Known as the Elgin Marbles by all the world except for Greece, which calls them the Parthenon Marbles, they have a storied history. These marbles include statues from the pediment and friezes. A few of these marbles were left on the Parthenon. Many are in the British Museum in London, taken by the British nobleman Lord Elgin between 1801 and 1805. This is part of the display in the Greece galleries in the British Museum. On the right are some of the Parthenon frieze, showing a parade of 400 people and 200 animals. At center left, behind the people, are some of the statues from the pediment.

One week later I would be in Athens at the Parthenon, trying to put together the controversial marbles in London with the holes on the Greek temple. Some historians and critics say that Elgin saved these marbles, that if they would have stayed in Athens they would have been destroyed. Others say that Elgin ruthlessly took apart a sacred monument, harming the structure and harming the pieces. It’s hard to say who is right and who has ownership. Either way, Greece wants them back and England wants to keep them. So when you see the Parthenon, this is what you see:

A pediment with only two bodies and replica friezes above the second row of columns.