King George III was the ruler of England from 1760-1820. The 7th Lord Elgin obtained the marbles about 1811.
The Elgin Marbles were originally part of the Parthenon temple in Athens, Greece. They were removed by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century and are currently housed in the British Museum in London. Greece has been requesting their return for many years.
They are reliefs cut out of blocks of marble in the 430s BC.
I presume you mean the Elgin marbles. They are a large part of the relief sculptures, which adorned the Parthenon temple in Athens since the 5th century BC. They were removed from ther by Lord Elgin, Englishman. They are now in the British Museum, London.
The Elgin Marbles, which are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures that adorned the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens, are housed in the British Museum in London. They were acquired in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. The sculptures have been a subject of controversy and debate regarding their ownership and repatriation to Greece.
Lord Elgin
The Elgin Marbles, a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures, have been the subject of dispute between Greece and the United Kingdom since the early 19th century. Greece argues that the marbles were taken illegally from the Parthenon and should be returned as a matter of cultural heritage and national pride. The UK contends that Lord Elgin acquired the marbles legally and that they have been preserved and displayed in the British Museum. This disagreement reflects broader themes of colonial legacy, cultural ownership, and the ethics of museum collections.
The controversy derives from the different Greek and British views as to who should own the Elgin Marbles. From the Greek perspective, the marbles used to be part of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece and Greece maintains they should be returned there since they are a part of Greek cultural heritage. Britain says Lord Elgin was allowed to remove these from the Acropolis by the Ottoman Turkish government that was in power at the time that Elgin made the request. Therefore, the British legally removed them, even though the Greeks at that time were not consulted. Also these marble reliefs would have been destroyed by now if they had been left in their original place because of the various wars that were fought in Athens since Elgin took the marbles out of Greece. So Britain has preserved the Elgin marbles for 200 years and ought to keep them.
The Parthenon, an ancient temple on the Acropolis of Athens, is owned by the Greek state. It is a significant cultural and historical monument, and its management falls under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture. There has been a long-standing debate regarding the ownership of the Parthenon Marbles, originally taken by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, with Greece seeking their return from the British Museum.
Under the instruction of Lord Duveen, the Elgin Marbles undergo regular cleaning. This 'cleaning' maybe the cause of the damage as it is under a great deal of controversy. It may be that the tools they use to clean them with are the cause of the damage.
The Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis in Athens was adorned by a marble relief frieze, 160 m long. It depicted a festive procession in Athena's honor. Large parts of it were taken down and shipped to England by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador, in 1803. This collection is now in the British Museum, London.
British Ambassador to Turkey Lord Elgin, visiting Turkish-owned Greece, visited Athens and found most of the Parthenon statuary, through neglect, fallen down on the ground and broken. He paid the local Turkish governor for the right to collect and take them, and sent them to England, where they found safe refuge in the British Museum.
The friezes of the Parthenon, which depicted various mythological and historical scenes, were largely removed in the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin. These artifacts were transported to Britain and are now housed in the British Museum, where they are commonly referred to as the Elgin Marbles. Greece has long sought their return, arguing that they are an integral part of its cultural heritage and should be displayed in their original context. The friezes remain a point of contention in discussions about cultural repatriation.