Elgin Marbles 的詞源

1809年，托馬斯·布魯斯，第七代 Elgin 伯爵（1766-1841）將一批雕塑和大理石（尤其是來自帕臺農神廟的浮雕）從希臘帶到英國，並出售給英國政府。

The removal of the marbles, many of which were torn violently from their original positions upon the Parthenon, to the further damage of that monument, was in itself an act of vandalism; but their transportation to England at a time when Greece was accessible with difficulty opened the eyes of the world to the preeminence of Greek work. It was one of the first steps toward securing an accurate knowledge of Hellenic ideals, and has thus influenced contemporary civilization. [Century Dictionary]

將這些大理石從帕臺農神廟上暴力撕下，進一步破壞了這座古蹟，本身就是一種破壞行爲； 但是在希臘難以進入的時候將它們運往英國，使世界看到了希臘作品的卓越性。這是確保準確瞭解希臘理想的第一步，因此影響了當代文明。[世紀詞典]

這個地方在蘇格蘭，字面意思是“小愛爾蘭”，源於 Ealg，一個早期的蓋爾語名字，意爲愛爾蘭，帶有減小後綴 -in。“這個名字本來指的是從愛爾蘭移民到這裏的蘇格蘭人的殖民地…”[Room]。