The Parthenon marbles should be returned to Greece, according to Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins, who argues that it is "simply wrong" for the British Museum to hoard the sculptures, which were acquired in 1816.
Jenkins draws a parallel with the Bayeux tapestry, which he says is British and should remain in the British Museum, but he uses this as a joke to illustrate what he believes the museum fears might happen if it lent the marbles to Athens. "I am joking, of course. This is largely what I assume the British Museum is worried might happen if it lent the precious Elgin, or Parthenon, marbles to Athens," he writes.
Greek prime minister's argument
In a Guardian article last month, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis argued that the status of the Bayeux tapestry is parallel to that of the Parthenon marbles. "Both were conceived as single works, intended to be seen and understood as a whole," he wrote, saying it was time for the marbles to be reunited.
The British Museum director, Nicholas Cullinan, appeared to agree, remarking that the Bayeux tapestry loan offered a "glimmer of possibility" of a deal on the marbles.
History of the dispute
Jenkins recalls the 1980s clash between the then director, Sir David Wilson, and Greece's then culture minister, Melina Mercouri, who demanded "I want my marbles back" in front of TV cameras. He notes that a majority of Britons think the marbles should go back to Greece.
There was a breakthrough in 2022 after George Osborne became the museum's chair and opened negotiations with Athens, but the objective was "certainly confused", says Jenkins. The prospect of a return has since been "bedevilled by politics and diplomacy", with Greece rejecting any arrangement requiring it to recognise the museum's ownership, and Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak both opposing a change in the law.
Political reversals
Jenkins highlights that Andy Burnham, who was a champion of the marbles' return during his time as culture secretary and in 2002 sponsored a private member's bill on facilitating their transfer, has now reversed his position. In 2023, as mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham declared: "Send them back, no strings attached. And let's use culture to change how Britain is seen around the world."
Jenkins also notes that the British Museum is lending two minor Parthenon fragments to an exhibition in Frankfurt's Liebieghaus museum in November, which has infuriated Athens, reportedly leading it to refuse to lend nine fragments to the same exhibition. Talks are reportedly back to stalemate.
A call for action
Jenkins concludes that Greece should drop its obsession with formal "ownership" and London should dispatch its 17 pediment sculptures on indefinite loan to Athens. "Then, together, all of Europe can rejoice," he writes.
