June 18, 2005
Care of the Elgin Marbles & museum opening hours
Following on from the letter in The Times last week connecting the return of the Elgin Marbles with Britain’s 2012 Olympic Bid, there is a response claiming that what Elgin did was right as otherwise the marbles would not have survived.
This does not explain the high quality of the newly cleaned & restored frieze sections that went on display in the Acropolis Museum last year.
From:
The Times
June 16, 2005
Marbles not lost
From Mr Paul ChishickSir, If the Reverend Dr Nicholas W. S. Cranfield (letter, June 10) advocates the adoption of the Ancient Greek codes of xenia (hospitality), surely Lord Elgin’s actions are entirely justified? As we see in the Odyssey, the principal purpose of travel for nobles of the Homeric Age was the acquisition of treasure — whether it be by pillage or exchange of gifts.
As for the inconvenience of the British Museum, it does not charge admission. Greek sites (which do) are often, in my experience, closed with little notice. The very survival of the Elgin Marbles is due to their storage here, as can be seen by comparison with the caryatids left on the Acropolis.
PAUL CHISHICK
University College, Oxford
- The quality of the preserved west frieze : June 22, 2005
- Should the British Museum ‘share’ the Elgin Marbles? : January 29, 2006
- Greece wants Elgin Marbles returned for the 2004 Olympics : October 14, 2002
- Lasers used to clean the sculptures from the Acropolis : August 18, 2010
- The Acropolis Museum – A Greek success story four years on : June 19, 2013
- Images of the New Acropolis Museum : June 19, 2009
- The New Acropolis Museum will re-ignite the Elgin Marbles debate : October 15, 2008
- New Acropolis Museum opening budget cut : May 25, 2009