy, and Western civilization.
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 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.
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine,, often known as Lord Elgin, was a Scottish nobleman, diplomat, and collector, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures on the Acropolis of Athens.
Michael John Dobbs, Baron Dobbs is a British Conservative politician and author, best known for his House of Cards trilogy.
The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) is a group of British people who support the return of the Parthenon (Elgin) marbles to Athens, Greece. Members include Dame Janet Suzman (chairperson) and professors Anthony Snodgrass (honorary president), Paul Cartledge (Vice-Chair), and Andrew Wallace-Hadrill.
Sir Richard Peter Lambert is a British journalist and business executive. He served as director-general of the CBI, chancellor of the University of Warwick, editor of the Financial Times newspaper and chairman of the board of the British Museum.
Sir David Mackenzie Wilson, FBA is a British archaeologist, art historian, and museum curator, specialising in Anglo-Saxon art and the Viking Age. From 1977 until 1992 he served as the Director of the British Museum, where he had previously worked, from 1955 to 1964, as an assistant keeper. In his role as director of the museum, he became embroiled in the controversy over the ownership of the Elgin Marbles with the Greek government, engaging with a "disastrous" televised debate with Greek Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri.
Marbles Reunited: Friends of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles is a campaign group, governed by charter and funded by donations from members and supporters, which lobbies and raises awareness about the case for the return of the Parthenon (Elgin) marbles to Athens, Greece.
Greek–British relations are foreign relations between Greece and the United Kingdom. Greece and the United Kingdom maintain excellent and cordial relations and consider each other an ally with the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, paying an official visit to London in 2021. Greece and the United Kingdom are both members of the United Nations, NATO and the Council of Europe.
Dorothy Louise Victoria Lobel King is an American author who lives and works in England.
Karen Essex is an American historical novelist, a screenwriter, and journalist.
The Palermo fragment, also known as Fagan slab from the name of the artist and British consul Robert Fagan who owned it, is a 2,500-year-old marble sculpture fragment of the foot and dress of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis.
Ian Dennis Jenkins was a Senior Curator at the British Museum who was an expert on ancient Greece and specialised in ancient Greek sculpture. Jenkins published a number of books and over a hundred articles. He led the British Museum's excavations at Cnidus and was involved in the debate over the ownership of the Elgin Marbles.
John Henning was a Scottish sculptor who began his career as a carpenter. His masterpieces were the one-twentieth-scale models he created of the Parthenon and Bassae friezes. These took him twelve years to complete. Many others then copied this idea but he could not copyright the work of a long-dead artist, and could do nothing to prevent this.
Matthew Taylor is an architect and campaigner for the return of the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum to Athens, Greece.
Philip Hunt (1772–1838) was an English Anglican priest and antiquarian. Chaplain to Lord Elgin, he is now remembered as a figure in the history of the Elgin Marbles. Hunt applied bribery to acquire antiquities for export to Elgin's collection through agents. He also excavated at the Parthenon.
Archaeological looting is the illicit removal of artifacts from an archaeological site. Such looting is the major source of artifacts for the antiquities market. Looting typically involves either the illegal exportation of artifacts from their country of origin or the domestic distribution of looted goods. Looting has been linked to the economic and political stability of the possessing nation, with levels of looting increasing during times of crisis, but it has been known to occur during peacetimes and some looters take part in the practice as a means of income, referred to as subsistence looting. However, looting is also endemic in so-called "archaeological countries" like Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and other areas of the Mediterranean Basin, as well as many areas of Africa, South East Asia and Central and South America, which have a rich heritage of archaeological sites, a large proportion of which are still unknown to formal archaeological science. Many countries have antique looting laws which state that the removal of the cultural object without formal permission is illegal and considered theft. Looting is not only illegal; the practice may also threaten access to cultural heritage.
Imperial Spoils: The Curious Case of the Elgin Marbles is a 1987 book by Christopher Hitchens on the controversy surrounding the removal by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin of the Parthenon's sculptured friezes, and his subsequent sale of the Marbles to the British Museum. Hitchens examines the history of the artefacts and the question of whether they should be returned to Greece.
The Elgin Marbles is a 2006 book by American archaeologist Dorothy King about the 5th century BCE Classical Greek marble sculptures known as the Elgin Marbles.
The Mentor was a brig bought by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, in order to transport antiquities from Athens. The cargo included a significant number of sculptures from the Parthenon.
