British Government shatters Greek belief that “Elgin Marbles belong to the United Kingdom”.

Greece has been trying for almost 40 years to stop the so-called Elgin Marbles to get back. Marble sculptures adorned the Parthenon, the great temple on the Acropolis in Athens, for more than 2,000 years.

Until they were taken to London by Lord Elgin, a British diplomat to the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century. Elgin said he got permission from the Ottoman rulers who were then occupying Greece. In all, he took a third of the sculptures with him.

Greece has always viewed the case as looted art. Some Britons share this view. Lord Elgin’s contemporaries accused him of vandalism or robbery. One of them was none other than the poet Lord Byron.

When Lord Elgin had money problems in London, he sold the marble sculptures to the British government, which were displayed in the British Museum and are still admired today. Since the opening of the new Acropolis Museum in Athens in 2009, Greece has been striving more than ever to get the “Elgin Marbles” back.

Meanwhile, a government spokesman expressed himself as more cautious. “We are still a long way from any announcement or final agreement,” he said.

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