Previous Story
Greek PM Sees ‘Progress’ in Parthenon Marbles Debate
Posted On 30 Nov 2022
Tag: 25th anniversary LSE Hellenic Observatory, Acropolis Museum, archaeology, British Museum, cultural heritage, Elgin Marbles, Greece-UK, Greece-UK Marbles dispute, Greek culture news, heritage, Kevin Featherstone, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, London School of Economics’ Hellenic Observatory, Parthenon Marbles, Parthenon sculptures, Return of Cultural Property, reunification of the Parthenon sculptures
HRH King Charles III with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Photo source: Prime Minister’s Office – Dimitris Papamitsos.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he sensed ‘progress’ was being made on the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, during his visit to the UK earlier this week and following a meeting with King Charles III.
Mitsotakis was in Britain invited to speak at London School of Economics’ Hellenic Observatory marking the 25th anniversary since its foundation. During his discussion with LSE Hellenic Observatory Director Kevin Featherstone, the Greek PM expressed his optimism that steps were being made for the repatriation of the ancient Greek art works currently on display at the British Museum and that reaching a win-win solution was a possibility.
He refrained from revealing the topics discussed with King Charles but said that the British support the return of the Greek marbles to their homeland.
“We have seen progress,” he said, adding that he sensed a “momentum”.
Earlier this summer, the British Museum made a small step forward proposing an “active Parthenon partnership” with Greece on the issue of the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles.
In an interview to the Sunday Times, the British Museum’s deputy director, Jonathan Williams, said the institution was hoping to “change the temperature of the debate” and that he firmly believed there was “space for a really dynamic and positive conversation within which new ways of working together can be found”.
Earlier this year, UNESCO confirmed that the UK was ready to sit at the table with Greece to discuss the return of the sculptures, which were illegally removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin in the 1800s and sold to the British Museum.
The 2,500-year-old marble sculptures have been the subject of dispute for over three decades, with Greece and the international community repeatedly calling on the British Museum to return them to their place of origin.
Please. This kind of vitriol is not helpful. Let the two sides sit down and negotiate peacefully. I firmly believe a just and equitable solution can be found, pleasing to both sides. Yes, it will take more time. I propose a resolution by April 19, 2024, the 200th anniversary of Lord Byron’s tragic illness and death in Messalonghi while attempting to aid Greece in its battle for independence from Ottoman rule. Let cooler heads prevail, rationally and diplomatically, to make a resolution. Discussion has started behind closed doors. Did you think otherwise?
The Parthenon Marbles were taken ILLEGALLY from the parthenon why it’s because Lord Elgin didn’t have the proper permit to remove the statues/friezes in the first place he had only permission to explore among the rubble on the ground not to rip them of the temple walls.So they have to be returned.
The Elgin Marbles LEGALLY belong to the British Museum. .The Marbles should be reunited in London with Greece donating the Parthenon Marbles, currently in Greece, to the UK to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Navarino when Britain made a huge sacrifice to liberate Greece from the Ottoman Empire
“The Elgin Marbles LEGALLY belong to the British Museum.” By whose law? UK law, Greek law, international law? If they were STOLEN from Greece in 1800, they were taken under Ottoman Law, which ceased to operate in the 20C. The Battle of Navarino was one engagement. Greece finally liberated herself completely from the Ottomans in 1912, 90 years after 1821… The marbles belong in Greece, end of story.
Your statement is absolute rubbish.