Many people visit the Parthenon Sculptures in London since they represent the ancient Athenian civilization. They reveal how largely Greece influenced other nations it confronted, and how it got impacted by them as well (“The British Museum, n.d”). Although Parthenon Marbles attract many individuals, there have been endless debates on whether the British Museum should keep or give them back to Athens. Some argue that the marbles should be returned since they were removed from the Parthenon at Athens as well as other ancient buildings, and then shipped to England (Doyle, 2018). Moreover, some individuals argue that the monuments originate from Athens and that Greece deserves to possess them. Others claim that they should not be returned as half of the Parthenon statuaries are lost, and those that have remained are found in different museums (“The British Museum”). Thus, these contradicting issues have led to numerous discussions regarding whether the monuments should be returned to Greece.
Although people present various ideas concerning the sculptures, one can argue that they should be returned to Athens. Moreover, the British government revealed that the monuments originate from Greece (Angouri et al., 2017). Therefore, it would be ethical for them to be given back to Athens. The idea that Greece has no place to store them is not valid since the Greek government can build a new museum to store them and gain revenue from the visitors. Returning the statuaries would also be of great significance to both countries since it could improve their relationship. Additionally, there is a high possibility that Lord Elgin stole the Parthenon marbles from Greece. Consequently, the British government should return them since they are some essential elements of Greek history.
References
Angouri, J., Paraskevaidi, M., & Wodak, R. (2017). Discourses of cultural heritage in times of crisis: The case of the Parthenon Marbles. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 21(2), 208-237. Web.
Doyle, A. (2018). “The Essence of Greekness”: The Parthenon Marbles and the construction of cultural identity. Scripps Senior Theses. Web.
Parthenon Sculptures-the Trustees’ statement. The British Museum. n.d. Web.