Why is it in the News?

A diplomatic row sparked between Greece and the UK recently after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak canceled a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the status of the Parthenon Sculptures housed at the British Museum.

What are the Parthenon Sculptures?

• The Parthenon Sculptures at the British Museum are more than 30 ancient stone sculptures from Greece that are more than 2,000 years old.
• Most of them originally adorned the walls and grounds of the Parthenon temple on the rocky Acropolis hill in Athens.
• Completed in 432 BC, the temple is dedicated to the goddess Athena and is seen as the crowning glory of Athens’ Golden Age.
• While one notable sculpture, which is 75 meters long, depicts a procession for the birthday of Athena, others show gods, heroes, or mythical creatures.

How did the sculptures reach Britain?

• They were removed from the Parthenon in the early 19th century by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin and then-British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
• The marbles were taken to Britain and purchased by the British Museum in 1816.