Greece urged the UK on Saturday to return the Parthenon marbles on display at the British Museum in London, benefiting from renewed international interest thanks to the reopening of the ancient site, closed during the epidemic again coronavirus. These ancient friezes - including representations of mythical battles between Greeks and centaurs - were detached from the Parthenon and shipped to the United Kingdom in the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin. They are now one of the centerpieces of the British Museum.
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London has always refused to return these sculptures, also known as Elgin marbles, arguing that they were taken away with the permission of the Ottoman rulers of Athens at the time. "The reopening of archaeological sites (...) is an opportunity for international committees supporting the restitution of the Parthenon marbles to reaffirm their incessant demand and that of the Greek government for a permanent return of the marbles to their homeland", wrote on Saturday Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni in a press release. The marbles have been " looted " and Greece will never recognize the British Museum's ownership of the friezes, says Lina Medoni.
Horsemen's plate, one of the 56 plates of the Ionian frieze kept in London. LEON NEAL / AFP
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After two months of closure due to the pandemic of new coronavirus, Greece reopened on May 18, under strict sanitary conditions, the Acropolis of Athens, one of the most visited ancient sites in the world, which is home to the world over famous Parthenon. The International Association for the Reunification of Parthenon Sculptures sent a letter to the Greek Ministry of Culture on May 21, World Culture Day, proposing to renew coordinated pressure on the British Museum.
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Greece has campaigned for several decades for the restitution of the marbles and has for a time considered bringing London to justice. But in recent years, Athens has favored the diplomatic channel, offering mediation from Unesco, the UN institution responsible for culture and education, an offer rejected by the British Museum. Elected in July 2019, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, officially requested that these friezes be loaned to Athens for the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of Greek independence in 2021.
Greece inaugurated in 2009 a new museum at the foot of the Parthenon which houses the pieces kept in Athens. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP
