Elgin Marbles, collection of Greek marble sculptures taken from Athens to London in 1806 by the British diplomat Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin. The chief pieces are from the frieze and tympana of the Parthenon. They were executed under the supervision of the 5th-century bc master Phidias, regarded by many as the greatest Greek sculptor of the Classical period. On display at the British Museum, the Elgin Marbles are considered one of the finest collections of Greek sculpture in existence.

One portion of the Elgin Marbles, from the decorative frieze above the Parthenon’s exterior columns, represents figures taking part in a procession held annually in honour of the mythical goddess Athena, protector of Athens and to whom the Parthenon was dedicated. Relief carvings on metopes (panels) show battle scenes from Greek mythology, such as contests between Greeks and Amazons. A number of metopes depict the battle between the people of Lapith and the centaurs. Most of these reliefs show two figures in combat. Also among the Elgin Marbles are several over-life-size figures from the pediments at either end of the temple. The identity of the three goddesses from the east pediment remains disputed, but the subject appears to be the birth of Athena. In all there is 75 m (247 ft) of the original 160 m (524 ft) of frieze; 15 of 92 metopes; 17 figures from the pediments; and various other pieces of architecture, including items from other buildings on the Acropolis, such as a caryatid, or column carved to resemble a young woman, which originally came from the Porch of the Maidens of another temple, the Erechtheum.

The Elgin Marbles are the source of much controversy because of uncertainty over the motives and legality of Elgin’s actions. The Ottomans, who then ruled Greece, had used the Parthenon for storing weapons and gunpowder, and in 1687 a Venetian army, at war with the Ottoman Empire, had fired on the Parthenon causing great destruction. While ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in 1799, Elgin sent a team of men to Athens, initially to sketch and take casts of the sculptures on the Parthenon. However, over a period of time this initial plan evolved into the removal of many of the sculptures with the intention of housing them in his newly built home in Scotland. Elgin himself first saw the sculptures during a visit to Athens in 1799. He secured permission from the Ottoman sultan to remove “any pieces of stone with old inscriptions or figures thereon”. Exactly what that permission encompassed is unclear. The frieze, which was carved directly on the building was taken down and cut into pieces for shipping.

Whether his were the actions of a self-serving aristocratic diplomat, or whether he was genuinely motivated by a desire to rescue the works of art from destruction is unknown and much debated. As the only remaining hard evidence of Elgin’s agreement with the powers of the day is an Italian translation of the permit he received, the legality of the sculptures removal is uncertain and continues to be disputed. Even at the time, Elgin was criticized by some for depriving Greece of priceless national treasures, and lauded by supporters for securing their future and enabling others to view them. What is known is that he suffered financial difficulties on his return to Britain and after a long struggle persuaded the British government to buy the marbles in 1816 and place them in the British Museum. The first examples of high Classical Greek sculpture to be seen in England, the Elgin Marbles inspired an enthusiasm for Greece and its art in both the Romantic poets and the English public. See Greek Art and Architecture.

The Greek government has long campaigned for the return of the sculptures to Athens. In 1940 a member of the British Parliament recommended the return of the marbles, but the motion was turned down. Greek authorities continue to press for the return of the sculptures, which they claim constitute a national treasure that should be displayed together. As Greece’s minister of culture from 1981 to 1989 and from 1993 to 1994, the former actress Melina Mercouri was perhaps the most vocal critic campaigning for the return of the Elgin Marbles.

Other Parthenon sculptures left behind by Lord Elgin are now on display in Athens. In 1999 a team of experts revealed that an attempt to clean the statues with metal scrapers during the 1930s had severely damaged them.