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Article: Snatched from northern climes; Lord Elgin and the Parthenon marbles.(ownership over sculpture)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- June 27, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Greek demands to get back the Elgin marbles risk stopping a better idea: museums lending their treasures
THERE is much to be said for moral clarity. Greece is insisting that the British Museum surrender the marble sculptures that Lord Elgin took down from the Parthenon and carted away in the early 1800s. Anything less, it says, would "condone the snatching of the marbles and the monument's carving-up 207 years ago." The Greek demand for ownership will arouse widespread sympathy, even among those who accept the British Museum's claim to the marbles. With the opening of an impressive new museum in Athens (
), the sculptures from the Parthenon now have good ...