An ancient artefact is back in the news this week – and no, we’re not talking about another Indiana Jones film.
The future of the Elgin Marbles – 2,500-year-old monuments from a decorated Athenian temple – was a talking point around this time last year during the Greek PM’s last UK visit.
There were calls then for the British Museum, which has held them since the early 19th century, to return them – and those have been reignited with Kyriakos Mitsotakis is back in London.
He’s meeting Sir Keir Starmer today – but Number 10 has said returning the marbles is “not on the agenda”.
What are the Elgin Marbles?
They are 17 sculptures which are 2,500 years old.
They were part of a frieze that decorated the Parthenon temple at the Athenian Acropolis, regarded as one of the world’s greatest monuments.
The iconic sculptures are seen as symbols of freedom in Greece, where they are known as the Parthenon Marbles.
How did they end up in Britain?
British diplomat Lord Elgin removed the sculptures from the imposing Parthenon temple in the early 19th century.
At the time, he was the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which then ruled Greece, and claimed he had been given permission by the Ottomans for the transfer of the marbles.
Despite the vast documentation from that period, there’s no evidence to support his actions – which were divisive at the time.
He sold them to the UK government in 1816 before the marbles were passed into the trusteeship of the British Museum.
When did the dispute begin – and how did it unfold?
The controversy can be traced back to when the marbles first arrived in Britain due to the criticism of their removal.
Then in 1832, Greece gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire before setting about trying to recover the sculptures and other artworks which had been taken from the country.
In the early 1980s, Greek minister for culture Melina Mercouri made it her mission to secure the return of the marbles, and put pressure on the museum and the British government up until her death in 1994.
In 2009, Greece stepped up its campaign for the return of the marbles after opening a museum at the foot of the Acropolis.
Come 2014, human rights barrister Amal Clooney called on Britain to start talks with Greece on the return of the Elgin Marbles.
In 2015, Greece ruled out taking legal action against the UK, but the issue reared its head again in May 2020 when another former feature of the temple’s eastern frieze was returned to Greece from a museum in Italy.
What has been the reaction in the UK?
In 2022, there were calls to make it easier for UK museums to consider returning cultural objects – but these were rejected by the government.
It came after then prime minister Boris Johnson told the Greek premier that the issue was “one for the trustees of the British Museum”.
Then at the beginning of December, George Osborne, the chair of the British Museum, was reported to have been holding secret talks with the Greek prime minister over the possible return of the marbles.
The negotiations between the former chancellor and Kyriakos Mitsotakis have been taking place in London since November 2021, according to Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea.
The Greek PM has called for the sculptures to be transferred on many occasions, even offering to loan other treasures to the British Museum.
What has been said about a possible deal?
Downing Street and the British Museum have repeatedly poured cold water over any hopes of a returns agreement.
Memorably, Rishi Sunak even cancelled a meeting with the Greek PM around this time last year because of the dispute.
Keir Starmer criticised that move at the time and set up a meeting himself, though he also said the marbles were a matter for the Greek government and British Museum.
That remains his position today.
