Parthenon Frieze/ Elgin Marbles - British Museum trip resource Y5 or 6

Prepared for a Y5 trip to the British Museum. They could also be used in the classroom with resources found online. The children look at the Parthenon frieze (Elgin Marbles) and learn about the controversy surrounding it.

It is based on rooms 18b and 18 in the British Museum. There is a teacher script with images. Then there are two follow up worksheets to be done on clipboards. The second one could be used back at school as the basis for a discussion or for writing a balanced argument in English.

Part 1 - The Panathenaic procession to celebrate Athena’s birthday. Look for different parts of the procession, sketch the peplos and write a short descriptive passage.

Part 2 - The history of the Parthenon, the removal of the sculptures (formerly known as the Elgin Marbles) and the controversy surrounding their return to Athens.