Elgin Marbles

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Marble sculpture of three reclining, headless female figures, likely Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite, from the Parthenon east pediment, displayed in the British Museum.

detail of a the Parthenon frieze with the Panathenaic procession

Marble sculpture of a horse's head with open mouth and detailed features, known as the Horse of Selene from the Parthenon Marbles, classical Greek art.

Lapith and centaur

The video thumbnail image shows a white woman walking by a wall that says "You are on Native land."

Lapith fighting a Centaur; detail of a metope from the Parthenon at Athens; one of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum

Explore Bloomsbury's British Museum, home to the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone, in London

Elgin Marbles: References & Edit History

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Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Add new Web site: Khan Academy - Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?	Emily Rodriguez	Jul 14, 2026
	Add new Web site: Smart History - Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?	Gloria Lotha	Mar 28, 2026
	Add new Web site: ABC listen - Big Ideas - The Elgin Marbles.	Emily Rodriguez	Feb 10, 2026
	Add new Web site: BBC Newsround - Elgin Marbles: What are they and why is there a row about them?	Grace Young	Nov 14, 2025
	Add new Web site: UK Parliament - House of Lords Library - Elgin Marbles: UK government assessment of loaning the sculptures to Greece.	Gloria Lotha	Mar 07, 2025
	Media added.	Meg Matthias	Oct 30, 2024
	Add new Web site: UNF Digital Commons - Looted Art: The Case of the Parthenon Sculptures.	Grace Young	Oct 19, 2024
	Add new Web site: Academia - The Elgin Marbles, A Series of (Un)Fortunate Events.	Aakanksha Gaur	Sep 07, 2024
	Added cross-reference.	Teagan Wolter	Apr 30, 2024
	Revised the discussion on the Acropolis Museum in Athens, deleting “New” from its name and noting that the pieces removed by Elgin are represented by plaster casts.	Alicja Zelazko	Jan 20, 2023
	Add new Web site: Ancient Origins - Lost in Time Faces Revealed on the Elgin Marbles.	Gloria Lotha	Jan 09, 2023
	Add new Web site: Live Science - Elgin Marbles and the Parthenon.	Gloria Lotha	Feb 14, 2021
	Add new Web site: World History Encyclopedia - The Parthenon Sculptures.	Gloria Lotha	Feb 14, 2021
	Added photograph of bust of the horse of Selene.	John M. Cunningham	Jan 28, 2011
	Article revised and updated.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Jul 22, 2008
	Media added.	Amy Tikkanen	Jul 02, 2007
	Article added to new online database.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Jul 20, 1998