Why does the British Museum have the Elgin marbles?

How did they come to the British Museum? By the early 19th century, the Ottoman Empire had been the governing authority in Athens for 350 years. Lord Elgin was the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and successfully petitioned the authorities to be able to draw, measure and remove figures.

Why does the British Museum have the Elgin marbles?

How did they come to the British Museum? By the early 19th century, the Ottoman Empire had been the governing authority in Athens for 350 years. Lord Elgin was the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and successfully petitioned the authorities to be able to draw, measure and remove figures.

Why the British Museum should keep the Elgin marbles?

Housed in the British Museum, the marbles serve a far larger audience in London than they would if they were sent back to Athens. In this way, visitors may appreciate the technical and artistic genius of the marbles next to other objects from different times and places.

Why won’t Britain return the Elgin marbles?

The legality of the statues is still highly disputed between the U.K. and Greece, with Greek officials arguing that due to the Ottoman’s occupation, the decree was not valid and the Ottomans had no authority over the Parthenon, therefore the marbles should be returned to Athens.

What was the importance of the Persian wars?

The Persian Wars (499-449 BCE) were fought between the Achaemenid Empire and the Hellenic world during the Greek classical period. The conflict saw the rise of Athens, and led to its Golden Age.

What was the most important battle of the Persian wars?

Several of the most famous and significant battles in history were fought during the Wars, these were at Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea, all of which would become legendary.

Why did Lord Elgin take the marbles?

“Elgin believed he was rescuing the sculptures from the risk of further damage,” writes Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, in The Times on Friday. Elgin, an art lover, claimed the sculptures were better off in Britain than the perilous environment he found them in.

Who stole the Elgin marbles?

Thomas Bruce

Did Lord Elgin have permission to take the marbles?

The committee’s second question to Hunt was, “Did you ever see any of the written permissions which were granted to [Lord Elgin) for removing the Marbles from the Temple of Minerva?” Hunt answered, “Yes.” He then stated that the original document had been sent to Athens but that he had an Italian translation of the …

How did Sparta defeat Athens?

Pericles decided to use some of the league’s money for his own use. Some city-states did not support the alliance and created an anti-Athens alliance with Sparta. Athens was powerful at sea with their navy (Sparta didn’t have a navy). Sparta was able to defeat Athens at sea, and Athens surrendered.

Did Lord Elgin pay for the marbles?

Despite objections that Lord Elgin had “ruined Athens” by the time his work was done in 1805, the British Government purchased the marbles from him in 1816. They’ve been housed at the British Museum ever since.

What was the relationship of Athens and Sparta in the Persian wars?

In the Persian Wars, in the first third of the fifth century BCE, Athens and Sparta were begruding allies who cooperated to help repel the Persian invasion of mainland Greece.

Did Sparta help Athens Persian War?

The Spartans prevented the Athenians from forming an alliance with the Persians between 605-511 B.C. to stop the growing empire from nearing Greece and finding Greek allies.