Pathenon Marbels - Stolen by British

Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 76

Please read the story bellow. It shows how the English actually believe, if you buy something of Person B, who stole it from Person A. Then you actually own it.
The Brits knew they "bought" stolen goods, but still insist it is theirs.

Agglika Bastards.

Anyway, here is the article:

Quote:

RETURN THE PARTHENON MARBLES TO GREECE SAYS PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE

A cross-party parliamentary committee has waded into one of the world's longest-running and most controversial diplomatic disputes, urging the Government to ask Britain to return the Elgin marbles to Greece.

The foreign affairs select committee said yesterday it had completed consideration of a petition from Bruce Blades and 1020 others urging the Government to push for the marbles' return.

The committee recommended: "That the Government ask the British Government to consider sympathetically the generous Greek offer of joint ownership of the marbles to facilitate their return to Athens."

The report was written by MPs from Labour, National and the Greens, representing more than 100 MPs of the 121-seat Parliament.

According to Greek authorities, the marbles were stolen from the Parthenon building in the Acropolis complex in 1806 by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire which occupied Greece at the time.

But London has always denied Greek claims to ownership and maintains that the marbles were bought legitimately from the Ottoman authorities.

Britain also backs the claims of some archeologists that the marbles would be in danger if they were returned.

The Greek Government has dismissed the claims that the foundations of the Acropolis monument in Athens are threatened by rainwater that has seeped into the soil of the ancient citadel.

Of most concern is the fifth-century BC Parthenon temple, which had its roof destroyed during a 17th century siege of the Acropolis by Venetian forces.

The Acropolis, a World Heritage site, has been undergoing restoration for more than 20 years. The majority of the work is expected to be completed by late 2006.

My suggestion. When England get the olympics, refuse to hand over the flame. Exclamation

Joined: 27 Jun 2006 Posts: 65 Location: Hellas

No doubt that the marbles were illegally stolen, but the British museum is full of accesories from all over the world. If they start giving back to Greece, Italy, China, India, Egypt etc. all the artifacts they stole when their empire flourished, the museum will really become an empry building.

You suggestion is good, and they are many ways like the one you mentionted through we can solve the related problems, but our goverment is pathetic.

Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 76

My beef is England are always first to lecture the world about morals and how bad nationalism is and how bad invasion is....
Yet they profit so much from their conquests of the past!

They should either shut up and stop lecturing other nations, or hand this stuff back and lecture away..... GRRrrrr..

Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 76

Good news!

Quote:

A rare silver coin celebrating the most famous murder of antiquity was handed over to Greek Culture Ministry officials, after a groundbreaking deal that allowed its repatriation from Britain.

The tiny coin, a denarius issued in 42 B.C. by Brutus, the chief assassin of Julius Caesar, is one of only 58 in the world. Greek authorities say it was illegally excavated in Greece, and sold last year by two Greek suspected smugglers to London's Classical Numismatic Group Inc.

Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis hailed the 2,000-year-old artifact's return on Tuesday as an important success in Greece's struggle to reclaim smuggled antiquities.

"This has great significance ... and is a forebear of future repatriations as part of our fight against illegal excavations and antiquities trafficking," he said Tuesday.

The Roman coin - which weighs only 0.1 ounces - was returned after Greek officials initiated legal action against the British dealership, based on a European Union directive on the return of cultural goods illegally removed from the territory of a member state.

Voulgarakis said the Classical Numismatic Group unconditionally handed over the denarius this month to a lawyer representing the Greek state, after Greece was able to prove it had been illegally excavated.

The coin was issued by a mobile military mint used by Brutus to pay his soldiers during the wars that followed Caesar's assassination in 44 B.C. by a group of his friends and proteges - immortalized in Shakespeare's play, "Julius Caesar."

Decorated with the head of Brutus on one side and a pair of daggers flanking a cap on the other, the denarius carries the inscription Eid Mar - short for the Ides of March, or March 15, the date of Caesar's murder.

A denarius equaled a Roman legionary's daily pay.

Hopefully this gets the ball rolling on the Pathenon marbels case.

Joined: 07 May 2009 Posts: 3

1) There removal by Elgin was done in such a manner that the fresco was vandalized. No admirer of history would have resorted to such butchery.
2) The heritage of the marbles is Hellenic primarily, and humanities secondly. Therefore there rightful home is and has always been the land from which it was pillaged.
3) It was not ethical then, nor is it now, to invade and take others property. The argument the English use; that it was sold by a legitimate Government because usurping empires were commonplace - is invalid. To draw parallel it is like saying rape was okay in the middle-ages because we did not have the women's rights movement.
4) Athens also would do just as good a job at preserving them. Nations have the right to control their own heritage.

It is often said, what the would happen to the great museums if all works of art and heritage were returned to the rightful owners. This is no more a valid argument than saying; what would happen to the Somali pirates if we took their boats.

Following the trend of change and the awakening of Europe to correcting its horrible past, I would not be surprised if that in my generation I saw the marbles returning to their rightful-home.