Should the Elgin Marble be moved?

June 5th, 2013

Today our class discussion was on the Elgin Marbles. Before today I had never heard of the Elgin Marbles and the contribution to history, let alone the to the British Museum. Upon today I found out that there is a debate as to if the Marbles should stay at the British Museum or be sent back to Greece where they derived from.

A little pre-historty I found out about the Marbles. The Marbles are actually named  after the Earl of Elgin which retained them from Greece during the 1800's. The Earl of Elgin saved these ancient artifacts from being ruined and not properly maintained. After which Parliament bought the Marbles off of him and put into the British Museum. For a more informative history you can hit the British link above.

Now the debate is should the Marbles go back to the Parathion or should they remain where they are. The British Museum has done a wonderful job at keeping them safe and preserved. My view on the topic is that they should stay with the Museum. The Marbles were given to the Earl of Elgin he didn't take them. I also think that if we start giving back everything that Museums like the British Museum have obtained over the years then when does it stop and doesn't that defeat the purpose of Museum that incase artifacts from all over the world for people to see. London is one of the biggest cities in the world, wouldn't more people see the Marbles if they stayed in London? Another point is that moving them, what if an accident happened while moving them, what if someone tried to steal while being shipped? These are all question the Museums would need to take in account and the people in charge of the Marbles. They do belong to the city of London right now.

Another alternative would be to share them, but as stated before you risk so much with moving them to and foe. If I had a say in the matter if they stayed or went back I would vote for them to stay. They have a nice home in the British Museum, they are well taken care of and maintained.

I can however see the opposing side, the Marbles do originate from Greece. It would be nice for them to be back with the Parathion as a more of a completed set. My only issue is I feel that they would be viewed more in London then in Greece and also the dangers of traveling.

Since starting this blog one of my flat mates actually got to go see the marbles and he again stressed that how well they were being protected very well and even proposed that copies be made and put into the Parathion. Which I think would be a wonderful idea. When it comes down to the debate of the Marbles being moved we have to keep in mind what will be best for these Marbles, there great pieces of man kinds history.