The Parthenon Marbles: The Case for Reunification

by Christopher Hitchens (Author)

• New

  Illustrated
  2008

  $29.23

  The opening of the New Acropolis Museum in Athens in spring 2008 provides the opportunity to re-state the case for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens. The British Museum's long-standing objection that there is nowhere in Athens to house the Marbles is answered in emphatic style. Meanwhile, decisions concerning the restitution of cultural artefacts are increasingly recognized as of national importance, and are no longer left solely to curators and museum directors. With new contributions from leading authorities, this new edition of Christopher Hitchens' elegantly argued and characteristically forthright book will make a powerful contribution to ensuring that the Marbles return to their place of origin.

• Used

  Paperback
  1998

  $20.87

  The Elgin Marbles, designed and executed by Phidias to adorn the Parthenon, are some of the most beautiful sculptures of ancient Greece. In 1801 Lord Elgin, then British ambassador to the Turkish government in Athens, had pieces of the frieze sawn off and removed to Britain, where they remain, igniting a storm of controversy which has continued to the present day. In the first full-length work on this fiercely debated issue, Christopher Hitchens recounts the history of these precious sculptures and forcefully makes the case for their return to Greece. Drawing out the artistic, moral, legal and political perspectives of the argument, Hitchens's eloquent prose makes The Elgin Marbles an invaluable contribution to one of the most important cultural controversies of our times.