Getting stood up is always annoying. When you have travelled 1,500 miles and have a full agenda of war, trade and migration to discuss with someone, all the more so.

Yesterday Britain found itself mired in a diplomatic crisis after prime minister Rishi Sunak refused to meet his Greek opposite number, Kyriakos MitsotakisThe Greek prime minister since June 2023., in London.

It followed comments by Mitsotakis on the BBC restating Greece's demand that Britain return the Parthenon Marbles - often called the Elgin Marbles in the UK. Many sculptures are still in Athens and he said the separation of the two groups was like cutting the Mona LisaAlso known as the Giaconda, a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It became one of the world's most famous paintings after a successful robbery in 1911.  in half.

The history of the marbles is still somewhat murky. They were stripped from the ParthenonAn ancient Greek temple in Athens that was once dedicated to the goddess Athena. It was built around 440 BC. It is regarded as the highest example of ancient Greek architecture. by the 7th Earl Elgin between 1801 and 1812. He then sold them to the British government for £35,000 (about £2 million today),¹ turning down a higher offer from French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.²

Even at the time, this was controversial. Lord ByronAn English poet (1788 - 1824) known for both beautiful short lyrics and entertaining epic poems. accused him of defacing the ancient monument. In 1816 the House of CommonsThe democratically elected house of the UK Parliament. It consists of 650 Members of Parliament.  investigated the legality of the case.

Elgin told them he had been granted permission to take the marbles from the OttomanA member of the Turkish dynasty that ruled the Ottoman Empire. government that still ruled Greece at that time, which was enough to clear his name. But the Greeks themselves were not consulted.

Historians are divided on whether or not Elgin's actions were justified. Some argue they were necessary to protect the sculptures, which had already been badly damaged in a huge explosion in 1687 after the Ottomans used the Parthenon as a gunpowder store.³

However, others point out the marbles have suffered great damage since. Air pollution in London eroded the fine detail. Efforts to clean the marbles in 1838 and 1938 caused discolouration and scraped away much of the surface.⁴

But today the argument over their return does not just rest on historical right and wrong. It is infused with politics.

The UK is reluctant to return the marbles because it would then come under pressure to restore other artefacts, such as the Benin BronzesA group of metal plaques and sculptures which decorated the palace of the Kingdom of Benin, in modern day Nigeria. and the Sultanganj BuddhaA 2.3m-high statue of the Buddha dated to between 500 and 700AD. It was discovered buried by EB Harris, a railway engineer, in 1862 and brought to Birmingham in the UK. , to their original homes.

For many UK conservatives it has also become a culture warAn internal conflict over a country's values. The term is a translation of the German Kulturkampf, originally referring to a struggle between the state and the Catholic Church in the late nineteenth Century. issue, another example of post-imperial guilt being inflicted on the country by a "woke elite". This makes it difficult for any Conservative prime minister to budge on Greek demands.

However, some say there is a risk that continued refusal makes Britain look like an arrogant colonial power.

Four years ago, Xi JinpingThe president of China, who has concentrated power and removed term limits allowing him to serve for life. visited Greece, with which China has close economic ties. There he voiced his own support for the return of the marbles.

It might have been pure sympathy: Chinese artefacts are also held in museums across the western world. But there is a political game at play here. He knows many other developing countries whose heritage was looted are smarting at the same injustice.

So by backing Greece he can draw a dividing line between the domineering western world, which refuses to face up to its historic crimes, and China as the leader of the world's developing countries, determined to stand up for their interests.

By refusing to make any concessions to the Greeks, some experts say, Britain might be playing into his hands.

Yes: They are a piece of Greek cultural heritage, stolen from them through connivanceWillingly being involved in an illegal or immoral act. and trickery. Returning them is both morally right and politically vital.

No: The marbles are the world's heritage, not just the Greeks'. And the British Museum receives around four times as many visitors from around the world as the Parthenon does.⁵ Leave the marbles where people can see them.

Or... The marbles are really a symptom of a larger problem. Britain needs to decide what it thinks of its imperial past and how that is going to affect its relationships with other countries in the present.