Greece has opened a state-of-the-art museum to house the Parthenon sculptures, just steps from their original home on the Acropolis hill. However, only half of these important sculptures, inscriptions and architectural columns have been placed inside the museum. Due to a series of unfortunate events, including an explosion in the 1600s, the marble sculptures and structures remained in ruins for over 200 years. In 1816, an English gentleman named Lord Elgin purchased them from the ruling Ottoman Empire and brought them back to London where they were displayed in the British Museum. Although it saved them from further damage and ruin in the 1800s and 1900s, Greece is now ready to take them back, embracing their all-important ancient identity. Antonis Samaras, Greek Minister of Culture, stated this in 2009; “All those around the world who believe in the values ​​and ideas that emerged on the slopes of the Acropolis (should)… join our quest to bring home the missing Parthenon Marbles.” Speaking in English, he said their “abduction” and “forced exile” was an injustice to the Greek people. Another Greek Minister of Culture since 2002, Evangelos Venizelos, highlights the sculptures and the building as a whole: "The sculptures of the Parthenon are not a single object... ...but part of a single monument, the Parthenon. The Parthenon is a building The marbles are part of this existing building For me the underlying issue is not a legal question or the problem of ownership of the marbles but the fact of restitution, the fact of restitution of the integrity, of the unity of the monument. " (Godwin 2013).Thanks to the efforts of the Greek people and their government, the New Acropolis Museum has become an ideal home, tailor-made for ta...... middle of paper ..... .as if it were the Parthenon The marbles will be reunited in the museum (Godwin 2013). Finally, an argument in favor of keeping the marbles in London is that the return of such cultural and historical artefacts to their country of origin would "open the floodgates". Europe and North America would be emptied as returning the items would be unjustified. Only collections acquired illegally, by force, or through victimization of these other cultures would be affected. There are agreed upon codes and rules such as the UNESCO Convention of 1970 that govern them and organize types of disputes. Thanks to organizations like UNESCO, the return of cultural assets to their countries of origin is slowly but surely happening. The English have an obligation, not to Greece but to the world's cultural heritage, to restore its symbol, the Parthenon. (Godwin 2013).