Μake us preferred on Google Greece will be stepping up pressure for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens, with the issue to be included in EU discussions, said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday, during the “Dialogues for Athens” conference.
Mitsotakis confirmed that the Greek government was ramping up its efforts to secure the return of the 2,500-year-old Greek art works, which were removed by Lord Elgin in the early 1800s and later sold to the British Museum, where they are among its most profitable exhibits.
During a discussion with American author Daniel Mendelsohn, Mitsotakis referred to the British Museum Act 1963, which he said essentially prohibits the British Museum from permanently disposing of artifacts in its collection.
“Therefore,” he said, “we would need an exemption, a change to the deaccessioning law. And that is something only a party with a parliamentary majority can implement.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis outlines Greece’s campaign for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece during a discussion with aithor Daniel Mendelsohn at the ‘Dialogues for Athens’ conference organized by TO BHMA.
Greece has repeatedly sought the return of the Marbles, citing international principles and rulings in support of their reunification. Before their removal, the sculptures formed part of the Parthenon on the Acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Mitsotakis went on to stress the need to move forward with a “win-win proposition.”
He said Greece could offer the British Museum a unique cultural partnership that would include access to temporary exhibitions of Greek treasures that have never before left the country.
The Greek prime minister has repeatedly stressed that the return of the Parthenon Marbles should form part of EU-UK discussions, arguing that although the dispute is between the two countries, the issue concerns Europe as a whole.
Earlier this month, during a Greece-Bulgaria cultural exchange event in Thessaloniki, attended by Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Mitsotakis said that “monuments and historical artifacts cannot be treated as spoils of war, nor as victims of circumstances.”
He reiterated Greece’s position that the artworks should be reunited as a whole in Athens, where they belong.
“It is precisely this same principle—the principle of the integrity of a monument—that underpins our continuous efforts to reunite the Parthenon sculptures,” he said, adding that Greece would not accept arrangements that imply recognition of foreign sovereignty or involve “borrowing” its own treasures.
Loan Out of the Question
In a separate interview Tuesday, with public radio, Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said a loan would be out of the question and expressed confidence that the return of the sculptures would materialize in due time.
She reiterated that strategic steps had been taken in this direction and said significant progress had been made, with British public opinion overwhelmingly in favor of the reunification of the Athens sculptures.
“The sculptures will return; they will be reunited in Athens, because this is the direction in which things are moving. We are seeing treasures from all over the world, from major museums, returning to their countries of origin after 40 years,” she said.
Greece, Mendoni stressed, cannot deviate from its fundamental red line. “It cannot recognize possession, occupation, or ownership on the part of the UK. We cannot accept a loan arrangement. We do not accept a loan, because doing so would imply an indirect acknowledgment of ownership,” she said.
The minister added that Greece was committed to achieving the desired outcome through cultural diplomacy and dialogue.
The two-day conference is organized by TO BHMA at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens on October 6-7.
