I was recently writing a research piece on the acquisition of the Parthenon Marbles by Lord Elgin Between 1801-1812, in and Greece’s subsequent demands for repatriation.
This particular article was substantial in terms of research and contemporary resonances, yet one aspect stood out, how British Lord Byron, poet and gentleman, had a major role in raising public awareness of imperial appropriation of Greek culture. Lord Byron, born in 1788, was an English poet and a leading figure of the Romantic movement. His turbulent life and captivating poetry captured the imagination of Europe and cemented him as one of the most influential literary figures of the 19th century.
Byron, a passionate advocate for Greek independence, fiercely denounced Elgin’s actions. He viewed the removal of the sculptures as an act of cultural plunder and saw them as integral to the history and identity of Greece.
This speaks to the impact of literature on identity, both collective and individual. By documenting and celebrating historical events and cultural traditions in his poems, Byron helped to preserve the identity and heritage of Greek historical cultural heritage. He recognised the importance of cultural memory and used literature as a means to counter cultural homogenisation and safeguard the identity of these ancient relics.
Nineteenth Century Public Reactions and the Words of Lord Byron
The first shipment of marbles arrived in London in 1803, while subsequent shipments continued to arrive over the next few years. Enormous crowds gathered to see the marbles in 1807 when Elgin showcased them in a house near Piccadilly in London. In spite of this popularity, public opinion in Britain was divided on the issue of removal of the marbles from their original location. In 1811, Lord Byron (1788 –1824) stood in stark opposition to the removal of the sculptures by Lord Elgin. Byron was enraged when he was given a tour of the Parthenon and observed the missing friezes. At the time, he composed a poem titled “The Curse of Minerva” (1811).
In “The Curse of Minerva”, Lord Byron writes:
“Dull is the eye that will not weep to see
Thy walls defaced, thy mouldering shrines removed
By British hands, which it had best behoved
To guard those relics ne!er to be restored.
Curst be the hour when from their isle they roved,
And once again thy hapless bosom gored,
And snatch!d thy shrinking gods to northern climes abhorred!”
The poem is an emotional evocation of the crimes committed against Greek antiquities. Byron curses his countrymen for moving Greek treasures and appropriating their significance. A year later, he took up the subject again in the lengthy narrative poem “Childe Harold!s Pilgrimage” (1812) which describes the travel of a young man. On 1 March, 1812, Lord Byron wrote about Elgin and his transgression in his long narrative of poem “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” where he popularised the view that Elgin, and by association Great Britain, had robbed Greece and its people of their heritage. But who, of all the plunderers of yon fane
On high, where Pallas lingered, loth to flee
The latest relic of her ancient reign—
The last, the worst, dull spoiler, who was he?
Blush, Caledonia! such thy son could be! England!
I joy no child he was of thine:
Thy free-born men should spare what once was free;
Yet they could violate each saddening shrine,
And bear these altars o’er the long reluctant brine.
As a peer, traveling gentleman, and popular writer, Lord Byron’s words added a stigma to Elgin’s deeds and intensified the debate on Britain’s culpability. In the poem, he accuses Elgin of being a plunderer and spoiler of Greek culture and its artefacts. He refers to Elgin as son of Caledonia, Caledonia being another name for Scotland and the Scottish Highlands. The French, inspired and influenced by Lord Byron’s poems, coined the term Elginisme, to refer to the act of removing cultural property from its original context and site.
