Athens Acropolis Museum Director Demetrios Pantermalis said on Aug. 23 that Greece is going to open talks with officials of the British Museum, asking for the return of some pieces of the Parthenon that were stolen by a British diplomat, Lord Elgin, from 1801-12.
The British Museum has long refused to discuss the return of the stolen goods, arguing they no longer belong to Greece and that – until the new Acropolis Museum was opened in 2009 – that Greece had no proper place to store them.
Elgin removed about half the marble friezes of the Parthenon with the consent of then then-ruling Turks who were still occupying Greece. The pieces under discussion include hands, heads and legs of sculptures, Agence-France-Presse reported.
During a meeting of UNESCO, the United Nations cultural arm, Pantermalis asked his British Museum counterparts to open talks. “The proposal has been accepted in principle and thus, we will discuss about this appeal in autumn,” Pantermalis told Greek TV channel SKAI.
After Elgin removed sculptures from the Parthenon and other monuments of the Acropolis, he later sold them to the British Museum. Greece has long asked for their return, to no avail. British Museum officials said more people could see the stolen goods in their museum, and they are a lucrative draw, bringing in many visitors and revenue. The pieces are known as the Elgin Marbles, but called the Parthenon Marbles in Greece.
Pantermalis described the return of at least some parts of the marbles as the key which could lead to the return of others. British Museum spokeswoman Hannah Boulton in 2009 said that the museum would consider loaning the Marbles to Greece for three months on condition that Athens recognize the museum’s ownership rights to the sculptures.
(Source: capital.gr)
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
