The cover of my book on Jerusalem
Available from Amazon.co.uk: here
My latest projectabout the Parthenon Marbles has been a non-starter. They used to be called the Elgin Marbles after Lord Elgin who saved - or stole - them according to your point of view. My own feeling, for what it is worth, is that Elgin did not act from improper motives and was genuinely trying to preserve these wonderful carvings but also acted in a proprietorial manner which would be unacceptable today. A previous post by me on the Marbles issue is here.
My argument is that, at least when it comes to museums, access is more important than ownership for works of art such as the Parthenon Marbles. Sure, Elgin may have worked under the assumption that he could help himself to these sculptures. But that was then and this is now. Elgin did actually ask permission from the authorities to remove them but he did so from the Turks, who ruled Athens at the time, and not from the Greeks, who now want them back.
Whatever his motives were, Elgin’s actions led to the marbles which used to bear his name ending up on public display at the British Museum in London in a gallery especially designed and paid for by Lord Duveen, an art dealer with a good deal of money and possibly a guilty conscience. They remain there and most of the six and a half million visitors who go to the BM every year will see them – and pay nothing to do so, as the museum is free to enter.
The British Museum has wonderful access in the heart of one of the most visited cities in the world. If they go to Athens – and the current Chair of the BM George Osborne seems to be expediting their return – they will end up in a good museum at the Acropolis but one that attracts less than a quarter of the visitors the BM does and which charges an entrance fee. If the marbles stay in London they can act as a great advertisement for ancient Greek culture.
This seemed to be a good reason to leave them here. In a sense, the Marbles do not belong to the Greeks of to the British. They really belong to the whole world, so why not display them in a setting that can show them to the world free of charge? It seemed like a strong argument and I was keen to write a book on the subject. Even if it was not published, it would give me something to occupy my time in the winter when I was not working as a tourist guide.
That was the theory. However, in practice I have been reluctant to put pen to paper. Why is this? Maybe my heart was not really in it. It might be that an unacknowledged remnant of post-colonial and imperial guilt is holding me back. A part of me thinks that we should keep the Marbles, while a part of me thinks that we should not have taken them away in the first place and maybe they should now be returned to the place that they came from originally.
I have always said that I make a decent living from being a tourist guide so that I do not have to worry that writing does not pay much – or at all, if I am being honest as I probably just about break even on writing when I take into account the amount I spend on my computer. Writing gives me something to do and I was proud to get a book published on William Blake’s poem Jerusalem, which was set to music and became a national anthem for England.
Researching the book was fairly easy as most of the people connected with it lived in Sussex where I was based. It was interesting to visit the cottage in Felpham where Blake (probably) wrote the words, to meet Parry’s descendants and to see Elgar’s house, where he did the orchestration. I found that Jerusalem had been sung by Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats at their various party conferences so it covers all political persuasions.
While I could stay enthusiastic about Jerusalem, somehow I did not feel the same way about the Parthenon Marbles. My head told me that it was a good idea for them to remain in the British Museum, but maybe my heart said that we ought to return them to Greece. I found, therefore, that writing did not come naturally on this occasion and, if it is forced, it is not something that I feel inclined to do and so I made excuses to do something else instead.
What else? I edit a small eight page magazine for tourist guides in London every month and this keeps me reasonably busy. I wonder if many read it properly but the feedback that I do get is usually reasonably good, so I will keep doing that as long as I am asked to do so. I also write a few blog posts for a website and have a few other writing projects on the go. The trouble is that I usually find the writing easy but wonder if anyone does any actual reading.
I am fairly strict in not reading during the day and like to keep busy. Money is not a big problem for me but boredom can be and it is good to have a project on the go to stave it off. Yet I need to feel enthusiasm for what I am writing about and I just do not have that when it comes to the Parthenon Marbles. It has simply failed to launch properly. I do have another idea, however, and that is to write about tipping, which I have some personal experience in. Let's see if it works.
Edwin Lerner
