The UK already owns the Elgin marbles, so why not buy the rest of the Parthenon and solve Greece’s money troubles, asks Joshua Gelernter.
Greece is $380 billion is debt. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has responded to an EU-IMF reform-for-aid plan by announcing that the “Greek people should be proud, because the government is not going to give in to absurd proposals.” So everything’s on track for a midsummer collapse. But Britain, if so inclined, could help stave off disaster for the beleaguered Greeks.
For the last few years, amidst her financial crisis, Greece has flirted with the idea of selling off state historical assets. Since Greek independence, Graeco-British relations have been shadowed by the Elgin marbles: relief panels from the Parthenon, along with major pediment sculptures, which were purchased by the 7th Earl of Elgin in 1798. He bought them from the Ottoman Empire, which then controlled Greece. Today, they live in the British Museum. Greece desires their reunification with the Parthenon.
The UK should accommodate them by offering to ease Greece’s debt problem and buy (the rest of) the Parthenon. Britain could offer an enormous (many-billion-pound) cash payment, along with an even larger, very-low interest loan — for which the British government could surely get extensive private sponsorship. Greece would retain title to the Parthenon, and Britain would arrange for a precise replica to be installed on the Acropolis... Keep reading on Standpoint
Greece is $380 billion is debt. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has responded to an EU-IMF reform-for-aid plan by announcing that the “Greek people should be proud, because the government is not going to give in to absurd proposals.” So everything’s on track for a midsummer collapse. But Britain, if so inclined, could help stave off disaster for the beleaguered Greeks.
For the last few years, amidst her financial crisis, Greece has flirted with the idea of selling off state historical assets. Since Greek independence, Graeco-British relations have been shadowed by the Elgin marbles: relief panels from the Parthenon, along with major pediment sculptures, which were purchased by the 7th Earl of Elgin in 1798. He bought them from the Ottoman Empire, which then controlled Greece. Today, they live in the British Museum. Greece desires their reunification with the Parthenon.
The UK should accommodate them by offering to ease Greece’s debt problem and buy (the rest of) the Parthenon. Britain could offer an enormous (many-billion-pound) cash payment, along with an even larger, very-low interest loan — for which the British government could surely get extensive private sponsorship. Greece would retain title to the Parthenon, and Britain would arrange for a precise replica to be installed on the Acropolis... Keep reading on Standpoint