It's also a bunch of horseshit, because the Acropolis museum in Athens is absolutely phenomenal and clearly shows that Greece is capable of caring for them adequately.
Indeed. That was not the case 20 years ago (when I first saw those pamphlets on "Why we're not giving these back"), but today the Acropolis Museum is absolutely stunning. It sits at the base of the hill, and the top floor is oriented the same as the Parthenon. It contains all of the meropes and other art, laid out as if you were able to walk right up to it in its original site. It's an extraordinary exhibit, and your appreciation of the Acropolis will be vastly enhanced by visiting.
Some pieces are original; others are reproductions of pieces held elsewhere. (It's not just the British Museum, but also the Louvre and Berlin Museum.) Those museums should do a 1:1 swap: the reproductions for the originals. The originals should all go back to where they belong.
I do actually respect the British Museum as a museum of British Empire, which was a noteworthy historical event in itself. The theft of artifacts is itself history at this point. But they have plenty of pieces to display that, which interfere less with Greece's need to recover from colonization -- including connecting to its own great past.
jfengel|3 years ago
Some pieces are original; others are reproductions of pieces held elsewhere. (It's not just the British Museum, but also the Louvre and Berlin Museum.) Those museums should do a 1:1 swap: the reproductions for the originals. The originals should all go back to where they belong.
I do actually respect the British Museum as a museum of British Empire, which was a noteworthy historical event in itself. The theft of artifacts is itself history at this point. But they have plenty of pieces to display that, which interfere less with Greece's need to recover from colonization -- including connecting to its own great past.