greece in my heart all times

If you are an American, imagine if during the Revolutionary War, another country took the Liberty Bell of the United States for what they later claimed was safe keeping, and they have yet to give it back. What would happen if one day, the Statue of Liberty was carefully dismantled from her perch in New York Harbor and taken overseas so it can be displayed in another city? How would Americans feel about their historic and cultural icons being taken from them?

This is what Greece is experiencing with the Parthenon Marbles (also known as the Elgin Marbles), and although I am an American, I would nevertheless like to lend my voice to support the return of these precious artifacts to Greece.

When I was in college, I studied English Literature. During my last semester of college, I remember being a student in the class of a very tough professor who brought the lives and writings of Lord Byron, John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley to life. I only have two textbooks still from college, and the textbook I used in that class is one I still own today.

My first awareness of the debate around the Parthenon Marbles was upon reading in this particular college class Byron's satirical poem, "The Curse of Minerva", where he skewered Lord Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin of England for taking the marbles that were at the Parthenon in the early 1800's. The iconic marble sculptures were sold to Britain in 1816 and then placed in the British Museum, where they have remained until late last year where a figure was loaned to the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg to be displayed in Russia.

For those who may not be familiar with the Parthenon Marbles, Lord Elgin and his team removed approximately half of the sculptures in the early 1800's that had survived the ravages of time and war. At the time, Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire since 1460 before they regained their freedom during the Greek War of Independence (1821-1833).

The marble sculptures were taken with alleged permission from the Ottoman Sultan and since then, there has been a raging debate about the legality of a translated Italian document of the original Turkish "firman" document of alleged permission. The original document has never been found. The legality of the transfer of the artifacts from Elgin to the British government has also been disputed.

Whatever the legal arguments, the fact of the matter remains that the Parthenon Marbles belong to Greece and the Greeks and need to be returned. Throughout history, some of the art we see around the world today has been pillaged from ancient societies, but just because these pieces have been on display in a world-class museum for generations does not mean the art does not belong to its original home. In fact, there have been occasions where art has been returned to its country of origin.

Although one of the claims has been that the British Museum has been protecting these priceless world history sculptures, through its own admission, there has been damage done to the marbles, particularly with early cleaning methods. Through the years, there have also been accidents and some vandalism, which have added to the further degradation of the marbles.

After decades of work, Greece continues to argue its case for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to their rightful home. It has opened the new Acropolis Museum in expectation of the return of the sculptures, which is state of the art in order to highlight and feature the pieces with the full artistic and esthetic compliment of the Acropolis and Parthenon.

Detractors of returning the friezes claim that if they were returned, it would set a precedent to empty all of the world's museums and they state the sculptures belong to the world and not to Greece as they are seen by tourists who enter the British Museum for free. In Greece, there is a nominal charge to enter the Acropolis Museum. They also claim that the sculptures are too fragile to ship back to Greece, a claim that is undercut with the shipment of a sculpture to Russia.

In 2013, I had the opportunity to spend nearly three months in Greece. It is a country with sublime beauty and its people are fierce and proud. In every person, if you pay close enough attention, you can sense the legacy of the gifts that Greece has given to the world, including democracy, philosophy, art, culture, mathematics, science, the Olympics, etc.

Greece is a land of constant tension and reinvention. Through the ages, the world looks at Greece and judges that the country and its people have run its course and, time and again, the Greeks rise-up and once again defy the odds and redefine their history.

Today, many in the European Union and the world have once again written off Greece as it is two weeks from momentous elections that can fundamentally change its future course. Those who say that the Parthenon Marbles should remain at the British Museum may well claim that this is just another reason why Greece should not have them returned. "The country is too unstable," they will say.

What they forget is the intoxicating view of the Acropolis, particularly at night, and the winding streets below, some which have been in existence since ancient times. What they forget are the shadows that occupy this incredible place in Athens and continue to watch over this city and country through the ages. What they forget is that this culture of intellectuals and warriors has always defied the odds and reclaimed what they hold to be true and essential to Greece and its identity.

The ancient echo of what the Acropolis and Parthenon truly mean to the human race reverberates through the passage of time and history in the eyes of every person who has the opportunity to see its magnificence in person. A similar experience will never be truly grasped within the walls of the British Museum. Instead, the world will only be able to fully appreciate and understand the legacy and importance of these sculptures when they are returned to their rightful home where they belong and can be viewed in that context.

Many British people, as well as individuals around the world favor the return of the marbles to Greece. The campaign to reunite the Parthenon Marbles has gained renewed momentum with the support of renowned human rights lawyer, Amal Alamuddin Clooney, and her husband, the actor, George Clooney, as well as actor and activist Stephen Fry. UNESCO has offered to mediate between Britain and Greece.