Elgin Marbles
A collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures removed from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin in the early nineteenth century, now housed in the British Museum
The Meaning of Elgin Marbles
The Elgin Marbles comprise roughly half of the surviving sculptural decoration of the Parthenon, the temple of Athena on the Athenian Acropolis. They include sections of the frieze depicting the Panathenaic procession, metopes showing battles between Lapiths and centaurs, and figures from the east and west pediments. The sculptures were created under the direction of the master sculptor Pheidias between 447 and 432 BCE, during the golden age of Pericles. In 1801, Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin and British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, obtained a permit to remove sculptures from the Parthenon. Over the following years, his agents detached and shipped numerous pieces to Britain. Elgin sold the collection to the British government in 1816, and they have been displayed in the British Museum ever since. Greece has long campaigned for their return, arguing they were removed under dubious authority and belong in Athens alongside the remaining sculptures in the Acropolis Museum.
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Fun Fact
The debate over the return of these sculptures to Greece has lasted over two hundred years and remains one of the most prominent cultural repatriation disputes in the world
Explore Further
Venus de Milo
💭 conceptClassical sculpture
An ancient Greek marble statue believed to depict Aphrodite, discovered on the island of Melos in 1820 and now among the most famous works of antiquity
Laocoön and His Sons
💭 conceptHellenistic sculpture
A monumental marble sculpture depicting the Trojan priest Laocoön and his two sons being strangled by sea serpents sent by the gods
Parthenon Frieze
💭 conceptClassical relief sculpture
A continuous low-relief marble band running around the inner chamber of the Parthenon, depicting the grand Panathenaic procession in honour of Athena
Dying Gaul
💭 conceptHellenistic sculpture
A Roman marble copy of a lost Hellenistic bronze depicting a wounded Gallic warrior in his final moments, celebrated for its dignified portrayal of a defeated enemy
Kritios Boy
💭 conceptEarly Classical sculpture
A marble statue of a nude youth dated to around 480 BCE, considered the earliest known sculpture to use the contrapposto stance that defines Classical Greek art
Doryphoros
💭 conceptClassical sculpture
A bronze sculpture by Polykleitos depicting a spear-bearer, created around 440 BCE and regarded as the definitive embodiment of the Classical Greek canon of proportions
Nike of Samothrace
💭 conceptHellenistic sculpture
A monumental winged marble sculpture of Nike, the goddess of victory, carved around 190 BCE and displayed at the Louvre since 1884
Hermes of Praxiteles
💭 conceptClassical sculpture
A marble statue found at Olympia in 1877 depicting Hermes holding the infant Dionysus, attributed to the sculptor Praxiteles and dating to the fourth century BCE
Chryselephantine Statues
💭 conceptart, worship
Monumental cult statues made of gold and ivory over a wooden frame, the most prestigious form of Greek religious art, including the two greatest lost masterpieces of antiquity.
Aphrodite of Cnidus
💭 conceptClassical sculpture
A marble sculpture by Praxiteles created around 350 BCE, celebrated as the first life-sized female nude in Greek art and one of the most copied statues of antiquity
Discobolus
💭 conceptClassical sculpture
A bronze sculpture by Myron depicting a discus thrower frozen at the peak of his backswing, created around 450 BCE and celebrated for capturing athletic motion in a single instant
Peplos Kore
💭 conceptArchaic sculpture
An Archaic Greek marble statue of a young woman wearing a peplos garment, dated to around 530 BCE and found on the Athenian Acropolis