With origins in the 5th century BCE, the Parthenon Marbles are a collection of architectural sculptures that were built into the temple of Athena, also known as the Parthenon – a masterpiece of classical Greek architecture and an enduring symbol of ancient Greece. In this video essay, Evan Puschak (aka the Nerdwriter) explains how, in the early 19th century, roughly half of the these sculptures, with some additional items from the Acropolis of Athens, came to be housed at the British Museum in London, where they’re still on display today, some 2,000 miles away from their original site. In his dive into the ongoing controversy over the Marbles, Puschak details the historical tides and vague legal language that led to the transfer of these priceless antiquities from Ottoman-controlled Greece to England. In doing so, he hints at the broader reckoning around artefacts, ethics and the legacy of colonialism facing museums around the world.
Video by The Nerdwriter
video
Nature and landscape
Take a serene hike through an ancient forest, inspired by a Miyazaki masterpiece
6 minutes
video
Design and fashion
The mundane becomes mesmerising in this deep dive into segmented displays
14 minutes
video
Physics
A song of ice, fire and jelly – exploring the physics and history of the trumpet
9 minutes
video
Architecture
Tour the European architecture that dreamed of a wondrous, fictitious China
16 minutes
video
Spirituality
Trek alongside spiritual pilgrims on a treacherous journey across Pakistan
6 minutes
video
Thinkers and theories
Photographs offer a colonialist window to the past – one that must be challenged
14 minutes
video
Animals and humans
An artist and ants collaborate on an exhibit of ‘tiny Abstract Expressionist paintings’
5 minutes
video
Mathematics
How a curious question about colouring maps changed mathematics forever
9 minutes
video
Cities
The rise and fall of Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong’s infamous urban monolith
18 minutes