The legal owner of the Parthenon gave Elgin the right to take the marbles. The issue is that the modern day owners of the Parthenon dont recognize the legitimat

The legal owner of the Parthenon gave Elgin the right to take the marbles. The issue is that the modern day owners of the Parthenon dont recognize the legitimatecy of that transaction. It's a bit more muddy than straight up theft. I think the analogy to other historical issues is apt. Who is the rightful occupant of modern day Iran? If you could trace your lineage to an assyrian who owned a plot of land in Nineveh, and was displaced by the Babylonians, should you be able to kick out the current occupant? What if another person came along, and could prove their family owned the land under Babylonian rule but was displaced by the Persians?