We learn about everything from the Elgin marbles to Edmund Kean, by way of body-snatching and anti-slavery protest.

ECONOMIST: Literary table-talk

Everyone is familiar with the Elgin Marbles, removed by Lord Elgin from the Parthenon in the early 19th century under the eyes of the Ottoman Empire.

FORBES: Collectors Guide

Among other disputes over famous artefacts, Greece has for many years called for the return of the Elgin Marbles, removed from the Parthenon some 200 years ago and taken to London by the Earl of Elgin.

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In the current adventure Professor Munakata is the first to realise that the stolen megaliths are pawns for the return of the British Museum's controversial treasures, such as the Elgin marbles which Greece has long been demanding.

ECONOMIST: Japanese cartoons

During a tour of the Acropolis on Saturday, Mr Clinton assured Greece's minister of culture, Elisavet Papazoi, that he would urge Britain to return the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon which are the subject of an ongoing dispute.

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The fact that Palladio's drawings still exist may well be due to the English passion for collecting all things Greek and Roman or of later, classical inspiration and carting them back home (the contested Elgin marbles, for one conspicuous example).

WSJ: Palladio & His Legacy, at the Morgan Library & Museum | By Ada Louise Huxtable

The boys who remained in his classes were often caught up in his love of art, music, and literature, and in his belief that every moment of life should be spent reaching for the transcendence of the Elgin Marbles, of a fresco by Fra Angelico, even of an ordinary sunset.

NEWYORKER: The Master

The letters indicate that "There was no legality whatsoever in Elgin's acquisition of the Marbles and he knew it well, " she said.

BBC: To sue or not to sue? Parthenon Marbles activists debate

When the marbles reached London they were an artistic sensation, justifying Elgin's claim that they would alter the taste and sensibilities of the whole of northern Europe.

ECONOMIST: Scraping the marbles

Marbles Reunited shows those sculptures removed from Greece 200 years ago by Lord Elgin next to those which remained in Athens.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Marbles exhibition opens in London