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@evoman3957 wrote:

I guess that's what happens when a Country lets its history go, or flogs it off for convenience and then wants it back...............not so easy then..........what's the saying "possession is nine tenths of the law".

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It isn't really as simple as that, at the time Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire so Lord Elgin obtained a permit from the Turks which allowed him to remove them.

However there is a further consideration, at the time the Parthenon was gradually being used as a convenient source of building materials by the local people, a fate common through the years, a similar fate being suffered by many old castles etc. in the UK.

The Marbles themselves were in danger of being broken up for hardcore and it could be said were actually rescued by the said lord though there was some controversy over the permit and his right to remove them.

Personally I think they should go back once their future safety can be assured