In recent times, the debate about the Parthenon Sculptures and their return to Greece has flared up again. These are the antiquities that were taken from the Parthenon, the Temple of Victory and other archaeological sites in 1803 and 1812 by the Scottish diplomat Thomas Bruce Elgin (1766-1841). The Parthenon Marbles were purchased in 1816 by the British government and have since been in the British Museum in London.
Efforts to repatriate them began in the 1980s by Melina Mercouri and continue to this day.
In fact, UNESCO has announced that talks between the Greek and British governments will begin regarding the Parthenon Sculptures. Hopefully, if these talks are eventually held, the Marbles will return to our country, even after more than 200 years.
Of course, Elgin's actions have been stigmatized over the years by prominent figures of letters and arts around the world. One of the first of these was Lord Byron, who criticized Elgin in his poems Childe Harold (The Pilgrimage of Harold) and The Curse of Minerra.
What is not particularly well known is that in the debate in the House of Commons in 1816 on whether the English public should buy Elgin's stolen goods, there were many courageous voices that strongly criticised the Scotsman's banditry. Let's see more details.
Several MPs suggested that the marbles should be kept as a legacy and returned to Greece in due course. At the meeting of 23 February 1816 Lord Ossulton questioned whether an ambassador had the right to appropriate for personal benefit objects belonging to the country in which he was accredited. The Member for Newport complained that Elgin had committed flagrant larceny, and added: It was fitting that an English ambassador should steal what the Turks and other barbarians respected.
Elgin's attitude was also denounced by MP Abercrombie, who said that he had taken advantage of his office and acquired the treasures in order to resell them for personal enrichment. Congressman Babington called what Elgin did in Greece a robbery and added: If these antiquities arrived here by shameful methods we should have nothing to do with them. Congressman J. W. Ward condemned the taking of the sacred relics from this hallowed place that has inspired the admiration of so many centuries. At the meeting of 7 June 1816, Hugh Hammersley MP opposed the purchase of the antiquities by the State because Elgin had acquired the collection by dishonourable means; indeed, he raised the question not only of justice but also of legality. He said that Greece, based on the vagueness of the firman, should claim the return of the marbles.
He was laudatory against Elgin for stripping the most intimate temple in Greece of its masterly decoration and called the manner in which the antiquities were acquired inappropriate. Hammersley was also scathing against the British government for failing to prevent the looting of Athens' monuments and proposed that Parliament pass a resolution condemning Elgin's act and committing the British government to keep these marbles as a legacy until the current or future owners of Athens request their repatriation. And then, without formality or negotiation, it undertakes to reinstate them as far as possible in the places from which they were removed. Until then the marbles will be carefully preserved in the British Museum.
Hammersley finally accused the House of Commons Select Committee of Inquiry of refraining from imputing to Elgin any speculative motives and even proclaimed that his actions were in the national interest and that he had bestowed upon his country with toil and sacrifice some of the most important specimens of ancient sculpture.
Unfortunately, Hugh Hammersley, who had the courage in the House of Commons to criticize Elgin harshly and demand the return of the stolen antiquities to Athens as early as 1816, is unknown in our country and has never been honored in any way.
Finally, another MP who was laudatory against Elgin, S. Best, pointed out in his speech that what comes first is national honor.
Elgin, S. Best said, used the firkin given to him by the Ottomans to study the monuments, for plans and measurements, not to tear them down and plunder them. The powerful argument that led Elgin to success was the fancy pesquezes.
A crystal mirror, some guns and some other products of English industry persuaded the Beowulf of Athens to let Elgin's crews go unchecked in their destructive work.
Of course, the notorious firman given (?) to Elgin has never been found to this day in its original form. All that has been found is a translation of it in Italian O Best refuted the claim that if Elgin had not seized the sculptures, they would have been destroyed by the Turks. He said the Turks learned to appreciate the monuments of Athens by seeing so many foreigners from distant countries visiting to admire them. And when they learn that the British Treasury paid £35,000 to obtain from Elgin the antiquities he looted, they will appreciate them more
Finally, S. Best also replied to those who expressed in Parliament the opinion that the presence of Greek antiquities in England would contribute to a better study of art, saying: These works are best studied in the place where they are created.
Of course, there were others in the English House who held completely opposite views to those who had previously expressed them.
Hammersley's proposal for the return of the stolen artifacts provoked violent reactions, insults and derision. MP Crocer called the draft resolution for the return of the marbles ridiculous and was annoyed that many of his colleagues called the looting of Elgin a disgrace, looting, pillaging and bribery. He even said the Scotsman was worthy of praise for saving the artifacts from the Turks and Greeks.
Another MP, Banks, was celebrating because it was thanks to Elgin that the French government's seizure of the antiquities was thwarted and in response to the antiquities thief's critics he said: 'Weren't those monuments rubble? Our climate may be harsh, but if the sculptures had remained in place they would have been wiped out. The locals showed such scandalous indifference that they would set them on the mark with their rifles.
In the end, the vote in the House of Commons in favour of the purchase of Elgin's stolen objects by the English public was 82 MPs for and 30 against.
Epilogue
In the following years there were also voices in Great Britain for the return of the Parthenon marbles to Greece. Among the supporters of this view were the writer F. Harrison, the poet R. Casement, the historian W. Miller, etc. And of course there were also supporters of the opposite view, such as the architect James Knowles who in 1891 called the Greek people a mixed population and urged the government of his country to buy from starving Greece the remaining works of art in the country and transfer them to the metropolis of the world, England.
Let us hope that the discussions between Greece and Britain will bear fruit and soon the Parthenon sculptures will return, even after 200 years, to Greece.
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