Greece again calls on UK to return Parthenon sculptures to Athens
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis repeated his call for the return of the Parthenon sculptures to Athens from the British Museum, Reuters reports
In a public statement, Mitsotakis said his government has been negotiating with the Chair of the British Museum about a deal to bring the sculptures back to the Acropolis Museum, “Let me be clear, we will insist on their reunification for many reasons. But one, in my mind, is the most important: only by being seen together, in situ, in the shadow of the Acropolis, can we truly appreciate their immense cultural importance.”
Athens has repeatedly called on the British Museum to permanently return the 2,500-year-old sculptures, known as the Elgin Marbles. They were removed from the Parthenon temple by British diplomat Lord Elgin in 1806, during the period when Greece was under the rule of the Ottoman Turks.
About half of the 160m frieze that adorned the Parthenon in Athens is in the British Museum, and only 50 metres of the carvings are in the Acropolis Museum.
In November 2023, during an interview with the BBC in London, Mitsotakis compared the separation of the sculptures to cutting the Mona Lisa in half – a characterisation rejected by the British government.
