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Metope from the Parthenon marbles depicting a Centaur and a Lapith fighting
The Elgin Marbles is the popular term for the Parthenon Marbles, a large collection of
marble sculptures brought to Britain between 1801 and 1805 by
Lord Elgin, who had ordered them
removed from the Parthenon in Athens.
They are currently housed in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery of the British Museum, London.
The Elgin Marbles include some of the statuary from the pediments, the Metope panels depicting battles between the Lapiths
and the Centaurs, as well as 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: 247 feet from the original
524 feet of frieze; 15 out of 92 metopes; 17 partial figures from the pediments, as well as other pieces of architecture. Elgin's
acquisitions also included objects from other buildings on the Athenian Acropolis: the Erechtheum, reduced to ruin during the Greek War of Independence (1821-33); the Propylaea, and the Temple of Athena Nike.
It should be noted that Lord Elgin was neither to first, nor the last, to disperse elements of the marbles from their original
location. The remainder of the surviving sculptures that are not in museums or stores in Athens are held in museums in various
locations across Europe. The British Museum also holds additional fragments from the Parthenon sculptures acquired from
collections that have no connection with Lord Elgin.
When the marbles were shipped back to Britain, there was much criticism of Elgin (who had spent his entire fortune on the
project) but also much admiration of the sculptures. John Keats was one of
those who saw them privately exhibited, hence his two sonnets about the marbles.
However Lord Byron strongly objected to their removal from Greece. Some scholars, notably Richard Payne Knight, insisted that the marbles dated from the period of the Roman Empire, but most accepted that they were authentic works from the studio of
Phidias, the most famous ancient Greek sculptor. They were eventually purchased by
Parliament for the nation in 1816, for a much lower sum than Lord Elgin had been asking.
The marbles were subsequently bequeathed to the British Museum, where
they were displayed in the Elgin Saloon (constructed in 1832), remaining there until the
Duveen Gallery was completed in 1939.
There has been considerable debate over what should now be done with the marbles. Although Elgin's motives in removing them
from a hazardous environment may have been of the best, many people, especially the Greek government, feel that they should be
returned to Athens and displayed in a museum on the Acropolis site. However, no consensus has been reached and the British Museum
strongly defends its right to own and display the marbles.
Section of a frieze from the Parthenon Marbles
At present, approximately two thirds of the frieze is in London and a third remains in Athens. Considerable debate surrounds
the meaning of the frieze but all agree that it depicts the Panathenaic procession that paraded through Athens every four years. The procession on the frieze
culminates at the East end of the Parthenon in a depiction of the Greek Gods
who are seated mainly on stools, either side of temple servants in their midst. This section of the frieze is currently
under-appreciated as it is split between London and Athens, a doorway in the British Museum masking the absence of the relevant
section of Frieze. An almost complete copy of this section of the Frieze is displayed and open to the public at Hammerwood Park near East Grinstead in Sussex.
See also
- British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon
Marbles
External links
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