Vatican 'donating' its own 3 Parthenon sculptures to Greece


 The marble head of a young man, a tiny fragment from the 2,500-year-old sculptured decoration of the Parthenon Temple on the ancient Acropolis, is displayed during a presentation to the press at the new Acropolis Museum in Athens, Nov. 5, 2008. The Vatican and Greece were finalizing a deal Tuesday March 7, 2023 to return three fragments of the Parthenon Marbles that have been in the collection of the Vatican Museums for two centuries. 

(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) 


NICOLE WINFIELD and DEREK GATOPOULOS
Tue, March 7, 2023 

ROME (AP) — The Vatican and Greece finalized a deal Tuesday for the return of three sculpture fragments from the Parthenon that have been in the collection of the Vatican Museums for two centuries, the latest case of a Western museum bowing to demands for restitution.

The Vatican has termed the return an ecumenical “donation” to the Orthodox Christian archbishop of Athens and all Greece, not necessarily a state-to-state transfer. But it nevertheless puts pressure on the British Museum to conclude a deal with Greece over the fate of its much bigger collection of Parthenon sculptures.

The head of the Vatican city-state, Cardinal Fernando Vergez, signed an agreement to implement the “donation” during a private Vatican Museums ceremony with Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and a representative of the Orthodox Christian archbishop of Athens and all Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos II.

The envoy, Father Emmanuel Papamikroulis, told The Associated Press that the Greek Orthodox Church and archbishop were grateful to Pope Francis for the deal.

"It has taken place at a difficult time for our country, and it will hopefully provide some sense of pride and happiness. I hope this initiative is followed by others,” he said in a telephone interview from the Vatican, where he was touring the gardens after the signing ceremony.

“This initiative does help heal wounds of the past and it demonstrates that when Christian leaders work together, they can resolve issues in a practical way," Papamikroulis added.

The fragments are expected to arrive in Athens later this month, with a March 24 ceremony planned to receive them.

The British Museum has refused decades of appeals from Greece to return its much larger collection of Parthenon sculptures, which have been a centerpiece of the museum since 1816.

Earlier this month, however, the chair of the British Museum said the U.K. and Greece were working on a deal that would see his institution’s Parthenon Marbles displayed in both London and Athens.

The 5th century B.C. sculptures are mostly remnants of a 160-meter-long (520-foot) frieze that ran around the outer walls of the Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis, dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom.

Much of the frieze and the temple’s other sculptural decoration were lost in a 17th-century bombardment, and about half the remaining works were removed in the early 19th century by a British diplomat, Lord Elgin.

___

Gatopoulos contributed from Athens.

\

Greece asks others to 'imitate' Vatican return of Parthenon pieces


 Snowfall in Athens

Tue, March 7, 2023 
By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican Museums gave Greece three 2,500-year-old pieces of the Parthenon on Tuesday and the Greek side said the gesture should be imitated by others, a likely reference to a collection of sculptures from the ancient temple that are held by Britain.

The fragments have been in the papal collections of the Vatican Museums for more than a century and Pope Francis ordered their return last December.

The pope has donated them to Ieronymos II, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, as a gesture of ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church.

Ieronymos' representative at Tuesday's signing ceremony at the Vatican Museums, Rev. Papamikroulis Emmanouil, called the pope's gesture "historic".

Emmanouil said there was "much left to do to heal the wounds and traumas suffered by this monument (the Parthenon) because of practices that belong to a distant past".

"The hope is ... that his gesture by the Holy Father will be imitated by others. His Holiness the pope of Rome has proven that this is possible and realistic," he said.

The Parthenon, which is on the Acropolis in Athens, was completed in the fifth century BC as a temple to the goddess Athena, and its decorative friezes contain some of the greatest examples of ancient Greek sculpture.

According to the Vatican Museums website, one piece being returned to Greece is the head of the horse that was pulling Athena's chariot on the west side of the building. The others are from the head of a boy and the head of a bearded male.

In his address at the signing ceremony the governor of Vatican City, Cardinal Fernando Vergez, said the three pieces were acquired by the papacy "correctly" at the start of the 19th century. He did not elaborate.

With the donation to Greece, the Vatican Museums no longer holds any parts of the Parthenon.

The pieces are being returned as London and Athens have entered talks over the a collection known as the Parthenon Sculptures held by the British Museum.

Greece has repeatedly called for the permanent return of the sculptures, which British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the temple in the early 19th century when he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Greece's then-ruler.

The British Museum has long ruled out returning the marbles, which include about half of the 160-metre (525-foot) frieze that adorned the Parthenon, and insists they were legally acquired.

Last month, British Museum chair George Osborne said the UK was working on a new arrangement with Greece through which the Parthenon Sculptures could be seen both in London and in Athens.

(This story has been refiled to specify that the Pope ordered the return of fragments last December, in paragraph 2)

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)

Parthenon fragment repatriated from Sicily to Greece

Mon, 10 January 2022

The fragment is thought to depict the goddess Artemis (AFP/Giorgos KONTARINIS)

Greece on Monday welcomed Italy's return of a marble fragment from the Parthenon, calling on the British Museum to open talks on returning those parts of the archaeological monument it still holds.

The Greek culture ministry said the 2,500-year-old fragment had been returned from a museum in Sicily as "a deposit, not a loan" and would remain in the Greek capital for the next eight years.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis said that two "very important exhibits" would be sent to the Antonino Salinas Museum in Palermo in recognition of the gesture.

And he welcomed its arrival as a "very important step" towards Greece's ultimate goal -- the return of a large collection of Parthenon sculptures held by the British Museum.

"I think it paves the way also for the British Museum to enter into serious discussions with the Greek authorities, to find a solution that will be mutually acceptable," Mitsotakis said at the Acropolis Museum, which has housed the Parthenon sculptures since 2009.

"When there is a will, there is a way... sooner or later it will happen," he added, citing favourable opinion polls in the UK.

The fragment -- a foot and lower tunic from a sculpture thought to depict the huntress goddess Artemis -- was returned following an agreement between the museum and the Greek culture ministry.

It was in the collection of Robert Fagan, a 19th-century British consul to Sicily and Malta before the museum acquired it in 1836, the Greek PM's office said.

- The 'Elgin Marbles' dispute -

The Parthenon temple was built in the 5th century BCE on the Acropolis to honour Athena, the patron goddess of Athens.

After a Venetian bombardment partially destroyed it in 1687, workmen stripped entire friezes from the monument on the orders of Scottish nobleman Thomas Bruce, known as Lord Elgin, in the early 1800s.

Elgin sold the marbles to the British government, which in 1817 passed them on to the British Museum where they remain one of its most prized exhibits.

London has long argued that the sculptures had been taken with permission from the Ottoman Turks who ruled Greece at the time, but Athens insists they were stolen.

In an interview in March, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ruled out the return of the marbles to Greece. They had been legally acquired by Britain and legally owned by the British Museum's Trustees since their acquisition, he said.

After a meeting with Mitsotakis in November, Johnson reiterated that the issue must be resolved by the trustees of the British Museum, not the British government.

Athens, which has received backing from a groundswell of celebrities on the issue, has repeatedly said it does not wish to pursue legal action to settle the bitter dispute.

It has called for the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO to act as mediator, an offer rejected by the British Museum.

Smaller Parthenon frieze collections and fragments are also in the Louvre and museums in Copenhagen, Munich, the Vatican, Vienna and Wurzburg.

burs-mr/jph/jj

Time has come for UK to return Parthenon marbles, says Greek PM

Kyriakos Mitsotakis says deal with Sicily ‘opens way’ for return of marbles from British Museum

Parthenon sculptures displayed at the British Museum. Lord Elgin had the sculptures hacked from their monument more than 200 years ago.

 Photograph: Waltraud Grubitzsch/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB


Helena Smith in Athens
Mon 10 Jan 2022

The long-awaited homecoming of a marble fragment, honed to adorn the Parthenon but long in exile in Italy, must “open the way” for other masterpieces to be reunited with the monument, the Greek prime minister has said.

As the artwork was unveiled at the Acropolis Museum, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said its restitution – sealed in a breakthrough deal between Sicily and Athens – offered a blueprint for similar accords to be reached, for example with the UK.

“This important step today opens the way, I believe, for other museums to be able to move in a similar direction,” he told attenders at Monday’s ceremony. “Most importantly, of course, the British Museum should understand that the time has come for the Parthenon marbles … to finally return here, to their natural home.”

The exquisite piece is barely the size of a shoebox. Carved 2,500 years ago, it depicts the foot of a draped Artemis, goddess of the hunt, peeking out from beneath an elaborate tunic. The fragment once embellished the eastern part of the Parthenon temple’s monumental frieze, long regarded as the high point of classical art.

The treasure was returned last week to Greece by the Antonio Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Sicily, ostensibly as part of a cultural exchange.

Conservators at the Acropolis Museum in Athens place the Parthenon fragment sent from Sicily. 

Photograph: Panayotis Tzamaros/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Under the deal it was agreed that the loan, due to expire in 2026, could be extended for a further four years. In return, Athens has lent the Palermo Museum a headless fifth-century BC statue of the goddess Athena and an eighth-century BC amphora.

But culture ministry officials acknowledged negotiations were under way to ensure that the artefact’s repatriation was “indefinite”, in what would amount to added pressure on the British Museum to follow suit.

More than half of what survives of the 160-metre long frieze is on display in London. Lord Elgin, Britain’s then ambassador to the Sublime Porte, had the sculptures hacked from the monument more than 200 years ago before he sold them, bankrupt and despondent, to the British Museum in 1816.

Eight museums across Europe house other parts of the frieze; the Acropolis Museum in Athens, custom-built to exhibit the treasures, exhibits about 50 metres worth.

Mitsotakis, who has reinvigorated Greece’s decades-long campaign for the antiquities’ reunification in Athens, made the marbles’ restitution the central issue of his first Downing Street talks with the prime minister, Boris Johnson, in November.

Athens has long argued that the marbles were stolen by Elgin at a time when stateless Greece was under Ottoman rule.

Although once a passionate champion of the sculptures’ return to the country, Johnson has changed course, insisting that the carvings were legally acquired. He rejected Mitsotakis’ assertion that the row should be resolved as an intergovernmental matter, saying it was an issue for the British Museum to discuss.

But the Greek leader said on Monday that Athens remained undeterred in its battle to retrieve the treasures, and that the deal with the Palermo museum had proved that where there was a will, a “mutually acceptable solution” could be found. Athens has offered to give London antiquities that have never before left Greece in return for the masterpieces.

“I am especially encouraged by the fact that the majority of Britons appear to support our demand,” Mitsotakis said, referring to successive polls that have shown most UK citizens believe the marbles should be returned to Athens.

Greek PM to 'persist' with UK over Parthenon Marbles


AFP
Sun, 26 November 2023 

The Parthenon Marbles have been on display at the British Museum since 1817 -- but Greece is determined to secure their return (Daniel LEAL)

Greece's prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday he would push for the return of the Parthenon Marbles when he meets UK leader Rishi Sunak in Britain this week.

The sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, were taken from the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis in Athens in the early 19th century by British diplomat Thomas Bruce, the earl of Elgin.

Greece maintains the marbles were stolen, which Britain denies, and the issue has been a source of contention between the countries for decades.


Mitsotakis, who is due to see Sunak on Monday, likened the collection being held at the British Museum in London to the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half.

"They do look better in the Acropolis Museum, a state-of-the-art museum that was built for that purpose," he told the BBC.

"It's as if I told you that you would cut the Mona Lisa in half, and you will have half of it at the Louvre and half of it at the British Museum, do you think your viewers would appreciate the beauty of the painting in such a way?"

Mitsotakis added that "this is exactly what happened with the Parthenon sculptures".

"That is why we keep lobbying for a deal that would essentially be a partnership between Greece and the British Museum but would allow us to return the sculptures to Greece and have people appreciate them in their original setting," he told the Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.

The 2,500-year-old collection has been on display at the British Museum since 1817.

In January, the UK government ruled out a permanent return after media reported the British Museum was close to signing a loan agreement that would see the marbles back in Athens.

Mitsotakis, who won a second term in June, said his government "had not made as much progress as I would like in the negotiations".

But added: "I'm a patient man and we've waited for hundreds of years, and I will persist in these discussions."

Mitsotakis said he would also raise the issue with UK opposition leader Keir Starmer, who -- if opinion polls are believed -- is set to be Britain's next prime minister after an election expected next year.

The Parthenon temple -- built in the 5th century BCE to honour the goddess Athena -- was partially destroyed during a Venetian bombardment in 1687, then looted.

Its fragments are scattered throughout many renowned museums.

Earlier this year, three marble fragments of the Parthenon temple that had been held by the Vatican for centuries were returned to Greece.

pdh/rox

Keeping Elgin Marbles in UK akin to ‘cutting Mona Lisa in half’ – Greek leader


Ted Hennessey, PA
Sun, 26 November 2023 

The Greek prime minister has compared the British Museum’s possession of the Elgin Marbles to the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half.

Athens has long demanded the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said he will raise the issue during meetings with Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer in London this week.


Asked where the Parthenon Sculptures should be, Mr Mitsotakis told BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “I think the answer is very clear.

“They do look better in the Acropolis Museum, a state-of-the-art museum that was built for that purpose.”

Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

He went on: “This is not in my mind an ownership question, this is a reunification argument, where can you best appreciate what is essentially one monument?

“I mean, it’s as if I told you that you would cut the Mona Lisa in half, and you will have half of it at the Louvre and half of it at the British Museum, do you think your viewers would appreciate the beauty of the painting in such a way?

“Well, this is exactly what happened with the Parthenon sculptures and that is why we keep lobbying for a deal that would essentially be a partnership between Greece and the British Museum but would allow us to return the sculptures to Greece and have people appreciate them in their original setting.”

Sections of the Parthenon Marbles in London’s British Museum (Matthew Fearn/PA)

British Museum chairman George Osborne, the former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece.

There has been speculation this could involve some form of loan arrangement.

Sir Keir, who represents the Holborn & St Pancras constituency, home to the British Museum, will tell Mr Mitsotakis that Labour will not change the law regarding the marbles, The Financial Times reported.

One person close to Sir Keir told the paper: “We’re sticking with the existing law, but if a loan deal that is mutually acceptable to the British Museum and the Greek government can be agreed, we won’t stand in the way.”

The 1963 British Museum Act prevents the institution giving away objects from its collection except in very limited circumstances.

The Prime Minister, speaking in March, said that there were “no plans” to change a law over the sculptures.

Sir Keir Starmer (Jane Barlow/PA)

Mr Mitsotakis said: “We have not made as much progress as I would like in the negotiations, but again, I’m a patient man and we’ve waited for hundreds of years and I will persist in these discussions.”

Asked if it can be done within his time as prime minister, he added: “I would hope so, yes, I was just elected.”

A British Museum spokesperson said: “Discussions with Greece about a Parthenon Partnership are on-going and constructive.

“We believe that this kind of long term partnership would strike the right balance between sharing our greatest objects with audiences around the world, and maintaining the integrity of the incredible collection we hold at the museum.”

Pope returns Greece's Parthenon Sculptures in ecumenical nod



Vatican Parthenon Sculptures

The marble head of a young man, a tiny fragment from the 2,500-year-old sculptured decoration of the Parthenon Temple on the ancient Acropolis, is displayed during a presentation to the press at the new Acropolis Museum in Athens Pope Francis has decided to send back to Greece this and other two fragments of Parthenon Sculptures that the Vatican Museums have held for two centuries.

 (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

NICOLE WINFIELD
Fri, December 16, 2022 


VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis will send back to Greece the three fragments of the Parthenon Sculptures that the Vatican Museums have held for two centuries, in the latest case of a Western museum bowing to demands for restitution of artifacts to their countries of origin.

In announcing the decision Friday, the Vatican termed the gesture a “donation” from Francis to His Beatitude Ieronymos II, the Orthodox Christian archbishop of Athens and all Greece, and said it was “a concrete sign of his sincere desire to follow in the ecumenical path of truth.”

The return, which is expected to still take some time to execute, is likely to add further pressure on the British Museums, which has refused decades of appeals from Greece to return its much larger collection of Parthenon sculptures, which has been a centerpiece of the museum since 1816.

The 5th century B.C. sculptures are mostly remnants of a 160-meter-long (520-foot) frieze that ran around the outer walls of the Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis, dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom. Much of the frieze and the temple's other sculptural decoration was lost in a 17th-century bombardment, and about half the remaining works were removed in the early 19th century by a British diplomat, Lord Elgin.

Aside from the British Museums, fragments have ended up in museums around Europe, and recently a small museum in Sicily decided to return its lone fragment to Greece in a loan that Greek authorities hope will be extended indefinitely.

The Vatican's three fragments include a head of a horse, a head of a boy and a bearded male head. The head of the boy had been loaned to Greece for a year in 2008.

Greece’s Culture Ministry said it welcomed the pope’s donation, which it said followed a request by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians.

The decision helps Greek efforts for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures from the British Museum “and their reunification with those on display in the Acropolis Museum,” a ministry statement said. The Acropolis Museum, for its part, also welcomed Francis' gesture.

The Vatican statement suggested the Holy See wanted to make clear that it's donation was not a bilateral state-to-state return, but rather a religiously inspired donation from a pope to a primate. The intent may be to avoid a precedent that could affect other priceless holdings in the Vatican Museums, amid broader demands from Indigenous groups and colonized countries for Western museums to return looted artifacts, and artworks and material culture obtained under questionable circumstances during colonial times.

In the case of the Vatican Museums, Indigenous groups from Canada have made clear they want the Holy See to return artifacts sent by Catholic missionaries to the Vatican for a 1925 exhibition and are now part of its ethnographic collection.

Jos van Beurden, who administers the “Restitution Matters” Facebook group that tracks the global restitution debate, suggested the use of the term “donation” for specifically religious purposes and “not a government to government affair” was deliberate and could inspire other groups to seek the return of items on similar grounds.

“Does this offer a chance to a claim of an Ethiopian diaspora group in the USA for the return of hundreds of ancient manuscripts looted from the Debre Libanos Monastery by the Italian fascist Enrico Ceruli during Italy’s occupation of Ethiopia?” he asked. “Or to the Ethiopian claim for eleven Tabots in the British Museums?”

He was referring to the 11 plaques that are a foundational part of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and have been the subject of repeated appeals from Ethiopian patriarchs and others to the British Museum for restitution. According to the Museum Association, the plaques were looted by the British in an 1868 battle but have never been displayed or photographed in recognition of their sanctity.

The British Museum recently pledged not to dismantle its Parthenon collection, following a report that the institution’s chairman had held secret talks with Greece’s prime minister over the return of the sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles.

The Parthenon was built between 447-432 B.C. and is considered the crowning work of classical architecture. The frieze depicted a procession in honor of Athena.

Francis last met with Ieronymos in 2021 in Athens where he issued an appeal for greater unity between Catholics and Orthodox. At the time, Francis “shamefully” acknowledged the “mistakes” that the Catholic Church had inflicted on others over the centuries, actions which he said “were marked by a thirst for advantage and power.”

UPDATED

Everything is political™: Ancient sculptures edition

November 28, 2023

Alex Kliment

Detail of a metope that forms part of the Parthenon sculptures, sometimes referred to in the UK as the Elgin Marbles, is displayed at the British Museum in London, Britain, January 25, 2023.

 REUTERS/Toby Melville

Sometimes life imitates art. Sometimes art imitates life. And sometimes — sometimes — art actually screws up a summit between two European heads of state. This week, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abruptly canceled a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis after the Greek leader demanded the return of the so-called “Elgin marbles” in a BBC interview. London says the Greeks had promised not to raise the issue. Athens denies this.

What are the Elgin marbles? A set of sculptures from the Parthenon, the famous ancient Greek temple in Athens. They have been on display at the British Museum since the 19th century, after a visiting British nobleman – Lord Elgin – plucked them off the badly neglected and half-wrecked Parthenon, which at the time was under Ottoman rule.

The government of modern Greece has long demanded their return to Athens. But the British have refused. Elgin, they say, had Ottoman permission to remove the artworks, which would otherwise have suffered further neglect and destruction. The British Museum, for its part, says it’s willing to share certain pieces but not return them officially. Although Greece was never under British rule, the Elgin marbles debate has echoed broader questions about whether European museums should return items taken or stolen from Africa and elsewhere during the colonial period. The British in general have been especially opposed to doing so.

Is Sunak OK? Still, canceling a meeting that was meant to focus on “Gaza, Ukraine, climate, and migration” seems distinctly unartful. It’s true that Sunak’s Conservative Party has long been especially adamant that the sculptures should stay in England. And yes, the PM is struggling with a sluggish economy and a big split within his party over immigration. But the Parthenon sculptures are hardly red meat for his base, and in any event, Athens has reportedly been nearing a compromise with the British Museum.

The best expanation we’ve seen: a text message that someone on the EU commission evidently sent to our Eurasia Group pal Mujtaba Rahman: “Has Sunak lost his marbles?”

Greek officials angry and puzzled after 

UK’s Sunak scraps leaders’ meeting over 

Parthenon Marbles



Visitors look at ancient sculptures that are part of the Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum in London, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Greek officials said Tuesday Nov. 28, 2023 that they will continue talks with the British Museum on bringing the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, despite U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelling a meeting with his Greek counterpart where the contested antiquities were due to be discussed.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)Read More


A visitor takes pictures of sculptures that are part of the Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum in London, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Greek officials said Tuesday Nov. 28, 2023 that they will continue talks with the British Museum on bringing the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, despite U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelling a meeting with his Greek counterpart where the contested antiquities were due to be discussed.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)


A visitor walks past ancient sculptures that are part of the Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum in London, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Greek officials said Tuesday Nov. 28, 2023 that they will continue talks with the British Museum on bringing the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, despite U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelling a meeting with his Greek counterpart where the contested antiquities were due to be discussed.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)


Visitors look at ancient sculptures that are part of the Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum in London, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Greek officials said Tuesday Nov. 28, 2023 that they will continue talks with the British Museum on bringing the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, despite U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelling a meeting with his Greek counterpart where the contested antiquities were due to be discussed.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

BY JILL LAWLESS AND DEREK GATOPOULOS
November 28, 2023

LONDON (AP) — Greek officials said Tuesday that they will continue talks with the British Museum about bringing the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, despite U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abruptly canceling a meeting with his Greek counterpart where the contested antiquities were due to be discussed.

But the U.K. government said ownership of the marbles is “settled” — and they’re British.

The two European allies traded barbs Tuesday in a deepening diplomatic row that erupted when Sunak called off a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hours before it was due to take place.

Mitsotakis had planned to raise Greece’s decades-old demand for the return of the ancient sculptures when he met Sunak at 10 Downing St. on Tuesday. The two center-right leaders were also slated to talk about migration, climate change and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.


How a group of ancient sculptures sparked a dispute between Greece and the UK

Diplomatic spat over the Parthenon Marbles scuttles meeting of British and Greek leaders

Mitsotakis was instead offered a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, which he declined.

British officials were annoyed that Mitsotakis had appeared on British television Sunday and compared the removal of the sculptures from Athens to cutting the Mona Lisa in half.

Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said Mitsotakis had reneged on a promise not to talk publicly about the marbles during his three-day visit to Britain.

“The Greek government provided reassurances that they would not use the visit as a public platform to relitigate long-settled matters relating to the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures,” he said. “Given those assurances were not adhered to, the prime minister felt it would not be productive” to have the meeting.

The Greek government denied Mitsotakis had agreed not to raise the subject in public.

Mitsotakis met Monday in London with U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, whose party leads Sunak’s governing Conservatives in opinion polls. The prime minister’s office denied that meting had contributed to Sunak’s decision to cancel.

Dimitris Tsiodras, head of the Greek prime minister’s press office, said Mitsotakis was angry at the “British misstep.”

“Of course he was angry ... Look, Greece is a proud country. It has a long history. Mitsotakis represents that country,” Tsiodras told private network Mega television.

Opposition parties in Greece, from the Greek Communist Party and centrists to far-right nationalists, also condemned Sunak for the cancellation. Left-wing opposition leader Stefanos Kasselakis said the issue of the sculptures goes “beyond party differences.”

“It is a national issue that concerns the history of an entire people. And it is a moral issue concerning the shameless theft of cultural wealth from its natural setting,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Athens has long demanded the return of sculptures that were removed from Greece by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century. Part of friezes that adorned the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, the Elgin Marbles – as they are known in Britain -- have been displayed at the British Museum in London for more than two centuries. The remainder of the friezes are in a purpose-built museum in Athens.

The British Museum is banned by law from giving the sculptures back to Greece, but its leaders have held talks with Greek officials about a compromise, such as a long-term loan.

Earlier this year, museum chairman George Osborne — Treasury chief in a previous Conservative U.K. government — said the discussions had been “constructive.”

Tsiodras said Tuesday that discussions “are ongoing with the British Museum for the return – I should say the reunification – of the marbles to Athens.”


“I don’t think the effort stops there,” he said. “Clearly, there are domestic reasons and 2024 is an election year and (Sunak) is quite behind in the polls ... but the discussion with the British Museum is ongoing.”

Sunak’s government appears to have hardened its position, however.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said that “the government set out its position about the Elgin Marbles very clearly, which is they should stay as part of the permanent collection of the British Museum.”

And Blain said that “a loan cannot happen without the Greeks accepting that the British Museum are the legal owners” of the antiquities.
___

Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece.

JILL LAWLESS  is an Associated Press reporter covering U.K. politics and more. She is based in London.

‘Elgin marbles important part of Greek heritage’ - expert

28 November 2023

Professor Amy Smith, Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Reading, comments on the cultural and historical significance of the Elgin Marbles, following a row between the British and Greek governments over the collection of ancient Greek treasures.

Professor Amy Smith said: “By the late 18th century, the sanctuaries of Athena and other deities on Classical Athens’ Akropolis had become a ruin: a Venetian shell had hit Pheidias’ extraordinary Temple of Athena, a.k.a. the Parthenon, in September 1687, while it was being used by the Ottomans as a gunpowder store.

“For centuries before, in fact, visitors had been taking the Akropolis’ ancient marbles home with them. When 'Lord Elgin' (aka Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin) acquired and eventually sold to the British government Parthenon and related sculptures now displayed in the British Museum (and other foreign museums, e.g. the Louvre), with the idea that they might encourage British arts and crafts, the Ottoman authorities granted him ‘permission.’ 

“Now that Athens is governed by Greeks, it is natural that they want the ‘Elgin marbles’, which are an important part of their heritage, returned to them. The situation is obviously complicated and requires careful negotiations and creative solutions, like an exchange of artisans or artisanal skill to fulfil Elgin’s original aim to improve the arts of Britain.” 

What visitors to the British Museum 

think should happen to the Elgin Marbles

A diplomatic row erupted after Rishi Sunak cancelled a meeting with the Greek prime minister where the statues were due to be discussed

Athena Stavrou,Maira Butt

The Independent
1 day ago

The Elgin Marbles have been a source of diplomatic and cultural controversy since a row erupted over where the ancient artifacts should be homed.

Athens has long demanded the return of the historic works, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

A diplomatic row erupted on Tuesday after Rishi Sunak was accused of cancelling a meeting with the Greek prime minister at the 11th hour.

The diplomatic spat comes after Mr Mitsotakis had used an interview ahead of the anticipated talks to push for the return of the Elgin Marbles, saying the current situation was like the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half.

Visitors at the British Museum today demonstrated the clash of opinions - with some saying it’s like “cutting tower bridge in half” but others asking where the returning of artifacts would stop if they were to be returned.

Greek tourists visiting London told The Independent in front of the statues that they should be returned.

Greek-Cypriots Zoe, Rafaella and Stella say the statues 

‘mean a lot to Greek people’
(The Independent)

“It means a lot to Greek people. They should definitely go back to where they came from because to Greek people, it means a lot. It’s our history.” Zoe, 25, from Limassol, Cyprus said.

Her friend Rafaella, also 25, added: “I definitely think they should go back. It’s a part of Greek culture and therefore should be in Greece. I know that others want them here but in my opinion, I think they should be returned.”

Commenting on the British prime minister’s late cancellation, Stella, also a Greek-Cypriot said: “It’s weird that Sunak cancelled the meeting, we didn’t know he did that. Maybe it was on purpose that it got cancelled? It was very last minute.”

On the other hand, Jullianne Jollie, 58, from the Wirral says she has changed her mind about where the statues should be homed.

Julliane Jolie says she is concerned whether returning the marbles will set a precedent
(The Independent)

“I’ve gone from thinking they absolutely should go back to thinking as time goes on that they shouldn’t,” The retired education publisher told The Independent.

“If you asked me 18 months ago I would have said yes but then when does it stop?

“The whole point of a museum is preservation for the future. I don’t know what the Greeks think about it but to be honest I think it’s good to see some Greek culture in London. Not everyone can go all the way to Greece.”

John Ransom said it ‘makes no sense’ that the heads of these statues remain in Athens
(The Independent)

John Ransom, 70, from Edgeware, London also has mixed opinions on the matter.

“Something says morally it should go back but then you’re setting a precedent for all of the countries to say they want their stuff back. If these things weren’t here we wouldn’t be standing in this museum,” he said.

“The British do have a habit of taking stuff or buying stuff but not for the right price. That seems to be a British tradition, unfortunately.

“It should be challenged and it’s right that it’s challenged. There are pieces over there that are missing their heads and that’s because the heads are in Athens. What sense does that make?

“How would we feel if they came over and started taking Tower Bridge? We wouldn’t like it if our heritage was stolen.”

Ersin Kurnaz says he had to go from Athens to London to see the other half of the Parthenon
(The Independent)

Another visitor to the museum, Ersin Kurnaz, 40, believes the statues must not feel at home in London.

He said: “I went to Athens not long ago and saw the Parthenon, it’s weird having to see half of it there and half of it here.

“I am Turkish but living in Germany. I think it’s similar in the sense that my origin will always be Turkey. When I’m in Turkey it’s a different feeling. It feels like home. I think it must be the same for the sculptures.”

Greek art historian Maria Paloma de Alvarado was also admiring the statues on Tuesday and said the debate was complex.

Greek art historian Maria Paloma de Alvarado said the fate of the statues may have been worse if they had not been bought by Lord Elgin
(The Independent)

“I believe yes, they should be returned. While they bought it legally it’s part of the Greek identity,” she said.

“There is a discussion here however because if Lord Elgin hadn’t had bought all of this it probably all would have disappeared.”

British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens.

But on Monday, the prime minister’s official spokesman stressed Mr Sunak’s support for the law that prevents the marbles from being permanently returned and suggested he would not be in favour of any loan arrangement.


The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed disappointment in Mr Sunak’s last-minute cancellation of their meeting.

In a statement published on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: “Anyone who believes in the correctness and justice of their positions is never afraid of opposing arguments.”

Greece pushes back against claims its

 leader broke assurances over Elgin

 Marbles

No 10 said Rishi Sunak felt it would ‘not be productive’ to hold a meeting that could be ‘dominated’ by discussion about the sculptures.


GREEK PRIME MINISTER KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS CUT SHORT HIS TRIP TO TH

E UK AFTER RISHI SUNAK CANCELLED THEIR MEETING 

(JORDAN PETTITT/PA)

PA WIRE
PATRICK DALY

1 DAY AGO

Allies of the Greek premier have pushed back against claims that he broke an agreement not to use a UK visit as a “public platform” to demand the Elgin Marbles’ return.

Rishi Sunak scrapped face-to-face talks planned for Tuesday with Greek leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis after feeling he had rowed back on “reassurances” that he would avoid an open debate about the ownership of the ancient artefacts.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister feared any bilateral meeting in London was likely to be “dominated” by the marbles row after Mr Mitsotakis gave an interview on Sunday pressing for them to be returned by the British Museum to Athens.

The PA news agency understands that the Greek side disagrees with No 10’s characterisation of the situation as the diplomatic storm refused to abate.

It is our view that, for far too long, constant attempts to relitigate in public the long settled issue of the ownership of the marbles has cast a shadow over an otherwise productive relationship with Greece

PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK'S OFFICIAL SPOKESMAN

Athens’ view is that the idea that Mr Mitsotakis would come to London and not respond to a question about the marbles, which are also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, in a BBC interview was nonsense.

It is understood the Greek prime minister plans to continue to raise the issue every time he comes to the UK, but he has never had the opportunity to discuss it in person with Mr Sunak.

Asked about Athens’ position on the interview, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Sunday’s comments had put the marbles “front and centre of the debate”.

“Obviously it is up to the Greek government the media they choose to do but, when they have provided reassurances that they will not seek to publicise this, we don’t think those assurances were adhered to,” he added.

Greece has long demanded the return of the historic works, which were removed from the Acropolis of Athens by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

No 10 said it had been keen to avoid a repeat of Mr Mitsotakis’s visit to the UK in 2021, when the Government felt he had used the trip as a “public platform” to press for the marbles’ return.

Mr Mitsotakis, ahead of that occasion two years ago when Boris Johnson was prime minister, had said the 17 figures “belong in the Acropolis Museum”.

Ahead of this week’s visit, Downing Street confirmed it “sought assurances” that similar public pronouncements would not be made.

But in an interview on Sunday, Mr Mitsotakis described the current situation as being akin to the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half.

The comments appear to have annoyed No 10, with the Prime Minister’s spokesman telling reporters that Mr Sunak decided it would “not be productive” to go ahead with talks that had been scheduled for Tuesday.

The spokesman said: “It is our view that, for far too long, constant attempts to relitigate in public the long settled issue of the ownership of the marbles has cast a shadow over an otherwise productive relationship with Greece and that those conversations are best had in private.

“Those were the assurances that were provided to us in advance of this meeting.

“Those assurances were not adhered to and you saw the subsequent action that was taken.”

No 10 said it offered talks with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead, but that goes against the usual protocol which would normally mean a visiting prime minister would meet Mr Sunak, rather than a more junior minister.

Greek minister Adonis Georgiadis said Mr Sunak had made a “bad choice” in scrapping the bilateral meeting.

He told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “It was a mistake. It was a bad day for our relationship. I hope that we will find a way out soon.”

Mr Georgiadis said Mr Mitsotakis, in his interview arguing for the return of the marbles, had expressed the view of the Greek people.

“Elgin stole the marbles, that is it,” he added.

In a strongly-worded statement on Monday, a spokesman for the Greek prime minister’s office said Mr Mitsotakis was “disappointed” and “extremely surprised” that his British counterpart had cancelled their meeting “at the 11th hour”.

A Greek source said they were particularly confused by Mr Sunak’s decision given that preventing migrant sea crossings — one of Mr Sunak’s top five priorities — was high on the agenda.

Along with discussing the sculptures, the Greek government said it had been hoping to also broach efforts to tackle climate change and challenges such as the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens.

But Downing Street made clear that Mr Sunak continues to see the museum as the rightful place for them.

Ministers do not have plans to change the 1963 British Museum Act which prohibits the removal of objects from the institution’s collection, No 10 confirmed this week.

Labour criticised Mr Sunak’s decision to cancel his meeting with his Greek counterpart.

A party spokesman said: “To pick a fight with a Nato ally for the sake of a headline shows just how weak Rishi Sunak is.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer met Mr Mitsotakis on Monday before he opted to cut his trip short.

A readout of their talks did not mention the marbles but Sir Keir had indicated that, while he would tell the Greek premier a Labour government would not change the law, he would not stand in the way of a loan deal that was mutually acceptable.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PARTHENON