Impressed. We still can’t work out how they got moved there from Wales so moving them to Greece would have taken a Herculean effort (see what I did there…)!
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[News] We want our Marbles back, we want our Marbles back...
- Thread starter Giraffe
- Start date
Bob!
Coffee Buyer
- Jul 5, 2003
- 11,717
Didn't the people of Wiltshire get the stones from Wales, perhaps Stonehenge should be given back to the Welsh?
If we sold it to them, we'd have little complaint.
Should the US return Alaska to Russia?
Good point. Some of them are from Scotchland.
Worried Man Blues
Well-known member
Stolen I tell thee
You have more than made up for it by making us see Gareth Bale’s ugly mug over the years!
I also think we need to find the rightful historic owners of the original ‘gold stone’ and pay them reparations, compensation, naming rights etc etc.
Worried Man Blues
Well-known member
SHHH don't tell anyone!
I don't recall ever writing how long I'd been on holiday for.
In any case, I'd accept that was a reasonable point if there was some sense after those 300years that the Ottomans were indistinguishable from the Greeks and the rightful inheritors of ancient Greek heritage, but there wasn't. The marbles were removed only a couple of decades before Greek independence.
To be honest, the legality aspect of this doesn't really interest me. Having been to both the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum, I think the former is a much better and more impressive place to keep them. And my understanding is that the idea is that we'd get something/s in exchange for the British Museum to put on display instead, so it's not like we'd just be handing them over for nothing anyway.
Also, it clearly actually matters to the Greeks, whereas I really just don't care about the things and don't particularly see why I should.
maffew
Well-known member
No they didn't, Wales didn't exist
- Oct 17, 2008
- 15,023
Ahhh, those were the days
I think that’s where the negotiations have stalled, and although the full set of Demis Roussos’s stage costumes currently offered in exchange would definitely fill the space, there is an argument to say it’s not really like for like ….I don't recall ever writing how long I'd been on holiday for.
In any case, I'd accept that was a reasonable point if there was some sense after those 300years that the Ottomans were indistinguishable from the Greeks and the rightful inheritors of ancient Greek heritage, but there wasn't. The marbles were removed only a couple of decades before Greek independence.
To be honest, the legality aspect of this doesn't really interest me. Having been to both the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum, I think the former is a much better and more impressive place to keep them. And my understanding is that the idea is that we'd get something/s in exchange for the British Museum to put on display instead, so it's not like we'd just be handing them over for nothing anyway.
Also, it clearly actually matters to the Greeks, whereas I really just don't care about the things and don't particularly see why I should.
maffew
Well-known member
Depends if they are stolen goods or not.
Unsure how Elgin swindled them
Would probably be more interesting to be honest.
I'm pretty sure there's loads of this sort of thing going on involving different countries. I remember reading a couple of years ago that a German museum/government were looking at returning their Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. It's definitely not an issue unique to Britain.
Ultimately he was Scottish, looks like they are to blame for all of this!
dsr-burnley
Well-known member
- Aug 15, 2014
- 2,687
That's one of the eccentricities of the modern world. That UK which shed blood and cash to stop the slave trade should pay reparations to Africa, while African countries that profited from the slave trade should have those profits returned to them.
I agree Britain should not be paying reparations, though we could perhaps take part of the vast reparations that were still being paid to the estates of British slavers until relatively recently and send that.
I suspect the main issue here is handing them back would be an affront to the 'no surrender' contingent.I don't recall ever writing how long I'd been on holiday for.
In any case, I'd accept that was a reasonable point if there was some sense after those 300years that the Ottomans were indistinguishable from the Greeks and the rightful inheritors of ancient Greek heritage, but there wasn't. The marbles were removed only a couple of decades before Greek independence.
To be honest, the legality aspect of this doesn't really interest me. Having been to both the Acropolis Museum and the British Museum, I think the former is a much better and more impressive place to keep them. And my understanding is that the idea is that we'd get something/s in exchange for the British Museum to put on display instead, so it's not like we'd just be handing them over for nothing anyway.
Also, it clearly actually matters to the Greeks, whereas I really just don't care about the things and don't particularly see why I should.
It used to be argued when I was a lad, the Greeks are too stupid to know how to look after them.
Which is ironic given how badly we have f***ed some of them up.
In your dreams. Please don't float such bollocks as if it is about to happen tomorrow.
Albeit, to miss-quote Basil Fawlty, we did start it (the Africa/America/Bristol slave trade)
That said, William Wilberforce meant we were also the first to get cold feet. Hooray for us.
It’s being reported in the Times that Sir Keir will not let the Government get involved with any decisions the British Museum will be taking about the marbles meaning that they are free to negotiate their return to Greece.
Unlike predecessors such as Sunak and Johnson who recognised the opportunity to inflame the culture war and turn gammon a deeper shade of red, Starmer presumably thinks there are more important things to discuss with the Greek PM. Look out for a frothing Farage asking a question about this at PMQs today (if he is not in the States).
Unlike predecessors such as Sunak and Johnson who recognised the opportunity to inflame the culture war and turn gammon a deeper shade of red, Starmer presumably thinks there are more important things to discuss with the Greek PM. Look out for a frothing Farage asking a question about this at PMQs today (if he is not in the States).