An opinion poll of respondents in Great Britain, of particular interest back in Greece, shows a majority in favor of a repatriation – from the British Museum in London – of the Parthenon Marbles.
The results of the poll, conducted by YouGov, show 53% in favor of the prospect, out of a total sample of 4,280 respondents.
Conversely, 24% of respondents stated that they favor the friezes remaining where they are; 23% were non-committal.
“Some believe that Britain should return the Marbles to Greece, while others believe they should remain here. Do you personally believe that Britain should return the Elgin Marbles to Greece or keep them in Britain?”, was the question asked of respondents.
The question uses the term “Elgin Marbles”, as the exquisite marbles friezes are also known in the United Kingdom, using the name of the rogue Scottish diplomat that had the friezes hacked off the Parthenon on the Acropolis,during the twilight of the Ottoman occupation, and shipped back to English by boat.
Less than two decades later the Greek War of Independence broke out and the modern kingdom of Greece was created in 1830.