Britain is keeping the Parthenon marbles purely out of self-interest and should have the guts to say so

by Pavlos Zafiropoulos

When asked by the Telegraph about George Clooney’s view that returning the Parthenon Marbles to Greece would be the ‘right thing to do,’ London Mayor Boris Johnson let loose a particularly moronic stream of words, saying,

“Here he is plugging a film about looted Nazi art without realising that Goring himself had plans to plunder the British Museum. And where were the Nazis going to send the Elgin marbles? To Athens! Thus Clooney is advocating nothing less than the Hitlerian agenda for London’s cultural treasures. He should stuff the Hollywood script and stick to history.”

According to this brilliant piece of reasoning, if Hitler – in between invading Poland and perpetrating the holocaust – had decided to help an old lady across the street, then today anything short of pushing old ladies in front of moving traffic amounts to a ‘Hitlerian’ agenda.

George Clooney attributed Boris’s notably witless argument to too many whiskeys. But whether he was drunk or not, the truth is that Boris Johnson’s argument shares an important characteristic with all of those made in favour of the Parthenon Marbles staying in London: it is totally contrived, self-serving, and no one really believes it.

There is ultimately only one reason that the marbles will not be returning to Greece anytime soon: because the British Museum doesn’t want to send them back. To pretend otherwise is just tiresome, offensive or idiotic.

It used to be that the marbles should not be returned to Greece because there was no museum to house them. After an award-winning museum was created under the Acropolis that would both protect the marbles and show them perfectly in context, the reason they had to stay in London changed. Now it is because they belong to the world’s ‘shared heritage’ and are best shown to the public in the British Museum which is free as opposed to the Acropolis Museum which has a five euro entry fee.

Because for the Australian or Canadian or South American who wishes to see ancient Greek monuments, the British Museum is so convenient and cheap to get to. Please. 

photo by Stuartpilbrow via Flickr

The marbles are not staying in Britain for their protection, it is not to better show them in the context of ‘world history’ (read: the other stuff we’ve picked up from other places), it is not because the British claim on them is more legitimate than the Greeks’ (it isn’t). It’s not because moving them is too dangerous, impractical or expensive.

The British Museum is adamant on keeping the Parthenon marbles for two simple and obvious reasons, firstly the marbles themselves are a draw and the centerpiece of the ancient Greek exhibit and secondly, and probably more importantly, returning the marbles would set a significant precedent for the return of artifacts, opening the British Museum up to claims from countless other countries.

In other words, Britain is keeping the marbles purely out of its own self interest.

And you know what? That is actually a legitimate choice that is entirely up to Britain. For better or worse the twists and turns of history brought the marbles to London. There are worse things that could have happened to them. And it will be London that decides their fate. Greece can request, complain or demand but will never be in a position to impose its will; it isn’t exactly about to launch an invasion or impose economic sanctions. And international bodies such as the UN and the EU have more important things to be totally ineffective about.

So the choice is entirely yours, Britain: If you want, you can keep the marbles from now until the end of time out of fear of what you will lose if you give them up.

Or you can be generous and set an example of magnanimity. Who knows? Perhaps the latter route may even be beneficial in the long run, opening up new doors of cultural sharing. Perhaps returning the marbles would increase the respect and understanding between cultures in the way that museums are actually supposed to. Perhaps new Anglo-Saxon exhibitions could take place on Greek soil and new Greek exhibitions in the UK, all catalyzed by a grand gesture.

I like to think so because that’s the world I’d like to live in.

But it’s up to you. Do what you want. Seriously. Just don’t claim that by hanging on to the marbles you’re doing anyone else a favour other than yourselves. It’s disingenuous and an insult to everyone’s intelligence, including your own.