Rethinking the Greek Campaign to Repatriate the Parthenon Marbles: Problems and Complexities with Contested Cultural Heritage

Offering an incisive examination into aspects of the controversy regarding ownership of the marble sculptures infamously removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin in the early nineteenth century, this volume challenges long-held scholarly assumptions frequently made in support of the return of the artworks to Athens. With the fate of the Parthenon’s marbles thrust into the spotlight of international media attention over recent years as high-level talks have been underway in an effort to resolve the long-running dispute, this timely book exposes some of the historical inaccuracies and misleading information frequently passed off to academics, students and the general public in an effort to bolster support for the repatriation of the marbles to Greece. It is a volume that offers a fresh perspective on what has long been regarded as the touchstone case for disputes concerning contested cultural heritage.