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The Parthenon Marbles – transported or stolen?

Greece’s Education Ministry plans to stop using an art history book, which describes the Parthenon Marbles as having been transported to England, rather than giving more detail of how Lord Elgin removed them from the country, in circumstances of questionable legality, which are still disputed today.

It appears that in large part, the reason for making this decision now, is due to the fact that there is an upcoming general election in the country, and that the wording in this book was recently drawn to public attention by a politician from the main opposition party.

Parthenon Marbles in British Museum [1]

Parthenon Marbles in British Museum

From:
Kathimerini (English Edition) [2]

Wednesday Jan 14, 2015
Education Ministry to scrap schoolbook with ‘monstrous’ Marbles reference

Greece’s Education Ministry plans to scrap an art history schoolbook which was recently criticized of misrepresenting the history of the the 5th-century B.C. Parthenon Marbles, now housed in the British Museum.

Education Minister Andreas Loverdos said the book with the “monstrous reference” would no longer be used at schools as of next year, while teachers across the country had received instructions on how to correctly present the subject.

The book, which was published in 2003, only mentions that the treasures, which comprised roughly half the 160-meter-long frieze on the Parthenon, were “transported” to Britain without explaining that they were taken away illegally.

The sculptures were removed in 1801 by Scottish nobleman Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin and British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, who then sold them to the British government. Greece has campaigned to get them back.

The British Museum, which was given the Marbles “in perpetuity” has refused to return them on the grounds they were acquired by Elgin through a legitimate contract with the Ottoman Empire that then ruled Greece.

Controversy over the book arose following recent allegations by SYRIZA lawmaker Tasos Kourakis. “It is unthinkable that students are being taught that the Parthenon Marbles were ‘transported’. They were violently extracted from their monument,” Kourakis said.