Mr Hunt supported the argument advanced by the British Museum, which says there is a need for collections like its own which allows many different cultures to be compared.

The museum says the division of the sculptures between London and Athens "allows different and complementary stories to be told about the surviving sculptures, highlighting their significance within world culture and affirming the place of Ancient Greece among the great cultures of the world."
Stephen Fry Stephen Fry said he wanted Britain to show "grace and decency"

It should be a source of pride to the Greeks that the sculptures, as a symbol of Greek culture, were such an important part of the British Museum's collection where it could be compared with exhibits from other civilisations, said Mr Hunt.

He feared that restoring the Marbles could lead to a "purge" of museums in which "tit-for-tat recoveries" of objects by their countries of origin would lead to a "global loss of appreciation and understanding".

He said the Marbles had been legally acquired with a permit from the Ottoman empire and the Greek government had never challenged their ownership in an international court.

But Stephen Fry said the argument did not apply because Greece was an occupied country at the time.

Fine, if this happens I want every piece of Native American artifice returned to our shores.

So tell me again... where is this 'theft'. The current 'owners' gave the items away and the current 'owners' have never made a legal claim for it.

The owners at that time gave it away. End of story.

And since we now control America (the way the Ottoman Empire controlled Greece) we get to do what we want with the stuff we find here... and if we can do that, then the Ottoman Empire, which Greece was a part of for 623 years, can do what they want with what they own. (BTW, that's almost three times as long as the united States has been in control of these lands!) The modern Greeks government has only been in existence since 1922.

I don't know why you have a hard-on for this. Greece has yet to bother even acting in it's own behalf on the issue yet you think that because some actor gets behind a cause the world should jump to it.

I didn't address your other points because they are based on fallacy (Brittan stole nothing) and simply not worth addressing.

I am saying that people in America (or London, or Japan) should be able to take advantage of accessible museums to experience small wonders of antiquity without jaunting around the world. The modern Greeks have only slightly more in common with ancient Greeks than the modern Egyptians have anything to do with ancient Egypt. Bloodlines disperse and diffuse throughout history, I would be willing to wager that at least 75% of all Caucasians are descended from an ancient Greek. Why should one set of arbitrary borders determine who gets to claim ownership of something created 2,500 years ago?

You don't think Native American art or Colonial artifacts are displayed around the world? Really? Inca an Aztec gold was plundered long before the idea of Archeology was even considered... do we get that back too?

I don't think they stole anything. They legally obtained it from the authority that controlled that land for 500+ years. Further, the 'aggrieved party' (Greece) has done nothing to claim ownership in 90 years... so do they even believe as you and Griffin do, that it was stolen? Doubtful.

Well... what more can I say.

Yes... they did. They were part of the Ottoman Empire at the time and without the Allies winning WWI and the Treaty of Sèvres, they would still be part of the Ottoman Empire.

Even after they gained there independence, the Greek government has never claimed the Marbles were stolen. That's something you and this half-baked actor have made up.

The Nazi's were a government that stole from individuals, those individuals under the power of treaty have worked to reclaim there own losses. If the Germans got the Jews to sign away their property and then everybody wanted everything returned to Israel (without that state ever making legal claim for them) then you would have a parallel... but you don't.

What could be said is that all Nazi treasures, taken and distributed as spoils of war should be returned to the German people. Hell, at least in that case we're talking about the same people and not just a geographic location!

You seem to know alot about those, yet have no concept of adverse possession and how it effects individual property owners, much less nations that have been 'occupied' for half a millennium.

How you can defend the Greeks (WHO BTW, HAVE YET TO TRY TO GET THE PIECES BACK IN ANY WAY) while ignoring the 'legitimate' property ownership of the Native Americans is mind boggling.

If you remain petty and contentious I'll start treating you as the asshole you're being.

For over 600 years (including the years the British were allowed to take the marble) the Greeks were not in control of their nation either. They were part of the Ottoman Empire.

Unless... you have obtained the permission of the ruling authority, at which point it is no longer looting.

I may not hold a popular position, but at least I'm in good company (from your link)

The British Museum has basically said “no” to the Greeks. Their official position, as given on their website in 2009, is:

“The British Museum’s Trustees argue that the Parthenon Sculptures are integral to the Museum’s purpose as a world museum telling the story of human cultural achievement. Here Greece’s cultural links with the other great civilizations of the ancient world, especially Egypt, Assyria, Persia and Rome, can be clearly seen, and the vital contribution of ancient Greece to the development of later cultural achievements in Europe, Asia, and Africa can be followed and understood. The current division of the surviving sculptures between museums in eight countries, with about equal quantities present in Athens and London, allows different and complementary stories to be told about them, focusing respectively on their importance for the history of Athens and Greece, and their significance for world culture. This, the Museum’s Trustees believe, is an arrangement that gives maximum public benefit for the world at large and affirms the universal nature of the Greek legacy.”

The British Museum has also claimed they have a right to keep the Elgin Marbles because they effectively saved them from further damage. Ian Jenkins was quoted by the BBC, while associated with the British Museum, as saying “If Lord Elgin did not act as he did, the sculptures would not survive as they do. And the proof of that as a fact is merely to look at the things that were left behind in Athens.” Yet the British Museum has also admitted that the sculptures were damaged by “heavy handed” cleaning, although the precise level of damage is disputed by campaigners in Britain and Greece. Pressure continues to build.

I have no skin in the game and at this point the discussion is taking a down slide. Since I generally respect you and your opinions I am going to leave it at this and bow out before it gets any nastier.