Parthenon sculptures

These sculptures once decorated the Parthenon, a temple to Athena built on the Acropolis in Athens. Made in the fifth century BC, they fitted different parts of the building. Large figures occupied triangular pediments, square metopes told episodes from myth and the long frieze represented a religious procession. Room 18 brings those forms into a gallery setting. Reclining figures retain poses shaped by the slope of the temple roof. The shallow carving of the frieze could continue along a long architectural band. Rooms 18a and 18b provide fragments, architectural material and explanations of the original arrangement. Elgin’s agents removed sculptures in the early nineteenth century. Parliament acquired his collection in 1816. Greece seeks their return and reunification with surviving pieces in Athens. The British Museum asserts legal ownership and argues for their place in its cross-cultural collection. The pieces in London belong to a sculptural scheme whose surviving parts are spread between museums.