Are the Elgin (Parthenon) Marbles looted art?
The Ottomans had invaded Greece following the fall of Constantinople and sold the marbles to Lord Elgin, who removed half of them between 1801 and 1812. Is that any different to the Nazis invading France and selling any art they looted? I can't, for the life of me, see any difference, nor did Lord Byron at the time, not that Byron was aware of the Nazis. No-one would dispute that looted Nazi art should be returned to its rightful owner, so why not the Elgin Marbles?
On top of that, the Parthenon, a magnificent work of classical art, is not complete without the original marbles.
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