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The Story

Who should keep the Elgin Marbles?

The Story

The Times

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3.91.6K Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2023

⏱️ 40 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A diplomatic row has broken out between Rishi Sunak and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the Elgin Marbles. Today, we’re revisiting an episode from last December, when David Aaronovitch spoke to classicist and British Museum trustee Dame Mary Beard about how the Parthenon sculptures ended up in the UK 200 years ago.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guests:

- Dame Mary Beard, classicist.

- David Sanderson, Arts Correspondent, The Times.

With thanks to The British Museum.

Host: David Aaronovitch.

Clips: Channel 4 News, Times Radio, Reuters, CBC News, BBC World Service, Al Jazeera, ITV Good Morning Britain, LBC, UK Parliament, LSE.

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.


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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:45.0

Feel good travel. Hello Luke Jones here. You might not have escaped the latest diplomatic

0:57.6

spat over the Elgin Marbles. The Greek Prime Minister Kiryakos Mitsakis, has been in town and before a meeting with Rishi Sunak took to the BBC to say that having some of the Parthenon sculptures in London and others in Athens was like cutting the Mona Lisa in half.

1:15.0

Rishisunak was quite annoyed by this.

1:18.0

He reportedly felt that a promise not to publicly talk about it during this visit was broken so he cancelled his meeting

1:24.6

with the Greek Prime Minister the Greeks said that there was no agreement at the whole

1:28.8

who-har has been disrespectful this isn't the thirst flare up in this argument, of course. Last December, reports

1:36.3

emerged that the chair of the British Museum and former Chancellor George Osborne had held

1:41.2

secret talks with the Greeks over a possible deal to lend the

1:45.7

marbles back to Athens. Today we're revisiting an episode we made back then.

1:50.3

David Ronovich went to the British Museum to speak to classicist and

1:54.4

Museum Trustee Mary Beard about how the marbles ended up there 200 years ago.

1:59.2

He also spoke to the Times's Arts Correspondent David Sanderson about the fierce modern political debate around them.

2:05.8

Here's David.

2:11.8

To some, it's justice long delayed. To others it could end up as cultural vandalism.

2:21.0

Restitution is the word of the moment. These looted goods are being repatriated to close the colonial chapter.

2:28.0

Clintz now standing symbolically empty.

...

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