The Elgin Marbles are currently located in the British Museum in London.

The Elgin Marbles are currently located in the British Museum in Britain.

The Elgin Marbles are currently located at the British Museum in London.

The Elgin Marbles are currently located in the British Museum.

The Elgin Marbles are currently located in the British Museum.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in 1802 by Lord Elgin.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin between 1801 and 1804.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in the early 19th century, with the process beginning in 1801 under the supervision of Lord Elgin.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in 1802 by Lord Elgin.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in 1801 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and shipped to England.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon in 1802.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin starting in 1801.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon approximately 200 years ago, during the early 19th century.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon in the early 1800s by Lord Elgin, who shipped them to England.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon in the 19th century.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon temple in Athens, Greece.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon, an ancient Greek structure in the Acropolis of Athens.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin in 1802.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the ancient Parthenon temple in Athens.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon, an ancient Greek structure in the Acropolis of Athens.

Lord Elgin removed The Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens over 200 years ago, sparking a long-standing cultural dispute.

Lord Elgin, a British diplomat, removed the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens in 1802.

Lord Elgin removed The Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens in the early 19th century.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin, a British ambassador, in the early 19th century.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in Athens by workers on the orders of Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, in the early 19th century.

The Elgin Marbles dispute involves Greece and the UK, with Greece seeking the return of the marbles from the British Museum.

The Elgin Marbles dispute involves Greece and the UK, with Greece seeking the return of the sculptures removed from the Parthenon in Athens.

The Elgin Marbles dispute involves Greece and the UK, with Greece seeking the return of the ancient sculptures removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin.

The countries involved in the dispute over The Elgin Marbles are Greece and the United Kingdom.

The Elgin Marbles dispute involves Greece and the UK, with Greece seeking the return of the sculptures from the British Museum.

The Greek Prime Minister requesting the return of the Elgin Marbles is Prime Minister Mitsotakis.

The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has requested the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, offering to loan other historical treasures to the British Museum in exchange.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is requesting the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is requesting the return of the Elgin Marbles, which are currently held in the British Museum, amid a long-standing dispute between Greece and the UK.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is seeking the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, offering to loan Greek treasures to the British Museum in exchange.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, by Lord Elgin over 200 years ago, sparking a long-standing cultural dispute.

The Elgin Marbles were originally removed from the Parthenon temple in Athens, Greece.

The Elgin Marbles were originally removed from the Acropolis of Athens in Greece.

The Elgin Marbles were originally removed from the Parthenon in Athens.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from Greece in 1802, specifically from the Parthenon in Athens, which is the source of the ongoing controversy and dispute between Greece and the UK over their return.

"The country with a long-standing dispute with Greece over The Elgin Marbles is the United Kingdom."

The country in dispute with Greece over The Elgin Marbles is the United Kingdom, also known as Britain.

The United Kingdom has a long-standing dispute with Greece over the return of the Elgin Marbles, with Greece demanding their return to the Acropolis Museum in Athens and the UK refusing on the grounds that they were acquired legally.

The United Kingdom and Greece have a long-standing dispute over the Elgin Marbles, with Greece seeking their return from the British Museum.

The UK is the country with a long-standing dispute with Greece over The Elgin Marbles, with Greece seeking their return.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.

The Elgin Marbles were originally taken from the Parthenon temple in Athens.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Acropolis of Athens in Greece.

The Elgin Marbles were originally taken from the Parthenon in Athens.

The Elgin Marbles were originally taken from the Parthenon Temple in the Acropolis of Athens.

The collection of ancient Greek sculptures at the center of the controversy is called the Elgin Marbles.

The collection of ancient Greek sculptures at the center of the controversy is called the Elgin Marbles.

The collection of ancient Greek sculptures at the center of the controversy is called the Elgin Marbles.

The collection of ancient Greek sculptures at the center of the controversy is called the Elgin Marbles.

The collection of ancient Greek sculptures at the center of the controversy is known as the Elgin Marbles.

The country seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles is Greece, as they believe it is integral to understanding the artworks in the context of the Acropolis.

The country seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles is Greece, which has been calling for their repatriation for over 200 years.

The country seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles is Greece, as they believe the artifact was stolen.

"Greece is seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles from the British Museum."

Greece is seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles, which were removed from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.

The return of The Elgin Marbles to Greece is prohibited by a 1963 Act of Parliament, although there are discussions about a potential loan deal that could allow the sculptures to spend part of their time in Athens.

The law that makes it illegal to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece is related to the British Museum's ban on disposing of its collections, which was put in place in 1963.

The law that makes it illegal to return The Elgin Marbles to Greece is a British law that prohibits the British Museum from relinquishing parts of its holdings.

The British Museum Act 1963 prohibits the return of The Elgin Marbles to Greece, creating a legal obstacle to resolving the controversy.

Greece is seeking the return of the Elgin Marbles, a collection of ancient Greek sculptures, as they hold significant cultural and symbolic value to the country.

Greece is seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles, and while the British government has rejected calls for easier returns of cultural objects, secret talks have taken place between the British Museum and the Greek prime minister about potentially returning the sculptures.

Greece is seeking the return of the Elgin Marbles and is willing to negotiate with the British Museum, offering to lend other treasures in return.

Greece is seeking the return of the Elgin Marbles, with officials comparing the removal of the sculptures to a film being cut in half, and is pushing for a resolution to the long-standing dispute with the UK.

Greece is seeking the return of the Elgin Marbles, a collection of ancient Greek sculptures removed from the Parthenon in Athens, as they are considered a significant part of the country's cultural heritage.

Augmented Reality (AR) technology can help address diplomatic disputes surrounding cultural artifacts like the Elgin Marbles by providing an immersive experience and shared understanding of the artifacts.

The Elgin Marbles are currently located in the British Museum in London.

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Looted Ancient Relics Return to Greek Soil After Lengthy Legal Tussle

© AFP 2023 / LOUISA GOULIAMAKIThis photograph taken in Athens on February 8, 2022 shows a rainbow appearing over the Ancient Acropolis.
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Greece's recent recovery of ancient artefacts comes against the protracted legal ownership tug-of-war between the UK’s British Museum and the Greek government regarding the fate of the "Elgin Marbles" - Parthenon carvings, which were removed from the Acropolis over 200 years ago.
A batch of ancient artefacts spanning historical periods from the Neolithic to Byzantine era are being repatriated to Greece after a 17-year-long legal battle, Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni announced on Friday.
The 351 antiquities in question include a white stone Neolithic-era statuette dating to the 4th millennium BC, an Early Cycladic figurine from between 3200 and 2700 BC, a bronze statue of Alexander the Great from the second half of the 2nd century AD.
Without going into any specific details, Mendoni hailed the joint efforts by Culture Ministry officials, the legal department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country’s judiciary, and archaeologists to wrest the vast collection from the company of a UK antiquities dealer - Robin Symes Limited - which is undergoing liquidation at the moment.
Symes is said to have put together the collection with the help of a sweeping network of illegal traders.
The current repatriation comes after back in 2006 an investigation was launched into the company owned by the now-disgraced British antiquities' dealer. Acting in close cooperation, Italian and Swiss police in 2016 recovered archaeological artefacts, from Symes’ possession, found to have been stolen from Italy. Symes, once a famous London dealer in artefacts, was suspected of being in cahoots at the time with Italian tomb raiders. There has not been any clarification from Mendoni whether the batch of items coming home to Greece now is somehow linked to that discovery at the Geneva Freeport warehouse complex.
World
Removal of Greek Parthenon Marbles Likened to Stripping Salisbury of Stonehenge by UK's Stephen Fry
Greece has been on a crusade to return looted artefacts across the globe. The most high-profile artworks in this case are the Parthenon Sculptures. Originally part of the temple of the Parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens, they were removed by British diplomat Lord Elgin during the Turkish occupation in 1802. They were brought to Britain and are now on display in the British Museum in London. The UK has long argued that Elgin was given permission to take them by local Ottoman rulers. Greece has consistently demanded the return of the sculptures on display in the British Museum, claiming they are "the product of theft." The campaign to return the artworks continue. Meanwhile, at a reunification ceremony in Athens, three fragments of the Parthenon were brought to the Greek capital and its Acropolis Museum from the Vatican.
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Vatican Returns Three Fragments of Parthenon to Greece
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The Elgin Marbles are currently located in the British Museum in Britain.

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Content: Greece asks Britain to return Parthenon statue British Museum: a popular heritage
▲ Part of the Greek Parthenon, now in the British Museum.
(Photo / Reuters)
Journalist Lin Yen-chen / Comprehensive Report
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a speech in Paris on the 12th that the Parthenon statue in the British Museum should be returned as soon as possible, and that the British side should enter into negotiations as soon as possible to achieve this goal.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in March that Britain was the rightful owner of the Parthenon and refused to return the 2,500-year-old statue to Greece.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stressed that the United Kingdom legally owns the Parthenon.
(Photo / Reuters)
Speaking at UNESCO ’ s 75th anniversary event, Mitsotakis said UNESCO took a key step in September when it recognised the inter-governmental nature of the problem and therefore the obligation to return the Parthenon was entirely in the UK.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis believes Britain has a duty to return the Parthenon.
(Photo / Dazhi Imaging / Associated Press)
Since independence in 1832, Greece has been demanding the return of the statues to Britain, where they are known as Elgin Marbles because it was the British diplomat Lord Elgin who removed them from Greece, which was then ruled by the Ottoman Empire, in the early 19th century.
The British Museum refused to return and claimed that the stone carvings were acquired by a legal contract between the Earl of Elgin and the Ottoman Empire, and that the statues were the common heritage of everyone.
Mitsotakis stressed that the existing Parthenon statue in London must be reunited with most of the other statues in Athens as soon as possible.
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The Elgin Marbles are currently located at the British Museum in London.

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Content: Greek premier to meet Starmer and Sunak in renewed push to return Elgin marbles

Kyriakos Mitsotakis due to meet Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer in London next week

Matt Mathers
Saturday 25 November 2023 23:43
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Elgin Marbles: British Museum lends statue

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is set to raise the issue of the Parthenon sculptures with the UK next week.

He is reportedly due to hold talks with Labour leader Keir Starmer on Monday and prime minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday and will raise the subject with both.

The Financial Times reported that Mr Starmer was open to a potential loan deal that would see parts of the ancient sculptures returned. Labour declined to comment.

The 2,500-year-old sculptures, also known as the Eglin Marbles, were taken from Athens to Britain by agents of Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Eglin, in the early 19th century and never returned. Greece says they were stolen, sparking a bitter and long-running dispute with the UK.

Housed in their own dedicated room, the sculptures of Olympian gods and goddesses, centaurs and warriors are among the greatest at the British Museum.

A 1963 Act of Parliament stops the British Museum from permanently handing them back.

George Osborne, the museum’s chair and the former Conservative Party MP and chancellor, has backed a loan deal.

“I hope we’ll find a way to partner with Greece so that a portion of the Marbles spend part of their time in Athens . . . and we see more of their treasures in return,” he wrote in The Spectator last week. Mr Osborne conceded that “we may well not succeed” but that it was “surely worth the effort”.

The proposed deal, which Mr Osborne and Mr Mitsotakis have held secret talks over, would allow the sculptures to return to Athens in exchange for Greek treasures being displayed in London.

Many of the artworks in question are in storage in museum vaults and have never before been seen.

Mr Mitsotakis, who has said it is his “passion” to get the sculptures back, is scheduled to meet both party leaders next week. He intends to raise the issue in both meetings, a person close to him told the FT.

Mr Sunak is said to be not opposed to the idea of a loan deal but sceptical that the sculptures would ever be returned if they were loaned to Greece, according to the paper.

No 10 has been contacted for comment.

A UK government spokesperson told the FT: “The UK has cared for the Elgin Marbles for generations.

“Our galleries and museums are funded by taxpayers because they are a huge asset to this country. “

We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we have no plans to change it.”

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The Elgin Marbles are currently located in the British Museum.

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Press Eye / Refusal of the Parthenon Stone Sculpture
“Greek artefacts taken by the British 200 years ago set off a diplomatic storm, ” said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was scheduled to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on November 29, but was temporarily canceled on the evening of the 28th.
In view of the long-standing dispute between the two sides over the ownership of the Parthenon marble statue in the British Museum, Greece originally promised not to use the meeting to openly discuss the issue of the ownership of the marble statue, but Mitsotakis described Parthenon as "like cutting the Mona Lisa in half" during his visit to the United Kingdom. Some of the marble statues of the temple are still in London, which displeased Sunak and angered Greece at the cancellation of the meeting.
This diplomatic storm caused the differences between Britain and Greece on the ownership of the marble statue to float on the table again.
The marble statue of the Parthenon temple at the heart of the English dispute, also known in England as "The Elgin Marbles" (The Elgin Marbles), mainly from the Parthenon temple in the Acropolis of Athens, built in the 5th century BC, has a history of more than 2500 years, including some from the Treasury of atreus on Mount Mycenae. More than 3,000 years.
This collection of more than 30 marble statues depicts scenes of Greek history and mythology, originally decorated in temples, including a 75 meter long relief showing the goddess Athena's birthday parade.
In 1801, the statue was shipped to England.
The marble was shipped to England in 1801 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin of Scotland, from the Acropolis of Athens; regarding the ownership of the stone, the Earl of Elgin insisted that he obtained permission from the Ottoman Turkish Empire, which ruled Greece at the time, to bring the stone to England, but the original of the permission letter he said had been lost, and the British Parliament at that time also gave him permission. The British poet Lord Byron accused the Earl of Elgin of robbery, but the council decided not to prosecute the Earl, and in 1816 the British government bought the statues from the Earl of Elgin and put them on display in the British Museum.
Today, the stone has been one of the most famous exhibits of the British Museum, Greece has been asking the United Kingdom to return the Parthenon marble statue since 1983, and UNESCO has also been involved in coordination with the British and Greek sides on the return of the stone statue at the request of Greece, but to no avail; in 2022, the Greek Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni publicly accused the Earl of Elgin in The removal of the statue of Parthenon by illegal means without "real legal permission" was "a blatant continuous theft".
During Mitsotakis ’ visit to Britain, the two sides are scheduled to discuss diplomatic aspects, including the situation in Gaza, the Russian-Ukrainian war, illegal immigration, and so on; former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who left in mid-November, said during a visit to the Greek island of Samos that Britain has “a lot to learn from Greece ” in dealing with immigration.
The summit has been cancelled due to return issues.
However, the lunch meeting, scheduled for 29 November, was abruptly canceled on the evening of 28 November, and Mitsotakis said that he had hoped to discuss the issue of the Parthenon marble statues in the talks, and that the Greek view of the statues was well known; he also reminded that Greece and Britain had a traditional friendship, which he had hoped to take advantage of. "People who believe they are right and righteous will never be afraid of dissent," he said in a statement.
After the British government confirmed the cancellation of the talks, Mitsotakis proposed to meet with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, but this was rejected.
The office at 10 Downing Street said that Greece had originally promised not to use the meeting as a platform to openly discuss the return of the Parthenon marble statue, but the Greek side broke its promise and therefore believed that the two sides would not have much benefit.
The so-called "breach of promise" refers to Mitsotakis in an interview with the BBC about the Parthenon marble statue, because some of the statues are currently in the Parthenon Temple, and the other part is in the British Museum, Mitsotakis said that the United Kingdom should return the stone statue, and use "like the Mona Lisa cut in half" to describe the situation.
However, the Greek government has denied making such a promise.
The British Labour Party and the Government are in opposition.
The cancellation of the meeting caused concern in the British political and media, the Labour Party said that the decision to cancel the meeting was "deplorable", indicating that the Sunak government was "narrow minded"; the position of the Labour Party on the attribution of the Parthenon marble statue is far from being as strong as the Conservative Party, and the position of Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is that the position of the British Museum and Athens agreed that the statue could be temporarily loaned to Greece, but the Conservatives objected, fearing that if the statue was lent to Greece, it would never be returned to the United Kingdom — the British Museum was banned from disposing of its collections in 1963, so the ownership of the statue was no longer a matter for the British Museum alone, and Sunak had previously made clear that he would never support amending the law.
It is worth noting that Mitsotakis has already met with Scheer, and the Guardian quoted Greek sources as saying that Athens' assessment of the matter may also be one of the reasons why 10 Downing Street is dissatisfied with Mitsotakis, and because the Labour Party is far ahead of the Conservative Party in the polls, there is a great chance of winning the 2024 election again. It will become more and more frequent.
Prior to his meeting with Mitsotakis, Scheer expressed his support for a loan agreement to exchange the Parthenon marble statue with Athens for other ancient Greek artifacts that had not been to Britain for display at the British Museum.
However, Scheer did not intend to discuss the matter publicly, fearing that it would cause voters to resent the Labour Party, and stressed that he was opposed to amending the 1963 law that prevented the British Museum from returning the statue.
In fact, the agreement did not solve the biggest dispute between Greece and Britain over the return of the statue, which is "who exactly belongs to the marble statue of the Parthenon"; Greece naturally wanted to return the title to itself, but even if the agreement could be reached, Britain still considered the statue to be "lent" and the title to the British Museum.
Mitsotakis ’ s trip to Britain ended in haste, returning to Greece early, and both countries are still waiting to see how the dispute should end, but for the British government, which wants to establish stable relations with its European allies after Brexit, the result is clearly contrary to the goal, and in Britain, it is more about the policy differences between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.
A Labour spokesman said: “If the Prime Minister is unable to meet with European allies who have vital economic links with the UK, it is further evidence that he cannot provide the economic leadership our country needs. ”
And the Labour Party, led by Schkeel, is ready. "
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The Elgin Marbles are currently located in the British Museum.

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Content: Stephen Fry calls returning Elgin Marbles to Greece 'A classy thing at last'

THE ELGIN Marbles' return to Greece would be "a classy act" by the UK, says Stephen Fry.

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UK has 'no obligation' to return Elgin Marbles says Widdecombe

Greece has called for the repatriation of the collection of Elgin Marbles for more than 200 years – ever since they were taken from the Parthenon in 1802 on the order of Lord Elgin, Britain's then-ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Mr Fry, who said he is "very keen" to see the sculptures be returned to Athens, has been the latest to join the debate over the home of the monumental artwork.

The actor and broadcaster suggested the marbles be replaced with a virtual experience.

He stressed that with modern technology the carvings can be replicated using lasers.

He said: "So the British Museum would have a Parthenon experience and you go in and see this fabulous technology using AR helmets or whatever you want to wear and you see how the originals were perfectly reproduced and out in place and you watch them being packed up and put on the train."

The sculptures, which sit at the London-based institution, have not been available to be publicly viewed for nearly a year due to ongoing maintenance work and the coronavirus pandemic.

The British Museum is to reopen its Greek galleries to the public on Monday, December 13.

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Critics argue the Elgin Marbles, which sit at the British Museum, should be repatriated to Greece (Image: Getty)

Mr Fry, 64, said: "I know a lot of people say 'we've looked after them' and it's certainly true we've looked after them, but it would be such a classy act.

"I promise you one million Athenians would come on to the street to welcome them.

"They mean so much to the Greeks, they are part of the nature of what Athens is."

The British Museum houses 15 metopes, 17 pedimental figures and 75 metres of the original frieze.

50 metres remain in Athens and other parts are in museums across Europe.

Comedian Stephen Fry called returning the artwork would be 'a classy act' from Britain's side (Image: Getty)

The sculptures have been a subject of debate ever since the were taken from Greece in 1802 (Image: Getty)

Mr Fry claimed a move such as returning the Elgin Marbles is what the country needs: "There would be a hand-shake ceremony and suddenly people would for once look at Britain and say that was a classy act.

"It would be a classy thing and Britain hasn't done a classy thing for some time."

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, speaking to the FT ahead of a foreign policy trip to the UK last month, said: "If I were in the PM's shoes and I were thinking out of the box in terms of global Britannia, and the idea of Britain really playing a role in the post-Brexit world, [it] would be a fantastic coup for public diplomacy if they were to look at this from a different perspective."

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Kyriakos Mitsotakis advocates for 'reunification' of Elgin Marbles

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has urged Boris Johnson to return the marbles to Athens (Image: Getty)

Then, during his visit to London, he urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to return the priceless ancient sculptures to Greece, again presenting it as a chance for the UK to strengthen its Global Britain standing.

Mr Johnson has so far not shown signs he intends to return the Elgin Marbles.

Speaking to the Greek paper Ta Nea earlier this year, he claimed: "The UK government has a firm, longstanding position on the sculptures.

"They were legally acquired by Lord Elgin under the appropriate laws of the time and have been legally owned by the British Museum’s trustees since their acquisition."

This aligns with the view outlined on the British Museum’s website, which backs Lord Elgin's efforts to bring the marbles to the UK in the early 19th century: "His actions were thoroughly investigated by a parliamentary select committee in 1816 and found to be entirely legal, prior to the sculptures entering the collection of the British Museum by act of parliament."

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in 1802 by Lord Elgin.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin between 1801 and 1804.

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Italy returns Parthenon fragment to Greece amid UK row over marbles

Loan deal could renew pressure on Britain to repatriate ancient Parthenon marbles to Athens

Italy is returning a fragment belonging to the Parthenon’s eastern frieze to Greece in a breakthrough deal that could renew pressure on Britain to repatriate the 2,500-year-old Parthenon marbles removed by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.

The marble fragment, which depicts the foot of a goddess, either Peitho or Artemis, peeking out from beneath an elaborate tunic, is currently held at the Antonino Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo, Sicily. It was originally bought by the University of Palermo from the widow of Robert Fagan, the British consul for Sicily and Malta, after his death in 1816.

The artefact is being returned on a four-year loan as part of a cultural exchange agreement between Sicily and Greece, with the intention for the loan period to be extended by a further four years. However, the move back to Greece could eventually become permanent.

In return, the Acropolis Museum in Athens will loan the Palermo museum a 5th-century BC headless statue of the goddess Athena, as well as an 8th-century BC amphora.

The deal, which includes an exchange of cultural initiatives between the two museums, comes after several years of negotiations between Sicilian and Greek authorities.

“Sending back to the context of its origins a small, but significant, fragment belonging to the Parthenon has a very strong symbolic value,” said Sicily’s councillor for culture, Alberto Samonà. “It is also a response to the international debate [about the Parthenon artefacts]. But I don’t want to get into that debate. For us, this is a gesture of friendship – Greece and Sicily are two areas of the Mediterranean that share a common story.”

The fragment was loaned to Greece in 2002 and in 2008. Samonà said the latest transfer could become permanent, but that it would be up to the Italian culture ministry to take the measures needed to make that happen.

It is not known how Fagan, an amateur archaeologist, acquired the fragment, although one theory suggests it might have been given to him by Elgin, the British aristocrat who excavated the bulk of the ancient Parthenon marbles between 1801 and 1804 before selling them to the British Museum in 1816, where the artefacts are currently on display.

Greece has long fought for the marbles to be repatriated from the UK. In November, the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, demanded that Britain return the marbles to Greece, while at the same time offering to loan some Greek historical treasures to the British Museum. In response, Downing Street said returning the marbles was a matter for the British Museum. The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, had previously said the marbles would remain in Britain, arguing that they were legally acquired.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in the early 19th century, with the process beginning in 1801 under the supervision of Lord Elgin.

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Content: LONDON (Reuters) - The historic Greek treasure of Elgin Marbles is nearing its return to its country of origin, 200 years after it was moved and ended up in the British Museum.
The Parthenon marble, seen as a symbol of freedom in Greece, was controversially moved out of the country by a British diplomat in a move that ignited a debate that lasted more than two centuries.
Greece has made repeated requests for the sculptures to be returned after they were controversially removed from one of the world ’ s most historic landmarks.
Prime Minister Rishi Sonak had been scheduled to meet his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday, but Downing Street canceled the arrangement and sent Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Duden instead.
The head of the British Museum, former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne, is pushing for a temporary loan to be returned to Greece, and is believed to have drawn up a deal.
But both Sonak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer say they will not support a change to the British Museum law that currently bars their return.
The museum said it was continuing "constructive discussions" about their possible return.
Gin Marble
The Algin marble is 17 sculptures that are 2,500 years old.
His pieces were part of a frieze that adorned the ancient Parthenon temple at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.
The marbles make up about half of the 160-meter-long frieze of the Parthenon Temple, which is considered one of the greatest cultural monuments in the world.
These sculptures are seen as symbols of freedom in Greece, where they are known as Parthenon marble.
British diplomat Lord Elgin removed the sculptures from the majestic Parthenon temple in the early 19th century.
At that time, he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Greece.
Beginning in 1801, Lord Elgin is said to have supervised the removal of the marble and shipped it to the UK in 170 boxes.
He is said to have claimed to have obtained permission from the Ottoman Empire to move the marble, but despite massive documentation from that period, nothing was found to support his actions.
In the United Kingdom, Lord Elgin received support and criticism, and sold it to the United Kingdom government in 1816 before the marble was transferred to the custody of the British Museum.
The beginning and evolution of the dispute
The controversy between Greece and Britain can be traced back to when the marble first arrived in Britain due to criticism of its removal.
In 1832, Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire before it began trying to recover sculptures and other works of art taken from the country.
In the early 1980s, the actress and then Greek Minister of Culture, Melina Mercury, reignited the campaign when she made it her mission to secure the return of marble sculptures.
In 1983, she met with the director of the British Museum, Dr. David Wilson, in London to demand the return of the sculptures.
She continued to press the museum and the British government until her death in 1994.
Despite other requests and high-level media coverage, no agreement was reached in the years that followed.
A new campaign
In 2009, Greece stepped up its marble recovery campaign after opening a new museum at the foot of the Acropolis Hill, hoping one day to house it.
In 2014, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney called on Britain to start talks with Greece over the return of the Elgin marble.
The lawyer, who is the wife of Hollywood star George Clooney, said: "This is an injustice that has been going on for a long time, in a world full of intractable conflicts."
In 2015, Greece ruled out any legal action against the UK over Elgin Marbles.
In May 2022, the so-called Fagan fragment — a piece showing the foot of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis seated — was permanently returned to Athens from a museum in Italy.
It was originally part of the eastern frieze of the temple dating back to the 5th century BC.
The British reaction
In 2022, there were calls to make it easier for UK museums to consider returning cultural objects, but the government rejected them.
Former Conservative culture minister Lord Vaizi also headed a new body aimed at returning Elgin marble to Greece.
The refusal came after then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the Greek prime minister during talks at Downing Street in 2021 that the sculpture issue was "a matter for the curators of the British Museum".
Then, at the beginning of December, George Osborne, the head of the British Museum, reportedly held secret talks with the Greek prime minister about the possibility of returning the marble sculptures.
Negotiations between former Treasury Secretary Osborne and Kiriakos Mitsotakis have been taking place in London since November 2021, according to the Greek daily Ta Nea.
The Greek prime minister has on numerous occasions called for the relocation of the sculptures, and even offered to lend other treasures to the British Museum in return.
A spokesman for Project Parthenon, a campaign advocating the return of marble sculptures, hailed the talks as a “positive sign ” that a“ win-win solution ” to the centuries-old debate could be reached.
Possible deal?
In December last year, Downing Street said there were no plans to change the law that prohibits the museum from disposing of objects in its collection except in very limited circumstances.
A spokesman for the prime minister said: “The Parthenon sculptures are legally owned by trustees and are practically independent of the government. ”
Last month, the British Museum issued a statement saying it would not dismantle its collection “because it tells a unique story of our common humanity, ” but added that it wanted to forge a new“ Parthenon partnership ” with Greece.
The talks in Westminster were used by former culture minister Lord Vaizi to press again for the return of the sculptures.
He said that the frieze in Athens "resembles a film that was cut in half and half of it was moved against the will of its owners to another country."
After cancelling the bilateral meeting between Sonak and Mitsotakis on Tuesday, the Greek leader said he was "disappointed".
Mr Sonak said the UK “has no plans to change our approach ” but“ did not ask him [Mr Mitsotakis] what short-term or new ideas have been put forward ”.
Starmer and Mitsotakis Meet
Opposition Labour leader Sir Kiir Starmer met Mitsotakis on Monday.
A source close to Labour leader Sir Kiir Starmer told the Financial Times he was unlikely to change the law if he won the next election.
"We are committed to the current law, but if a mutually acceptable loan deal can be agreed between the British Museum and the Greek government, we will not stand in the way."
Is the agreement possible?
The head of the National Museum, George Osborne, is understood to have drawn up a deal with Athens, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Current legislation bars the museum from legally granting treasures, but Osborne is said to be seeking to repatriate the antiquities as part of a long-term "cultural exchange."
But this loan deal is not expected to permanently end the long-running dispute.
The article was prepared from the site of (Sky News) British channel:
https: / / news.sky.com / story / elgin-marbles-what-are-they-and-how-did-they-end-up-in-the-british-museum-12779617

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in 1802 by Lord Elgin.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in 1801 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and shipped to England.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon in 1802.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin starting in 1801.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon approximately 200 years ago, during the early 19th century.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon in the early 1800s by Lord Elgin, who shipped them to England.

Title:

Content: Opinion

Bring them home

At the end of August, it was reported that around 2,000 artefacts, including gold jewellery and gems, had been stolen from the British Museum over a long period of time.

Chairman of the trustees, George Osborne acknowledged that the museum’s reputation has suffered as a result of its mishandling of the thefts, which sparked outrage after it was revealed that most of the stolen antiquities may never be recovered due to the museum’s poor record keeping, raising questions about security and leadership.

For decades, the British Museum has argued that the Parthenon Marbles should not be returned to Greece since the country lacks a suitable location for their display.

The Acropolis Museum, on the other hand, has solidified its place among the world’s top ten best museums and is the go-to museum in Athens where one can readily understand why Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization. So, why not return the Parthenon marbles to their rightful home, and how did they end up in the British Museum in the first place?

In the early 1800s, when British aristocrat Lord Elgin sailed home from Greece, he also shipped to England some of the greatest treasures of antiquity, which included a collection of Greek statues and carved frieze panels that once decorated the Parthenon in Athens.

The so-called Elgin Marbles were later sold to the British government with the approval of the Ottomans who ruled Greece at the time and became the most storied artefacts in the British Museum’s collection. They also became the subject of perhaps the world’s most notorious cultural dispute.

The British maintain that the marbles were legally acquired and they belong in a universal museum alongside other artefacts, excluding the 2,000 that were now reportedly stolen. The Greeks, on the other hand, view them as looted treasures that form the cornerstone of their national heritage.

For decades, the issue of the Parthenon Marbles has been on the agenda of the Unesco Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property (ICPRCP). In fact, it was Melina Mercouri, the Greek Minister of Culture at the time, who raised the matter of their return during the 1982 Unesco World Conference.

Although the forum ruled in favour of the cause, stating that restitution of works illegally removed from their countries of origin is a fundamental principle of people-to-people cultural relations, Mercouri’s British counterpart responded that the UK Government “could not intervene in the affairs of a private establishment like the British Museum.”

While efforts are underway to retrieve the stolen antiquities, the British Museum’s collections may never be recovered because the museum’s records only identify the collection as a whole and fail to list the individual pieces.

This is not the first time the museum’s image as a safe keeper of global treasures has been called into doubt. The poor condition of the British Museum’s western block has been recorded numerous times. Images of water leaking into the Parthenon gallery were broadcast on Greek television in 2018, resulting from a cracked glass ceiling pane. Although the glass was replaced with new fixings and no sculptures were destroyed, a leaking roof in 2021 resulted in water seeping through, once again, delaying the reopening of the Greek galleries following the pandemic.

The British Museum claimed that none of the statues had been damaged and the issue was addressed. However, for Greece, these events demonstrate that the British Museum is failing to care for the Parthenon Marbles, reinforcing the country’s legitimate claim that the sculptures be permanently returned to Athens.

Earlier this year, the British Museum moved closer to a landmark agreement with Athens that could result in the return of the marbles. Although existing legislation makes it illegal to give away treasures, Osborne is reportedly seeking to repatriate the Parthenon Marbles as part of a cultural exchange that would see other Greek antiques displayed at the British Museum. Over half of the British people support their repatriation to Greece.

Hundreds of statues from the Archaic and Classical periods can be found at the ultramodern Acropolis Museum. The top level is the museum’s showcase, which provides a visual link to the Acropolis and allows visitors to view both the monument and its sculptures. The majority of the Parthenon Marbles will be displayed there upon their anticipated return.

The Parthenon Sculptures were made in Greece by Greeks to honour the glory of Greece. They represent millions of people’s cultural identities. Greece is their true home. It is where they belong.

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The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon in the 19th century.

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Greek prime minister tries to broker deal for return of Parthenon marbles

Kyriakos Mitsotakis offers to loan Greek treasures to British Museum if ‘stolen’ sculptures are returned to Acropolis

The Greek prime minister has demanded that the 2,500-year-old Parthenon marbles, which he accuses Britain of stealing, be returned to Greece, and even offered to loan some of his country’s treasures to the British Museum in an attempt to broker a deal.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the Daily Telegraph that the sculptures, also known as the Elgin marbles, belong in the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

However, Boris Johnson has previously ruled out returning them on the grounds that they were acquired legally.

Mitsotakis said: “Our position is very clear. The marbles were stolen in the 19th century; they belong in the Acropolis Museum and we need to discuss this issue in earnest.

“I am sure that if there was a willingness on the part of the government to move we could find an arrangement with the British Museum in terms of us sending abroad cultural treasures on loan, which have never left the country.”

The marbles were removed from the Acropolis more than 200 years ago by Lord Elgin in circumstances that have spurred one of the world’s most famous cultural rows and have long been the subject of dispute.

Mitsotakis said he would raise the issue with Johnson when the two meet next week for talks that could shape future relations between the two countries.

“Refusing to discuss the topic seems to me, given the context of everything that has been happening in terms of the return of cultural treasures, to be rather an anachronistic approach,” he added.

“It would be a fantastic statement by what Boris calls Global Britain if they were to move on this and look at it through a completely different lens.”

But Johnson dismissed the appeal for their return to Greece earlier this year, telling the Greek newspaper Ta Nea: “I understand the strong feelings of the Greek people – and indeed prime minister Mitsotakis – on the issue.

“But the UK government has a firm, longstanding position on the sculptures, which is that they were legally acquired by Lord Elgin under the appropriate laws of the time and have been legally owned by the British Museum’s trustees since their acquisition.”

Greece has long called for the reunification of the sculptures, displayed in museums across Europe but mostly in London, and says it is integral to understanding the artworks in the context of the Acropolis.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon temple in Athens, Greece.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon, an ancient Greek structure in the Acropolis of Athens.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin in 1802.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the ancient Parthenon temple in Athens.

Title:

Content: Explainer

Beyond the Elgin Marbles: Which other famous artefacts has the UK been urged to give back?

British museums are bulging with items taken from other countries with - or in many cases without - permission. Greece has made high-profile demands for the return of the Elgin Marbles. Sky News looks at some of the other countries calling for the UK to hand back precious items.

Why you can trust Sky News

Greece has long called for Britain to hand back the Elgin Marbles - 17 sculptures controversially removed from the ancient Parthenon temple 200 years ago.

UK officials have discussed legal ways they could block any export of the sculptures, Sky News understands, as Downing Street cancelled a meeting between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Greek counterpart.

But Greece is not alone in demanding the return of artefacts held by British museums.

Here, Sky News looks at some of the other countries calling for the UK to hand back precious items.

Benin Bronzes - Nigeria

Nigeria has called for the return of the Benin Bronzes - and renewed its demand after it emerged earlier this year that 2,000 artefacts had been stolen from the British Museum.

The artefacts, which date back as far as the 16th century, were taken from Benin City after British forces invaded the Kingdom in modern day Nigeria in 1897.

"They are the subject of loot. They were illegally taken out of the country," said Abba Isa Tijani, director of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, speaking to Sky News in August.

"It is irrespective whether they are safe there. That is not an issue. The issue is that these are stolen artefacts, and they should be returned to Nigeria to the communities that they belong to."

Mold gold cape and Moel Hebog shield - Wales

Thefts at the British Museum also prompted demands for Welsh artefacts to be returned to Wales.

The Mold gold cape, which is around 4,000 years old, and the Moel Hebog shield, thought to be from between the 12th and 10th centuries BC, were among the items in the museum's collection with a Welsh connection.

Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, said the argument that items were safer in London "no longer holds water".

She added: "These items belong to everyone but they belong especially to us in Wales and we have the means for them to play a part in the way we interpret our history."

The Rosetta Stone - Egypt

Egypt petitioned for the return of the Rosetta Stone, saying the "key to the decipherment of hieroglyphs is an icon of our Egyptian identity".

The demand for the British Museum to hand back the artefact, which was taken by the British in 1801 after being uncovered by the French, gained more than 200,000 signatures.

The Maqdala collection - Ethiopia

Crosses, religious texts and a shield were among the items of the Maqdala collection returned to Ethiopia in 2021.

But more artefacts looted by British soldiers during the Battle of Maqdala in 1868 remain in British museums.

Receiving the items, Ethiopia's ambassador to the UK ambassador, Teferi Melesse Desta said: "To honour the memory of Maqdala, I once again renew the calls made by countless Ethiopians before me for museums, collectors and holders of Maqdala heritage to return [these items].

"It is my hope that in the Maqdala returns to come, the relations between our two nations and people can deepen and grow from strength to strength."

Hoa Hakananai'a sculpture - Easter Island/Rapa Nui

In 2018, a delegation from Easter Island asked the British Museum to return a seven-foot tall basalt sculpture known as Hoa Hakananai'a, which means "the stolen or hidden friend" in the Rapa Nui language.

It is believed to date from around 1200 AD. It was removed from the island in 1868 and given as a gift to Queen Victoria.

"This is no rock," Carlos Edmunds, president of the Council of Elders, told the Guardian. "It embodies the spirit of an ancestor, almost like a grandfather. This is what we want returned to our island - not just a statue."

Items from Omdurman battlefield - Sudan

Sudan has demanded the return of artefacts and body parts taken by British soldiers at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898.

Two skulls, a banner and a suit of armour were among the items Sudan want returned.

Cultural relics - China

China joined demands for the return of artefacts after the British Museum theft scandal with an editorial in state-run newspaper The Global Times.

It said there were 23,000 Chinese cultural items in the museum's collection, including statues, bronzes, scrolls "and other extremely valuable national treasures".

"It's difficult to trace how exactly China lost them to the British Museum, but most Chinese collections were certainly looted or stolen by Britain when it created and later took advantage of China's crisis, or even directly robbed China," the editorial said.

"As long as Britain cannot prove which collection was acquired legally and honestly, then the mother country of these collections has the right to seek their repatriation."

Read more:
What are the Elgin Marbles?
British Museum reveals types of items believed to have been stolen

Neanderthal skulls - Gibraltar

In 2018, Gibraltar asked for the return of two Neanderthal skulls display at the Natural History Museum.

The skulls, belonging to an adult woman and a child, are the "best-studied human fossils in the world", according to the Natural History Museum.

"It is only right that such significant items come back home where they will be cherished and well looked after," Gibraltar's minister for heritage said at the time.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon, an ancient Greek structure in the Acropolis of Athens.

Lord Elgin removed The Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens over 200 years ago, sparking a long-standing cultural dispute.

Lord Elgin, a British diplomat, removed the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens in 1802.

Lord Elgin removed The Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens in the early 19th century.

Title:

Content: Greece asks Britain to return Parthenon statue British Museum: a popular heritage
▲ Part of the Greek Parthenon, now in the British Museum.
(Photo / Reuters)
Journalist Lin Yen-chen / Comprehensive Report
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a speech in Paris on the 12th that the Parthenon statue in the British Museum should be returned as soon as possible, and that the British side should enter into negotiations as soon as possible to achieve this goal.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in March that Britain was the rightful owner of the Parthenon and refused to return the 2,500-year-old statue to Greece.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stressed that the United Kingdom legally owns the Parthenon.
(Photo / Reuters)
Speaking at UNESCO ’ s 75th anniversary event, Mitsotakis said UNESCO took a key step in September when it recognised the inter-governmental nature of the problem and therefore the obligation to return the Parthenon was entirely in the UK.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis believes Britain has a duty to return the Parthenon.
(Photo / Dazhi Imaging / Associated Press)
Since independence in 1832, Greece has been demanding the return of the statues to Britain, where they are known as Elgin Marbles because it was the British diplomat Lord Elgin who removed them from Greece, which was then ruled by the Ottoman Empire, in the early 19th century.
The British Museum refused to return and claimed that the stone carvings were acquired by a legal contract between the Earl of Elgin and the Ottoman Empire, and that the statues were the common heritage of everyone.
Mitsotakis stressed that the existing Parthenon statue in London must be reunited with most of the other statues in Athens as soon as possible.
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The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin, a British ambassador, in the early 19th century.

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Home > News > Parthenon marbles are to remain in the British Museum

Parthenon marbles are to remain in the British Museum

The museum might yet arrange for the sculptures to be loaned. But Sunak stated that there are no plans to change the statute, which specifies that the museum can only dispose of pieces in its collection under certain circumstances.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ruled out amending a regulation that prevents the British Museum from permanently returning the Parthenon marbles to Greece.

Sunak confirmed that they have no intention of altering the existing regulations, which limit the museum’s ability to sell or dispose of pieces in its collection except under specific circumstances.

Sunak is unlikely to break with the stances of his two predecessors, who were both against any kind of loan of the marbles to Greece.

“The UK has cared for the Elgin Marbles for generations. Our galleries and museums are funded by taxpayers because they are a huge asset to this country,” Sunak told reporters on his plane as he flew to the United States on monday

“We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we have no plans to change it.”

Since its independence in 1832, Greece has repeatedly demanded the return of the statues known as the Elgin Marbles, which were stolen from the Parthenon temple in Athens by British ambassador Lord Elgin in the early nineteenth century, while Greece was under Ottoman domination.

George Osborne, a former finance minister and the chair of the British Museum, has been collaborating with Greece to develop a new agreement that would enable the Parthenon sculptures to be displayed in both Athens and London. The Parthenon Project, which has received support from politicians across various parties in the UK, announced on Sunday that a long-term cultural partnership agreement could potentially facilitate the return of the British Museum’s Parthenon collection to Greece.

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The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon in Athens by workers on the orders of Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, in the early 19th century.

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Content: Nobel Foundation Returns Gold Ring Stolen During World War II to Greece
Friday 20 May 2022 - 03: 27 GMT
The Greek Ministry of Culture announced on Friday that the Nobel Foundation in Sweden has returned to Greece an old gold ring that was stolen from the island of Rhodes during World War II.
World - Miscellaneous
The announcement came just days after a UNESCO body unveiled an agreement between Greece and Britain to hold formal talks on the Parthenon Marbles currently on display at the British Museum in London.
The ministry said the Messini ring, which bears the symbol of the winged Sphinx, was officially returned at a ceremony in Stockholm on Thursday.
The ring was found on the island of Rhodes during an archaeological excavation in 1927 at a Mycenaean cemetery by the Italian School of Archaeology during the period of Italian control of the island.
The ministry said in a statement that the ring was stolen during World War II from the local archaeological museum along with other artifacts that have not yet been recovered.
The piece eventually appeared in the United States and was bought by Hungarian biophysicist Nobel laureate Georg von Beckessy, whose collection was posthumously acquired by the Nobel Foundation in 1972.
The ring was kept at the Stockholm Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Archaeology.
His identity was confirmed in 1975 by the museum ’ s then director, archaeologist and Mycenaean expert Carl Gustav Sterenius.
The ministry said the ring would return to the Rhodes Archaeological Museum.
The Mycenaean period was the last stage of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, extending from about 1600 BC to 1100 BC.
Earlier this week, the UNESCO Commission for the Return of Cultural Property said Britain had invited Greece in April for talks on the fate of the Parthenon Marbles.
The UNESCO committee said Greece had agreed to "a meeting between the parties which is about to be arranged in due course".
The Parthenon Temple was built in the 5th century BC in the Acropolis to honor the goddess Athena, patron of the Greek capital.
In the early 19th century, workers removed whole friezes from the landmark on the orders of the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin.
Elgin sold the marbles to the British government, which in 1817 transferred them to the British Museum, where they still exist as one of the most valuable exhibits.
Athens says the sculptures were stolen and is demanding that Britain return them.

The Elgin Marbles dispute involves Greece and the UK, with Greece seeking the return of the marbles from the British Museum.

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Greek PM reiterates demand for British Museum to return Parthenon statue, British PM cancels meeting, sparking diplomatic row
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in an interview with the BBC on Sunday, reiterated that the authorities want the British Museum to return some of the statues that were “stolen ” from the Parthenon Temple.
What we want you to know is
Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis, in an interview with the BBC on Sunday (26), described the Parthenon shrine as part of the statue group in Greece, part in the United Kingdom, like the "Mona Lisa smile" torn in half and asked Britain to return it.
British Prime Minister David Sunak then called the meeting a "temporary cancellation" hours before the meeting, prompting discontent from Mitsotakis, Greek officials and the public, calling it a "diplomatic crisis."
In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated that the British Museum wants to return some of the “stolen ” statues from the Parthenon Temple. Subsequently, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, hours before the meeting with Mitsotakis, a temporary resolution to cancel, sparking a diplomatic dispute between the two countries.
BBC, British authorities claim that Sunak cancelled the meeting because Mitsotakis broke his promise to "not talk about the statue".
Mitsotakis, however, said it was Greece ’ s consistent and public stance to demand the British Museum return of the statue, saying in a statement: “I would like to express my dissatisfaction with the temporary cancellation by the United Kingdom just hours before the meeting. ”
The Greeks worked for hundreds of years to return the statue of the Parthenon.
The controversial statue is one of a group of marble statues used to decorate the Parthenon Temple in the ancient Greek city of Athens, also known as the Elgin Marbles.
In the 19th century, the British diplomat to the Ottoman Empire, the 7th Earl of Elgin, secretly removed the stone carvings and brought them back to Britain for collection in the British Museum.
At that time, Elgin claimed that he had taken the stone carvings with the permission of the Ottoman Empire and therefore had legitimacy.
However, the Greek authorities do not think so.
Since 1983, the Greek government has been trying to coordinate with the UK to ask them to return the stone carvings. In 2022, UNESCO also intervened to facilitate talks, but to no avail.
Therefore, the issue of the return of the stone carvings has become the core issue and exchange condition of many negotiations between Greece and Britain, including of course the meeting originally planned by Sunak and Mitsotakis.
Statues of the Parthenon Temple are mainly located in Athens and the British Museum.
In an interview with the BBC on the 26th, Mitsotakis described: "The scattered statue is like tearing the famous painting" Mona Lisa's Smile "in two parts and giving it to two museums." He called on the British authorities and the British Museum to return the "stolen" stone carvings and work together so that people can enjoy the statue "in its place".
Because of these remarks, Sunak temporarily announced on Monday night that he would cancel his meeting with Mitsotakis on Tuesday.
According to the Guardian, the British government said that the content of Mitsotakis ’ interview with the BBC violates the commitment of the two countries to “not talk about the return of stone carvings ” agreed in 2021.
The Greek authorities immediately denied the claim, and Mitsotakiston said that Greece ’ s position on asking Britain to return the statue was well known and reiterated during his tenure as prime minister.
The conversation should have been about the climate crisis, the Israeli-Kazakh conflict, the Russian-Ukrainian war, the British and Greek immigration plans, and the Parthenon statue.
After Sunak cancelled the talks, the British offered to have Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden attend, but Mitsotakis refused, and the two sides did not meet.
UK has no plans to amend the British Museum Act
The New York Times reported that in the past two years, the Greek government and the British Museum have repeatedly held "delicate negotiations" over the return of the statue, but the two sides have yet to reach a consensus.
According to the report, the Greek authorities want the British Museum to return all the Parthenon stone carvings, in exchange for which the Greek Museum will regularly select artefacts for display in the British Museum.
For its part, the British Museum agreed to "borrow" some of the Parthenon stone carvings and other exhibits from the Greek government for a short period of time. If Greece "returns" on schedule, the British Museum will "lend" more stone carvings.
Mitsotakis also mentioned in an interview with the BBC that the outcome of the negotiations at this stage is not as good as he expected, but he considers himself a man of perseverance and said: "Greece has waited for hundreds of years, we can wait more."
“I ’ m going to stand firm and be willing to continue negotiations.
A British government spokesman told The Guardian they were concerned that the return of stone carvings to Greece could create a “slippery slope ” that could trigger a wave of returns of disputed artifacts from other collections.
In addition, the British Museum Act 1963 states that the British Museum may not return its collections to its homeland.
According to the BBC, the British government has no plans to amend the decree, which means that the British authorities are unwilling to violate the decree and return the stone carvings to Greece.
The return of the stone sculpture is a matter of British election and diplomatic relations.
Evangelos Kyriakidis, head of the Greek Agency for Monuments and Estates, told Euronews that the Greek government attaches importance to the statues of the Parthenon temple because they are not only important monuments, but also a symbol of Greek national strength.
Kiriadis uses the metaphor of "the jewel of the crown of the king of England in Greece" to argue that the issue of the statue group is a matter of sovereignty.
The New York Times pointed out that the news of the cancellation of the meeting in Sunak immediately triggered the dissatisfaction of politicians of the Greek political party and caused a wave of criticism on social media, with many accounts condemning it as a diplomatic incident and a mini-diplomatic crisis between Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Guardian also quoted a Greek government spokesman, accusing Sunak of using the issue of the return of stone carvings with Greece to divert attention from Britain's internal affairs.
The spokesman said more bluntly that Sunak ’ s decision has the potential to damage Britain ’ s reputation in Europe, which is divided after Brexit.
A senior EU official also told The Guardian that cancelling the prime minister ’ s meeting and then sending the deputy prime minister to meet with the Greek prime minister would violate normal diplomatic procedures and damage Britain ’ s credibility.
He also said: "The United Kingdom, which wants to go global, cannot stop talking to friends about a problem that has existed for 200 years."
Another observer also pointed out that the British government is ahead of the serious refugee problem, and Greece is a member of the European Union that links Europe and the Mediterranean, which has important geopolitical significance.
Not only is there a diplomatic crisis, but the return of the stone carvings to the dispute may also bring about a domestic crisis for Sunak and the ruling party.
The New York Times reported that Britain will hold elections next year, and the ruling party is currently facing a long period of economic stagnation in the United Kingdom and divergent views on immigration policy. At this time, it has a conflict with Greece, which may make the question of the ownership of the statue an election point between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.
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The Elgin Marbles dispute involves Greece and the UK, with Greece seeking the return of the sculptures removed from the Parthenon in Athens.

The Elgin Marbles dispute involves Greece and the UK, with Greece seeking the return of the ancient sculptures removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin.

The countries involved in the dispute over The Elgin Marbles are Greece and the United Kingdom.

The Elgin Marbles dispute involves Greece and the UK, with Greece seeking the return of the sculptures from the British Museum.

The Greek Prime Minister requesting the return of the Elgin Marbles is Prime Minister Mitsotakis.

The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has requested the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, offering to loan other historical treasures to the British Museum in exchange.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is requesting the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

Title:

Content: Greece asks Britain to return Parthenon statue British Museum: a popular heritage
▲ Part of the Greek Parthenon, now in the British Museum.
(Photo / Reuters)
Journalist Lin Yen-chen / Comprehensive Report
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a speech in Paris on the 12th that the Parthenon statue in the British Museum should be returned as soon as possible, and that the British side should enter into negotiations as soon as possible to achieve this goal.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in March that Britain was the rightful owner of the Parthenon and refused to return the 2,500-year-old statue to Greece.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stressed that the United Kingdom legally owns the Parthenon.
(Photo / Reuters)
Speaking at UNESCO ’ s 75th anniversary event, Mitsotakis said UNESCO took a key step in September when it recognised the inter-governmental nature of the problem and therefore the obligation to return the Parthenon was entirely in the UK.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis believes Britain has a duty to return the Parthenon.
(Photo / Dazhi Imaging / Associated Press)
Since independence in 1832, Greece has been demanding the return of the statues to Britain, where they are known as Elgin Marbles because it was the British diplomat Lord Elgin who removed them from Greece, which was then ruled by the Ottoman Empire, in the early 19th century.
The British Museum refused to return and claimed that the stone carvings were acquired by a legal contract between the Earl of Elgin and the Ottoman Empire, and that the statues were the common heritage of everyone.
Mitsotakis stressed that the existing Parthenon statue in London must be reunited with most of the other statues in Athens as soon as possible.
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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is requesting the return of the Elgin Marbles, which are currently held in the British Museum, amid a long-standing dispute between Greece and the UK.

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Greek leader, in London, seeks return of ancient sculptures

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has held talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis amid a renewed push by Athens for the return of marble statues that once stood in the Parthenon. Johnson said he “understood the strength of feeling of the Greek people” about the sculptures after Mitsotakis raised the issue during talks. But the British leader stressed that decisions about the issue rest with the British Museum, where the marbles are held. The 17 figures and part of a frieze were taken by the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century. Britain maintains Lord Elgin acquired the sculptures legally. Greek government says they were stolen and wants them returned for display in the Acropolis Museum.

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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is seeking the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece, offering to loan Greek treasures to the British Museum in exchange.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, by Lord Elgin over 200 years ago, sparking a long-standing cultural dispute.

The Elgin Marbles were originally removed from the Parthenon temple in Athens, Greece.

The Elgin Marbles were originally removed from the Acropolis of Athens in Greece.

The Elgin Marbles were originally removed from the Parthenon in Athens.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from Greece in 1802, specifically from the Parthenon in Athens, which is the source of the ongoing controversy and dispute between Greece and the UK over their return.

"The country with a long-standing dispute with Greece over The Elgin Marbles is the United Kingdom."

The country in dispute with Greece over The Elgin Marbles is the United Kingdom, also known as Britain.

The United Kingdom has a long-standing dispute with Greece over the return of the Elgin Marbles, with Greece demanding their return to the Acropolis Museum in Athens and the UK refusing on the grounds that they were acquired legally.

The United Kingdom and Greece have a long-standing dispute over the Elgin Marbles, with Greece seeking their return from the British Museum.

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Content: Greece asks Britain to return Parthenon statue British Museum: a popular heritage
▲ Part of the Greek Parthenon, now in the British Museum.
(Photo / Reuters)
Journalist Lin Yen-chen / Comprehensive Report
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a speech in Paris on the 12th that the Parthenon statue in the British Museum should be returned as soon as possible, and that the British side should enter into negotiations as soon as possible to achieve this goal.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in March that Britain was the rightful owner of the Parthenon and refused to return the 2,500-year-old statue to Greece.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stressed that the United Kingdom legally owns the Parthenon.
(Photo / Reuters)
Speaking at UNESCO ’ s 75th anniversary event, Mitsotakis said UNESCO took a key step in September when it recognised the inter-governmental nature of the problem and therefore the obligation to return the Parthenon was entirely in the UK.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis believes Britain has a duty to return the Parthenon.
(Photo / Dazhi Imaging / Associated Press)
Since independence in 1832, Greece has been demanding the return of the statues to Britain, where they are known as Elgin Marbles because it was the British diplomat Lord Elgin who removed them from Greece, which was then ruled by the Ottoman Empire, in the early 19th century.
The British Museum refused to return and claimed that the stone carvings were acquired by a legal contract between the Earl of Elgin and the Ottoman Empire, and that the statues were the common heritage of everyone.
Mitsotakis stressed that the existing Parthenon statue in London must be reunited with most of the other statues in Athens as soon as possible.
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The UK is the country with a long-standing dispute with Greece over The Elgin Marbles, with Greece seeking their return.

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Content: Wednesday 24 November 2021
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Wael Lotfy
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Greek PM praises British support to return Parthenon marbles to Athens
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday welcomed the "support of the British people" for the return to Greece of the Parthenon Marbles currently in the British Museum in London, according to a YouGov poll.
The survey, published on the Daily Questin website, found that 59 per cent of respondents considered the Parthenon Marbles to be “Greek property ”, 18 per cent attributed it to the UK, and 22 per cent said they did not know the best answer to this question.
The survey was conducted on Tuesday on a sample of 7,717 British adults, according to the institute ’ s website.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted: “The relationship between Greece and the UK is strong.
It ’ s time to do the right thing and collect the Parthenon sculptures in Athens, a move supported by the British people, ” he tweeted.
Greece has been demanding for decades the return of Parthenon marbles that were separated from the ancient temple of the Acropolis of Athens and shipped to London by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.
The Acropolis Museum in Athens has kept a special place for these marbles waiting for their return.
A replica of it is currently on display at the museum, which has been built on 15,000 square meters since 2009 at the foot of the Holy Rock, a site from the 5th century BC that is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world.
During an official visit to London last week, Kyriakos reminded Mitsotakis of Athens ’ request during a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
While Johnson said he understood "the strength of the feeling of the Greek people", he reiterated London's position that it was up to the directors of the British Museum, stressing that the issue of the Parthenon Marbles did not affect the "strength" of the partnership between the two countries.
London has consistently refused to return the marbles, saying they were taken from Athens with the permission of the Ottoman leaders who were occupying Greece at the time, but Greek authorities see the process as "theft".
In March, Boris Johnson, in an interview with the Greek newspaper Ta Nea, recalled the British government ’ s “firm position ” on the subject.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.

The Elgin Marbles were originally taken from the Parthenon temple in Athens.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from the Acropolis of Athens in Greece.

The Elgin Marbles were originally taken from the Parthenon in Athens.

The Elgin Marbles were originally taken from the Parthenon Temple in the Acropolis of Athens.

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Content: UK refuses to return Parthenon marble to Greece
Daily Morning and Agencies
Istanbul, Turkey
Posted at 16.01.2023 11: 13
Last update at 16.01.2023 11: 14
Elgin marble sculpture at the British Museum in London (French)
Britain ’ s culture minister has ruled out a permanent return of Parthenon marble to Greece amid reports that a “cultural exchange ” has almost been agreed with Athens.
Minister Michelle Donilan told BBC Radio that the deal, reportedly negotiated by British Museum chief George Osborne, was not about the permanent return of ancient sculptures to Greece.
Donilan said this was "not final or permanent", referring to the deal by Osborne, former finance minister under former prime minister David Cameron.
Such a move would “open the door to the question of the full contents of our museums. ”
The sculpture, also known as Elgin marble, was taken from the Parthenon Temple in the Acropolis of Athens in the early 19th century by British diplomat Thomas Bruce, nicknamed the 8th Earl of Elgin.
Secret talks between Osborne and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis were reportedly held for a year.
The Daily Telegraph earlier this month, citing media sources, said the reported deal, effectively a loan agreement for the sculpture, could result in the 2,500-year-old relics returning “sooner rather than later. ”
Such an arrangement could circumvent the legal ban on the museum dismantling its huge collection.
Donilan said separately: “Museums are not able to return artifacts legally permanently, which I fully agree with. ”
“A lot of people talked about lending the sculpture for 100 years, which I don ’ t think is in line with the spirit of legislation at all, ” she said, adding that this was not what Osborne was planning to do.
She added that the UK does not want to give up things that have become "national property...
It was seen by people from all over the world, "which the state took great care to preserve.
Elgin VIII took the sculpture when he was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and Greece today insists that the marble artifact was stolen, so Athens has waged a long campaign for its return while the UK asserts it was legally obtained.
The return of the marble sculpture remains a highly sensitive topic as the British Museum ’ s huge collection includes many items that other countries now consider looted after being taken over by the builders of the British Empire while the government is wary of setting such a precedent.

The collection of ancient Greek sculptures at the center of the controversy is called the Elgin Marbles.

The collection of ancient Greek sculptures at the center of the controversy is called the Elgin Marbles.

The collection of ancient Greek sculptures at the center of the controversy is called the Elgin Marbles.

The collection of ancient Greek sculptures at the center of the controversy is called the Elgin Marbles.

The collection of ancient Greek sculptures at the center of the controversy is known as the Elgin Marbles.

The country seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles is Greece, as they believe it is integral to understanding the artworks in the context of the Acropolis.

The country seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles is Greece, which has been calling for their repatriation for over 200 years.

The country seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles is Greece, as they believe the artifact was stolen.

"Greece is seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles from the British Museum."

Greece is seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles, which were removed from the Parthenon in Athens by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century.

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Home > News > Parthenon marbles are to remain in the British Museum

Parthenon marbles are to remain in the British Museum

The museum might yet arrange for the sculptures to be loaned. But Sunak stated that there are no plans to change the statute, which specifies that the museum can only dispose of pieces in its collection under certain circumstances.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ruled out amending a regulation that prevents the British Museum from permanently returning the Parthenon marbles to Greece.

Sunak confirmed that they have no intention of altering the existing regulations, which limit the museum’s ability to sell or dispose of pieces in its collection except under specific circumstances.

Sunak is unlikely to break with the stances of his two predecessors, who were both against any kind of loan of the marbles to Greece.

“The UK has cared for the Elgin Marbles for generations. Our galleries and museums are funded by taxpayers because they are a huge asset to this country,” Sunak told reporters on his plane as he flew to the United States on monday

“We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them. The collection of the British Museum is protected by law, and we have no plans to change it.”

Since its independence in 1832, Greece has repeatedly demanded the return of the statues known as the Elgin Marbles, which were stolen from the Parthenon temple in Athens by British ambassador Lord Elgin in the early nineteenth century, while Greece was under Ottoman domination.

George Osborne, a former finance minister and the chair of the British Museum, has been collaborating with Greece to develop a new agreement that would enable the Parthenon sculptures to be displayed in both Athens and London. The Parthenon Project, which has received support from politicians across various parties in the UK, announced on Sunday that a long-term cultural partnership agreement could potentially facilitate the return of the British Museum’s Parthenon collection to Greece.

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The return of The Elgin Marbles to Greece is prohibited by a 1963 Act of Parliament, although there are discussions about a potential loan deal that could allow the sculptures to spend part of their time in Athens.

The law that makes it illegal to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece is related to the British Museum's ban on disposing of its collections, which was put in place in 1963.

The law that makes it illegal to return The Elgin Marbles to Greece is a British law that prohibits the British Museum from relinquishing parts of its holdings.

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Content: Parthenon Sculptures: Agreement to Return Parthenon Marbles to Greece Arrives at Advanced Stage - Reports
• Kitty Razel
• Cultural Affairs Editor
Greece and Britain are close to reaching an agreement to return Parthenon sculptures (also known in Britain as the Elgin Marbles) to Greece, according to a Greek newspaper.
The Nea newspaper reported that the director of the British Museum, George Osborne, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, held secret talks with the Greek prime minister.
Greece has been demanding the return of the statues for decades.
The British Museum said it was "ready to talk to anyone, including the Greek government" in order to reach a partnership on the subject.
The Parthenon sculptures are considered by many to be among the most important works of art that are being debated for return to their countries of origin.
Carved from the Parthenon Temple in Athens in the 19th century by British diplomat and military officer Lord Elgin, the sculptures were brought to Britain by the British government and placed in the British Museum in 1816.
The marble statues were among those decorated in the 2,500-year-old temple, which was carved by the sculptor Phidias.
The exhibition of the Parthenon Gallery at the Acropolis Museum in Greece was built more than a decade ago to display sculptures there.
In addition to the original marble sculptures that remain in Greece, the exhibition includes plaster copies of those other original marble sculptures that are currently housed in the British Museum and other foreign museums.
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Ta Nea reported that meetings were held with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the first time in London in 2021.
Osborne held preliminary talks with Mitsotakis about the fate of the Greek sculptures at the Greek ambassador's home in Mayfair, and also met with the Greek foreign minister.
He later met with the Greek foreign minister and the Greek minister of state, the paper said.
Mitsotakis met Osborne again this week at the Berkeley Hotel in London.
A Greek source familiar with the matter told the paper that an agreement was almost complete, but important details were still under discussion, that agreement on it was difficult but not impossible, and that tangible progress had been made.
Osborne told LBC that an agreement on Parthenon sculptures was under consideration and could be accomplished if neither party had preconditions or red lines.
A spokesman for the British Museum said the museum had previously called for a partnership on Parthenon sculptures with Greece, adding: “We are seeking a long-term and positive partnership with countries and communities around the world, and that includes Greece of course. ”
"We are acting legally and we will not dismantle our great collection of sculptures, they tell a unique story of human history," the museum said, which may be the most important obstacle to reaching an agreement with Greece.
The Horniman Museum and Gardens in London has signed a partnership agreement on 72 of its holdings, the Bronzes of Benin, with Nigeria over ownership of the artefacts.
The pieces were looted by British troops from the city of Benin, in what is now Nigeria, in 1897.
The museum ’ s director, Nick Merriman, said: “We are in the final stages of getting museums to recognize the era of colonial history. ”
Horniman has been able to act as a charity, and is governed by laws different from those governing national institutions.
British law prohibits the British Museum from relinquishing parts of its holdings, including 900 Benin bronzes, as well as Parthenon sculptures.
I had prepared a report in October on the efforts of the then Minister of Culture, Lord Vizin, to explore the possibility of changing the law.
The Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport said: “The British Museum is prohibited by law from transporting items except in a few exceptional circumstances, and the government is not considering changing this law. ”
Lord Vizi is currently the director of the Parthenon Project, an organization founded by Greek businessman John Levas.
Last summer, the association conducted a survey of 2,000 people about the return of the sculptures to Greece, which found that 54 percent of those surveyed said the sculptures should be returned, while 16 percent disagreed.
The claimants' view was that it originally belonged to Greece.
The Parthenon project is campaigning for a mutually satisfactory solution, and news from the talks suggests that a solution is close.
The project aims to reach an agreement in the interest of both parties, centered on a cultural partnership between the two countries.
According to the Te Nea report, the partnership is at the center of talks between the two sides, and the talk is about the return of the sculptures to Greece while the British Museum hosts archaeological treasures from Greece that have not been exhibited abroad before.
British officials have proposed that London and Athens share the sculptures and have explored the possibility of returning part of them to Greece.
The Greek government is not expected to settle for any solution that does not include the permanent return of the sculptures to Greece.

The British Museum Act 1963 prohibits the return of The Elgin Marbles to Greece, creating a legal obstacle to resolving the controversy.

Greece is seeking the return of the Elgin Marbles, a collection of ancient Greek sculptures, as they hold significant cultural and symbolic value to the country.

Greece is seeking the return of The Elgin Marbles, and while the British government has rejected calls for easier returns of cultural objects, secret talks have taken place between the British Museum and the Greek prime minister about potentially returning the sculptures.

Greece is seeking the return of the Elgin Marbles and is willing to negotiate with the British Museum, offering to lend other treasures in return.

Greece is seeking the return of the Elgin Marbles, with officials comparing the removal of the sculptures to a film being cut in half, and is pushing for a resolution to the long-standing dispute with the UK.

Greece is seeking the return of the Elgin Marbles, a collection of ancient Greek sculptures removed from the Parthenon in Athens, as they are considered a significant part of the country's cultural heritage.

Augmented Reality (AR) technology can help address diplomatic disputes surrounding cultural artifacts like the Elgin Marbles by providing an immersive experience and shared understanding of the artifacts.