An exclusive by UK Correspondent Yannis Andritsopoulos in Ta Nea.

Experts believe that the British Museum has made a “massive shift” in its policy regarding the loaning of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, possibly opening the way for the first constructive discussions on the artefacts’ return after decades of dead-ends.

In what appears to be a softening of its earlier stance, a museum spokesperson told Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea that borrowers “normally” acknowledge that the lender has title to the objects they want to borrow.

This is significant because until now, the museum has insisted that the acceptance of the lending institution’s ownership is a “precondition” for any loan.

However, when questioned by Ta Nea, the museum’s spokesperson stopped short of reiterating the word “precondition”, used by the museum for many years, repeatedly nixing the concerted campaign for the Marbles’ return Greece has been carrying out since the 1980s. Instead, the spokesperson replaced “precondition” with the word “normally”.

Experts in art and museum law and cultural heritage, British campaigners and Greek officials said that the new language marks an “important shift” and indicates that the museum is taking a step back by demonstrating a “greater openness” towards negotiating a possible loan with Greece.

Successive Greek governments have rejected offers from the British Museum to discuss the possibility of returning the 2,500-year-old sculptures on loan, arguing that it would mean renouncing any Greek claim to Phidias’s masterpieces, which have been in London for more than two centuries.

The British Museum claims to have legal title to the fifth-century B.C. antiquities. Greece, however, insists that the museum possesses the sculptures illegally and has been demanding their permanent reunification with the rest of the Parthenon frieze.

The apparent softening of the museum’s wording made some experts and lawyers think that the UK might be open for discussion about a loan without the once non-negotiable precondition of acknowledging ownership.

The museum has always said in written statements that “a pre-condition for any loan is the acceptance of the lending institution’s ownership”.

Last week, however, a British Museum spokesperson told Ta Nea that the borrowing institution “normally” acknowledges the museum’s ownership of the object they wish to borrow.

Asked three times whether it still stands by its previous statement, the spokesperson declined to answer.

“All loan requests are considered in exactly the same way. Of primary importance is the conservation of historical significant and delicate objects and whether travel would impact on their condition,” the museum said in a written statement.

“Borrowers also normally acknowledge that the lender has title to the objects they want to borrow. The Greek government doesn’t agree that the British Museum has title to the Sculptures which makes discussion of loans very difficult,” the spokesperson added.

‘Major shift’

“This is a major shift – and an admission in part – in the carefully calibrated language of diplomacy,” leading cultural property lawyer Mark Stephens told Ta Nea.

“This marks a changing of the guard at the British Museum and a softening of their stance, indicating a desire to do the ‘right thing’: return the marbles,” he added.

Stephens, an expert on museum, art, and cultural heritage law, explained that “previously, the museum had been very clear about not allowing the Marbles to go; it was always a complete blockage. But now it appears that that's no longer the case. I think they're drawing the distinction between their own previous position and the current one”.

He said: “they’re saying that loan requests are considered in light of three subjects: Historical significance, delicacy and whether they would be damaged in transit. Obviously, the Acropolis Museum in Athens meets those three criteria.”

“Previously, there was a certainty; that a precondition for a loan was that the Greek government had to acknowledge the British Museum's ownership. Now, they're saying that borrowers also ‘normally’ acknowledge ownership, so they’re saying ‘we don't always require this’. They're not saying that it is a precondition anymore. So, what you are seeing is a massive shift. They're opening the door,” said Stephens, who has been twice listed among the “100 most influential people in London” by the Evening Standard newspaper.

“They also say that the Greek government doesn't agree that the British Museum is the legal owner, which makes discussions of loans ‘very difficult’, but not impossible”, he added.

“I think there is a difference here, and I think it's a very marked difference. And so I think now is the time to begin the discussion and see if they're as good as their word,” Stephens said.

A Greek official noted that the new wording "potentially gives some leeway as to how the two parties could negotiate the reunification of the Sculptures through a Palermo-style solution".

Last month, a marble fragment that once adorned the Parthenon was returned to the Acropolis Museum in Athens. Stone VI on the eastern frieze of the Parthenon was previously held by the Antonino Salinas Regional Archeological Museum in Palermo, Italy. According to the Greek government, the fragment was returned as a “long-term deposit (‘deposito’)”, which means that ownership was not mentioned in the agreement.

‘Greater openness’

“I think (the new language) marks a slight but very important shift in the British Museum's position,” Alexander Herman, Director of the UK-based Institute of Art and Law and author of the recent book Restitution - The Return of Cultural Artefacts told Ta Nea.

“For a long time, the British Museum referred to the 'pre-condition' that Greece accept the Trustees’ title before a loan could be considered. This pre-condition was always unusual, since nowhere else was it required by the British Museum: it isn't referred to in the British Museum's Loans Policy, meaning that it would not have been a requirement for borrowers other than Greece,” he said.

According to Herman, “the new language is more in keeping with how loans usually work at the British Museum and elsewhere. It might be assumed that borrowers will accept a lender's title (otherwise why would they borrow?), but one never sees this expressly worded in a loan agreement.”

“In fact, in most cases one sees the opposite: lenders warrant that they have title to borrowers, since borrowers usually need assurances to avoid the risk of third-party claims during the course of an exhibition.”

He said: “So the new wording is certainly less categorical and appears to indicate a greater openness on the part of the British Museum to negotiate around the possibility of a loan. This is sensible. In Chapter 2 of my book, I show an example of a long-term loan secured by a Canadian First Nations group from the British Museum in 2005 that is still in place today. So there is precedent, even though it might only relate to a single object.”

“I realise that in Greece the idea of recognising the British Museum's title and of accepting a loan are unwelcome, but as I wrote in The Art Newspaper in 2019 there are ways of putting title aside, so as to avoid any political fallout. And a loan was acceptable in the case of the Artemis foot from Palermo, so there appears to at least be some tolerance for the L-word in Greece,” Herman concluded.

“‘Normally’ is always put into such statements in cases where there's a (no matter how remote) possibility of the 'norm' being violated, i.e. an exception to it being made. Therefore, the Greek Government could seek to take advantage of the possibility of an exception. But I would guess that the British Museum’s Trustees would not be willing to make an exception in such a case as the Marbles and moreover in favour of another state's Government,” Paul Cartledge, A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture emeritus at the University of Cambridge and Vice-Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM), told Ta Nea.

Growing pressure

Several recent repatriations of artefacts whose ownership has been in question has led to pressure being ratcheted up on the British Museum to follow suit.

The Parthenon Sculptures are regarded as some of the finest ever works of art and a symbol of the birth of Western civilisation. The campaign for their return was boosted by the recent about-turn by The Times, which argued for the ancient treasures to be returned to Greece. The newspaper had maintained for more than 50 years that the marbles should remain in the UK.

Ed Vaizey, who served as Culture minister under David Cameron, has also said that the Marbles should go back to Greece. In repeated polls, Britons have voiced support for the repatriation of the carvings.

Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, has been accused of hypocrisy after Ta Nea unearthed a 1986 article in which he accused Lord Elgin of “wholesale pillage” of the Parthenon and urged the British government to return the artefacts to Greece in a complete reversal of the position he now holds.

In an exclusive interview with Ta Nea published in March 2021, Johnson claimed that the Parthenon Marbles “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.”

Asked if it would consider returning the Parthenon Marbles to Athens permanently and displaying identical copies in London (as was recently suggested by the Oxford-based Institute for Digital Archaeology and by two members of the House of Lords), the British Museum’s spokesperson told Ta Nea:

“The Parthenon Sculptures play a pivotal role in telling a world story at the British Museum. Together with the wider collection, they help modern-day audiences see how the world they know is shaped by the past. Millions of people visit each year to learn the stories of people and cultures from the earliest moments of human history to the present day”.

“There are replicas of the British Museum’s Sculptures in the Acropolis Museum, where they are displayed alongside the remaining sculptures removed from the Parthenon during the past few decades,” the spokesperson added.

“The British Museum’s purpose is to prompt debate, thought, understanding and learning. Only 50% of the Parthenon sculptures survive today, with much lost to history. Now two great museums share custodianship of the majority of the surviving sculptures. The British Museum is confident that these two institutions have well-defined roles.”

Asked about the possibility of a loan, the museum’s spokesperson said: “We have never been asked for a loan of the Parthenon sculptures by Greece or the Acropolis Museum. We have a strong relationship with colleagues at the Acropolis Museum and are very willing to explore any requests for a loan with them.

“We lend objects from the collection to countries all over the world. We believe in the importance of lending our collection, it strengthens the stories the collection tells and when displayed alongside other objects, they create new stories and conversations. In 2014 the museum lent one of the Parthenon sculptures to the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, Russia, on the anniversary of that museum's foundation.”

However, the museum did not respond when asked whether an ‘indefinite’ loan could be agreed upon.

Instead, it said that “the British Museum will lend only in circumstances when the borrower guarantees that the object will be returned to the museum at the end of the loan period (the Trustees will normally expect the borrower to provide assurance of immunity from judicial seizure or comparable assurance from a government body or representative of appropriate authority).”

“The British Museum is not changing its tune as it still persists in the myth that a full story is being told by keeping half the figures taken from the Parthenon in London while the other half is shown in Athens which is so obviously a concocted story. Try telling it to a child whose natural logic will instantly spy the hole in the argument; they know perfectly well that half and half makes a whole,” Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, told Ta Nea.

“The Marbles were made to be together and one day they will be where they belong. The same goes for all the disfigured reliefs, with half a horse here and the other half galloping over there, it’s crazy! The Fat Lady of Bloomsbury is still singing her old song, silly old thing, but the world is already tiring of it,” she added.

“The change in the wording from the British Museum has been noted. We sincerely hope this means a change of heart. Greece has been doing an exemplary job of conserving its ancient monuments on the Acropolis and in the Acropolis Museum. The primary historically significant story of the sculptures is that which they tell as one and in reference to the Parthenon, which still stands,” commented BCRPM's Marlen Godwin.

“The British Museum’s insistence that the narratives it creates with the fragmented sculptures it holds is of greater importance, is out of step with the changes that are already happening. Respect for such a peerless collection should trump any selfish need or greed to keep the sculptures so brutally (and criminally) divided. These sculptures belong to the Parthenon and that is still, firmly on Greek soil. Today’s inequalities of the past, such as the continued division of the sculptures isn’t going to erase the sublime display they command in Athens nor the understanding they provide to visitors. Here’s to the bright, best practice museum curators that are getting it right,” she added.

This news report was published in the Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea on 12 February 2022. To read it in Greek follow the link here or follow the link for the English version.

The Greek daily newspaper,Ta Nea featured an interview by Yannis Andritsopoulos with Former Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire in their Saturday edition. In the interview, Thangam Debbonaire refers to the 'theft' of the Parthenon Marbles and that the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, now UK's PM, is keen to see a solution to this long running impasse.

Thangam Debbonaire views the Acropolis Museum as the right place to display the surviving sculptures and is looking forward to visiting Athens this weekend as she is will be speaking on Monday at an event organised by the Parthenon Project.

Thangam Debbonaire reiterates in the interview that it is the Labour governments continued position to see the British Museum find a solution that is acceptable to both Greece and UK's cultural institution.

Thangam Debbonaire also used the same analogy that PM Mitotakis used during his Novembervisit to the UK last year, where reference was made to the Mona Lisa and what we would all say if we had to view her in two halves. She also feels that most UK parliamentarians would wish to see a solution as the request for reunification has raged on for so long and is encouraged by Nicholas Cullinan's views for the future of the British Museum.

The Parthenon Project campaign includes the transformation of the Duveen Gallery at the British Museum into a gallery that would be renamed the “Prince Philip Hellenic Gallery” to display never-before-seen Greek artefacts, a proposal that excites Thangam Debbonaire, and we remind ourselves that it is 24 years since the first Greek minister, voiced the will of Greece to offer the British Museum artefacts from Greece not seen outside of Greece (should the sculptures in London be reunited with those in Athens).

More on this story also in Daily Mail & MSN.

Plus in The Times on Monday 30 September 2024, Oliver Wright adds: 'government sources played down the prospect of an early solution, saying that Debbonaire was not speaking on behalf of ministers'.

“We have no plans to change the law that would permit a permanent move of the Parthenon sculptures,” said a spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Looks as though the campaigns, yes there are more than one (!), continue, apace.

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday morning, 21 April 2025, at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta.

"God’s mercy is our liberation and our happiness. We live for mercy, and we cannot afford to be without mercy. It is the air that we breathe. We are too poor to set any conditions. We need to forgive, because we need to be forgiven.”

Many saw him on Easter Sunday across news bulletin broadcasts throughout the globe, his final Urbi et Orbi blessing on Easter Day from the central Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Francis spoke slowly, his shallow breath noticeable. From his blessing on the balcony of St Peter's Square, he also continued to greet and bless the cheering crowds as he was driven in his popemobile.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 December 1936 and was the eldest of five children. His parents fled their native Italy to escape Mussolini's dictatorship.

In his sermons, Pope Francis called for social inclusion and criticised governments that failed to pay attention to the poorest in society: "We live in the most unequal part of the world," he said, "which has grown the most, yet reduced misery the least."

As Pope, he made great efforts to heal the thousand-year rift with the Eastern Orthodox Church. In recognition, for the first time since the Great Schism of 1054, the Patriarch of Constantinople attended the installation of a new Bishop of Rome.

In 2023, he made a pilgrimage to South Sudan, pleading with the country's leaders to end the conflict.

Despite cutting down his workload post his time in hospital this year, the Pope was able to meet King Charles during the British monarch's four-day state visit to Italy at the beginning of April.

Despite his critics, Pope Francis did bring change. "If I had to choose between a wounded Church that goes out on to the streets and a sick, withdrawn Church, I would choose the first."

Statement issued by the Acropolis Museum, 22 April 2025:

The President, the Board of Directors and the General Director of the Acropolis Museum, also express their deepest sorrow at the death of Pope Francis, adding their sincere gratitude for his practical support in the just cause, the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures. A support that can be mirrored by others also.

In Rome, two years ago, on Tuesday 07 March 2023, the Vatican and Greecesigned the papers for the return of three sculpture fragments from the Parthenon that have been in the collection of the Vatican Museums for two centuries.

Here's to Pope Francis' magnanimous gesture for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles being mirrored by those institutions that continue to hold fragments of this peerless collection of sculptures.

The Acropolis Museum will celebrate this year's August Full Moon with music, and dance. The event is aptly entitled “Tango Acropolis” and will be held at the Museum’s entrance courtyard, starting at 9 p.m.

On Tuesday evening, 01 August 2023 performances by world-renowned tango dancers, and a live music presentation will follow by the Orchestra “Con Estilo Tango” with tributes to great musicians of the Golden Age, such as Astor Piazzola, Osvaldo Pugliese and Juan d’ Arienzo, among others.

Professional and amateur tango dancers, including the public, will have the opportunity to participate in the dancing, as the Museum’s courtyard turns into a dance floor!

Music with Nikos Papadimitriou (piano), Lefteris Grivas (bandoneon), Lia Selalmazidi (violin).

Entrance to this event will be free.

On this day, the Museum will remain open until 12 midnight with free entry from 8 p.m. onwards and visitors will be able to enjoy the galleries and the view of the Acropolis under the August moonlight.

The restaurant on the second floor will be open during the same hours.

The event “Tango Acropolis” is held under the aegis of the Embassy of Argentina.

The Acropolis Museum is taking part once more in this year’s Athens City Festival by offer two gastronomy and music events: Thursday,  04 May and on Monday, 22 May 2023, in collaboration with the Athens Development & Destination Management Agency.

Ancient diet and wine tasting

Wine, the gift of Dionysus! What was the relationship of the ancient Athenians with wine? How did they drink it and what did they accompany it with? But more generally, what did their diet include? Which products were local and which were imported? And what role did they play in the religious life of the city? These and many other questions will be answered by the archaeologists of the Acropolis Museum. Plus a unique experience that is offered in the restaurant on the second floor with views of the Acropolis, with a meal prepared especially for the occasion, and accompanied by wine tasting with the support of the Gerovassiliou Winery.

Date & time: Thursday, 04 May 2023, tour on ancient diet (7pm-8pm), tasting at the restaurant (8pm-10pm)

Reservations: https://www.viva.gr/tickets/museums/arxaia-diatrofi-kai-geusignosia-krasiou-athens-city-festival-en/, https://cityfestival.thisisathens.org/

Jazz concert with night views of the Acropolis

Mammal Hands, one of the iconic bands of the new generation of British jazz and minimal music, will present a unique concert on the terrace of the Museum’s restaurant with evening views of the Acropolis. Over the course of ten years and five impressive records, the Norwich trio has mixed influences from various genres of contemporary music, including post-rock, ambient and electronica.

Date & time: Monday, 22 May 2023, 8:30pm

Reservations: https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/mammalhands/, https://cityfestival.thisisathens.org/

22 August 2019 during a State visit to France, Greece's Prime Minister Mitsotakis asked President Macron for the loan from the Louvre of a metope.This request was made for Greece's bicentennial independence celebrations in 2021. The Louvre would, in return, receive a collection of bronze artefacts from Greece. 

Paul Cartledge, professor of Greek Culture at the University of Cambridge and the vice chairman of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles and the IARPS (International Association) commented to The Art Newspaper: " We hope for and expect much more: the reunification in the Acropolis Museum of all bits of the Parthenon held in museums outside Greece—not only [the sculptures] from the British Museum. The Greek government will certainly reciprocate most handsomely with spectacular loans, such as those going to the Louvre no doubt will be.”

To read The Art Newspaper article, please follow the link here.

On 22 March, Alexander Herman wrote an article also in The Art Newspaper explaining the difficulties that surround recognition and admission of title. If the British Museum were ever to consider a long-term loan of the pieces, Greece would need to first accept that the trustees hold title, an acceptance successive Greek governments have never been willing to make.

"But title need not be so contentious. Perhaps the Greek government could accept the simple premise that the trustees hold title under English law, but go no further? This would not have to relate to the circumstances of acquisition in Athens. It need only be a recognition that a run-of-the-mill Act of Parliament settled the question of English title back in 1816. Likewise, the British Museum would need to understand that title is a nationally derived right and does not automatically guarantee rights at an international level. This could perhaps allow the parties to put the question of title aside" writes Alexander Herman.

While a loan might not result in Greece's long awaited permanent restitution, it would bring some pieces back to the Acropolis Museum, where they would be seen by millions in their original context with views to the Parthenon, which still stands. Marking a memorable event and breaking of the deadlock by starting a dialogue between London and Athens.

Read more on this article here.

31 August & 01 September Helena Smith reported in the Guardian and Observer that Prime Minister Mitsotakis would be looking for a loan from the British Museum to coincide with Greece's bicentennial independence celebrations in 2021.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis explained that “given the significance of 2021, I will propose to Boris: ‘As a first move, loan me the sculptures for a certain period of time and I will send you very important artefacts that have never left Greece to be exhibited in the British Museum’.”

Adding: “Of course our demand for the return of the sculptures remains in place. I don’t think [Britain] should be fighting a losing battle. Eventually this is going to be a losing battle. At the end of the day there is going to be mounting pressure on this issue.”

There are 21,000 known archaeological sites in Greece,” said the culture minister, Lina Mendoni, a classical archaeologist. “We have 10 times more than we can possibly exhibit. Almost every day something valuable is found. We want to export these cultural assets.”

Read the updated Guardian (04 September 2019) article here.

I was asked to be the Chair of the BCRPM because of my long-standing sympathy with the magnificent fury of Melina Mercouri, who came whirling into Britain many years ago like a mighty wind, to stir up the clouds of dead leaves that often litter the venerable institutions of this land. She demanded the return of the marbles. She is long gone, but the wind still blows, sometimes stronger, sometimes just a breeze to disturb the quiet. Those winds have started up again as the arguments about Brexit swirl this way and that, and they have started up in France as it recognises certain acquisitions in its own collections need justifying, and the windy debates continue in other far countries once colonised by Great Britain in its Empire heyday.

One of the most mightiest of those Institutions, The British Museum, is the keeper of so many of the world’s treasures they are almost beyond counting, because Empire-builders brought back wondrous artefacts from across the world when Britain ruled the waves. As we know the star attractions of the British Museum's astonishing collection are the Parthenon marbles, those breath-taking fractions of a breath-taking whole. The Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin, brought them to England and for two hundred years they have awed the millions of visitors who shuffle across the floors of the mighty Museum. They are seen in a severely walled gallery, sitting with great respect and decorum on harsh concrete plinths, with greyish light partly revealing their astonishing beauty.

Last year some of these pieces of sculpture were brought down to another larger gallery to show Rodin’s work alongside them, and how inspired he was by them. A breath of fresh air rushed round the figures and we saw anew how wonderful they are, in fact unmatchable. Emotionally charged, muscled Rodin figures paled beside the stillness of their haunting super-reality. The curators had presented the figures as solo works of art separated from their original function of being parts of a larger whole, wrenched from an integral part of an ancient belief-system.

Melina was an actress, I am an actress; that probably means we are basically open-minded. Acting requires you to be non-judgemental about a character and thus to depict its point of view, often very far from your own in real life, as truthfully as possible. I am no scholar, no academic. My position on the BCRPM Committee is one of a perfectly ordinary museum visitor and as such I can see so clearly that the marbles are in the wrong room. They need the sweet Attic sunlight shining on them and a blue sky beyond; they ask to be re-connected to their other half in the New Acropolis Museum where a space for them awaits. They need to be seen in sight of the Parthenon itself, which still astonishingly stands, in full view of that space, so that I, the visitor could turn my head and exclaim “Now I see - that’s where they came from!” No more gloomy light, no more orphaned statuary. They need to be re-joined to their other pedimental half which sits in this fine museum so that I, the visitor, can understand the whole silent conversation between them.

I simply do not trust the jargon of art historians or artistic directors however eminent who enlarge rather pompously on ‘creative acts’ - meaning the marble figures take on another equally important resonance by having been violently parted from their siblings. Chopped off in fact; the wounds are visible. I have no reason to disrespect the director of the British Museum but if I were playing him I would have to understand his motivation in speaking such transparently suspect words. It’s clear that it would be more than his job is worth if he allowed his natural intelligence to win over his enforced hypocrisy; he is required to speak diplomatically. So it is not he who is at fault; it is the Trustees of the British Museum who must surely be rather smug closet colonialists that they still don't choose to entertain what is only right and just. After more than two centuries, it is high time those marbles were returned to their rightful place.

I end by quoting from an eminent member of BCRPM, Alexi Kaye Campbell, who wrote most eloquently in The Guardianrecently: “Asking for something back of huge significance which has been taken from you when you were under foreign occupation is a demand for simple justice”. Europe has felt the dread hand of occupation far too often, and it behoves Britain and its premier institutions to start to accommodate the other point of view.

Greece’s ask is wholly justified. It must keep blowing zephyrous winds towards England.

Janet Suzman

The above article was published in Greek , Saturday 9 February 2019, in Ta Nea, Greece's daily newspaper.  It was also re-printed in Parikiaki.

Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni has pledged to ‘fill the void’ at the British Museum should the Parthenon sculptures be reunited with their counterparts in Athens. It’s a brilliant idea.

The Kritios Boy, a masterpiece of ancient Greek marble sculpture, currently stands atop a pedestal in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. For historians he speaks quietly of the transition from the Archaic to the Classical periods in Greek sculpture (as well as having one of the most beautiful derrières in the history of art). He could potentially be among the many extraordinary treasures never previously exhibited in the United Kingdom but which could be seen in London if the British Museum’s trustees were enlightened enough to accommodate Ms Mendoni’s workable solution to the current impasse over the Parthenon Marbles.

Were the British Museum to agree to reunite the sculptures with their counterparts in Athens, Ms Mendoni has promised that Greece would reciprocate by sending rotating loan exhibitions of ancient masterpieces like the Kritios Boy never previously seen by many UK museum-goers. To realise the many cultural and diplomatic benefits of Ms Mendoni’s initiative would require the trustees of the British Museum to expand their vision beyond considerations of ownership and begin a more cooperative relationship with Athens over the future of the Marbles.

The first stage in that process requires the amendment of the British Museum Act of 1963 which currently prohibits the deaccessioning of objects from the Museum’s collections. The British Government’s refusal to even consider such an amendment has two negative consequences. In the first instance, the way the Marbles are currently displayed in Bloomsbury perpetuates a misleading understanding of their historical importance, denying their original significance as part of the Parthenon’s architectural programme. In the Parthenon Galleries of the Acropolis Museum their connection to the monument is clear and deeply moving.

It is the duty of every museum to promote a fact-based understanding of material culture, historical and contemporary. Where the Marbles are concerned, the British Museum is currently failing in that regard.

Secondly, the refusal to amend the 1963 Act deprives the UK’s museum-going public (as well as visiting tourists) of an opportunity to learn more about the art of ancient Greece through new educational displays.

As a scholar of ancient Greek polychrome sculpture, I have visited the Acropolis Museum on numerous occasions, both in its previous romantically ramshackle location on the monument itself, and on many subsequent occasions following the opening of Bernard Tschumi’s superb new Museum at the foot of the Acropolis in 2009. Few other museums in the world are able to offer as coherent an account of the coloured nature of ancient Greek sculpture as the Acropolis Museum.

The superb ‘Colour Revolution’ exhibition currently own show at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford testifies to the enduring public fascination with colour and its impact on art and design in the Victorian era. It also touches briefly on one of the central aesthetic controversies of the nineteenth century — the true coloured nature of ancient sculpture.

The British Museum has been guilty in the past of scrubbing the Parthenon Marbles with wire brushes in a misguided attempt to whiten them. It now has an opportunity to absolve itself of those errors by reopening the conversation with Athens.

The immediate and long-term benefits are obvious for all to see. George Osborne has an opportunity to cement his legacy by persuading his Eton and Oxbridge colleagues in government to revisit the British Museum Act. Mark Jones might also go down in history as more than merely an “interim” director of the Museum but rather the man whose brief custodianship opened a new chapter in museum diplomacy.

Dr Tom Flynn

Reaching an agreement for the permanent return of the Parthenon Sculptures from the British Museum to Greece  “is difficult, but not impossible,” said Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni in Parliament on Monday, 23 January 2023. Dr Mendoni reiterated the government’s stance that this specific cultural request “remains national, unanimous, consistent and clear.”

Greece does not recognize the British Museum's claim of ownership with regards to the Parthenon Scultptures currently exibited in Room 18, as they comprise a product of theft. Dr Mendoni added that “the government has been working from the start systematically, responsibly, and effectively to achieve the national goal – the return and reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures to the Acropolis Museum in Athens.”

ANA-MPA news

To celebrate World Poetry Day, this Friday 21 March 2025, selected rhapsodies from Homer’s Iliad will be read in modern Greek in the courtyard of the Acropolis Museum. The event is hosted by ERT’s Third Programme and will be broadcast from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Homer’s Iliad, an epic recounting the siege of Troy, is considered the oldest epic of European literature, dating to around 750 BC. It preserves the myths, values and ideals of pre-classical antiquity and was originally part of the oral poetry tradition, intended for recitation at major festivals in Athens and throughout the Hellenic world.

A total of 12 out of the 24 rhapsodies will be presented in a modern Greek translation by students from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens’ Classical Philology Department. The language editing has been supervised by Vassilis Vertoudakis, an alternate professor of ancient Greek, and speech coaching students.

Live stream link : https://www.ertecho.gr/radio/trito/

Monday 15 April 2019,  Acropolis Museum, Athens.

Maria Vlazaki, Secretary-General of Ministry of Culture and Sports:

"Honourable organisers and participants; dear guests, colleagues and friends, dear campaigners.With great interest and attention, we watched the speakers' presentations and video messages during today’s Conference held at the Acropolis Museum. Each presentation at today's International Conference for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures was an in-depth approach to the quest to reunite the Parthenon sculptures and each one approached this from a different perspective.

Let us recall the main points of today's speeches: During the inaugural session, the Excellency President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopios Pavlopoulos, emphasised that this international conference is yet another link in the long chain of the international struggle for the reunification of this unique cultural collection.He underlined that the fair request for the return of the Sculptures has a long history and began after Greece gained her independence. Moreover, the construction and opening of the Acropolis Museum further weakens the sacrilegious "alibi" of the English side that stated that Greece had no proper place for the sculptures to be exhibited.

(To read the President's full speech, please follow the link here.)

The Minister of Culture and Sports, Ms Myrsini Zorba, stressed that 37 years have passed since the UNESCO Conference in Mexico when Melina Mercouri first formally called for the return of the Sculptures, and referred to their removal as  cultural vandalism, an open trauma for the eyes of all humanity.In the decades that followed, Greece and the Ministry of Culture supported, the return of the Sculptures and their reunification in order for the monument to acquire its integrity - a one-way street, a lasting pledge that ‘we’ have a debt to resolve through dialogue.A pending historical, cultural, scientific, aesthetic, political and ethical quest towards the reunification of the Sculptures continues. The Minister congratulated all who helped, promoted and defended the claim, and in particular the national committees.

The President of the Acropolis Museum, Professor Mr. Dimitrios Pantermalis made a very interesting retrospect presentation of the history of the Parthenon monument, presenting in a way particularly characteristic and explaining the ‘adventures’ of three different parts of the sculptures, to their acquisition by the British Museum. He then noted the need to further investigate the Elgin material.

Mr. Christoforos Argyropoulos, President of the Greek Consultative Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, and President of the Melina Merkouri Foundation, argued that in the discourse related to the repatriation of the sculptures from the Parthenon, the Greek side uses real arguments - whereas the British, deliberately and repeatedly use misleading claims.

Mrs. Marianna Vardinoyianni, UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassador, reviewed her actions and initiatives. She referred to both the national and international dimension of the claim, as well as the legal and ethical aspects of the claim, while she also mentioned her aim to continue to gather signatures from prominent international personalities in order to add to the calls for the return the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens.

Former Minister of Culture and Sports, Lydia Koniordou, stressed the Greek side's insistence for a diplomatic path towards the reunification of the Sculptures without forgoing the possibility of using legal action. She too is keen to raise greater awareness of public opinion, which would act as a leverage to persuade the British Museum. Finally, she praised the effective and fruitful collaboration with the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, while observing that the polls continue to also show support for Greece’s legitimate demand.

The second session was followed by the latest developments in the case of the return of the sculptures, coordinated by the Director of the newspaper KATHIMERINI, Mr. Alexis Papakelas.

Professor Bernard Tschumi, architect of the Acropolis Museum, in a brief video message, presented the architecture of the Parthenon friezeand its exhibition at the Acropolis Museum where the visitor can see the sections of the Frieze as they were intended to be seen on the length and breadth of the Parthenon and not like those that hang in the British Museum. He likened the ones in the British Museum as paintings hanging on a wall. The sculptures, he concluded are the living entity of the Athenian democracy.

Academic Eleni Arbeler, President of the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, presented interesting historical aspects of the issue by analysing the conflict between two British scholars and the Sculptures in the late 19th century, and Cavafy's commentary as a journalist - columnist at that time.

Professor Louis Godart, President of the International Association for the Reunion of Parthenon Sculptures, described Italy's actions to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural goods and that his role as a counsellor to the President of the Italian Republic will continue to help him to help Greece in her quest.He appreciated that England is also unable to support the integrity of this symbol of eternal values ​​and aesthetic excellence, especially today where concepts and symbols such as the European Union are shaken and endangered by extreme populist forces. He concluded by saying that the return of the sculptures to the Acropolis Museum would be a move that would honour England and show respect for the whole of Europe.

Actress Dame Janet Suzman, Chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, spoke of Melina, public pressure and opinion polls too. She apologised for the mess that the UK found itself at this time because of Brexit. She stressed that timing was everything and that young people no longer appreciate colonial practices and policies. In this context, many museums have and will continue to return cultural artefacts to their countries of origin. She finally suggested that the British Museum would soon be marginalized for its choices, namely to own and expose arts from other countries.

The lifelong scholar of the Monuments of the Rock, Professor of the National Technical University of Athens, Mr. Manolis Korres, presented with great emphasis the basic architectural particularities of the monument, as well as the ideological reports of the overall programme of the construction of the Parthenon’s masonry.

This panels presentations were brought to a close by UK journalist Sarah Baxter, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Sunday Times from London. She admitted that England seems to lose the battle in the moral field while expressing the view that the Parthenon Sculptures should be returned to Greece in the same way that the "Coronation Stone" was returned to Scotland.In addition, she expressed the view that the new technologies now make it possible to produce impressive copies of works of art, and that the British Museum could use copies of the Parthenon sculptures and return the authentic ones to Greece.

The third session was dedicated to the discussion of the strategy and the perspectives of the topic, Mr. Nikolaos Stambolidis, Professor of Archaeology, University of Crete, and the Director of the Museum of Cycladic Art, mediated this panel of speakers.

Dr. Tom Flynn, an art historian and writer in his short video message, provided a message for this conference, he expressed the view that public pressure for reunification is increasing, to such an extent that only the "cultural deaf" might not hear it.In addition, he mentioned the 10^th anniversary of the Acropolis Museum, stressed that the international museological tendency for smaller museums linked to archaeological sites, while large encyclopaedic museums represent an outdated imperialist concept.

Professor Paul Cartledge, Professor Emeritus of Greek Culture at the Cambridge University School of Classical Studies and Vice President of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, added that the British side's obsession no longer has any legal or moral support in modern day. He spoke of the firman and the Turkish experts that presented in Athens earlier this year. These experts proved that these were but travel permits. In fact no firman would have granted Lord Elgin the right to take down from the building what he did remove.

Dr. Artemis Papathanassiou, Legal Counsellor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and member of the Greek Consultative Committee for the Reunification of Parthenon Sculptures, highlighted recent developments regarding the return of cultural goods to their countries of origin within the UN and UNESCO, focusing on the emblematic case of the Sculptures of the Parthenon.The most recent development within UNESCO is the adoption of a Recommendation in May 2018 by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Promotion of the Return of Cultural Goods in their countries of origin. In the extremely important recommendation, the Commission first takes into account the historical, cultural, legal and ethical dimensions, while it is recalled that the Acropolis is an emblematic monument of universal scope that has been included in the World Heritage List. In December 2018, the UN Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing the institutional character of the International Conference on Return of Cultural Goods and their final texts, while mentioning once again the request for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures.

Brigadier Fabrizio Parrulli, Commander of the Carabinieri Corps of Antiquities Department, explained that his Department held the world's largest digital database of stolen artworks. He went on to describe the initiative to set up and run the Task Force ‘Unite for Heritage’, which is involved in missions for the protection of cultural heritage in cooperation with local bodies and intergovernmental organisations both within Italy and internationally.He took this opportunity to refer to a similar initiative by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. As early as August 2016, a registry of executives willing to assist businesses to protect the cultural heritage was set up in Italy’s Ministry. Some 51 executives, archaeologists, engineers, conservationists, lawyers, museologists and architects continue to offer their services to international cooperative enterprises under the supervision or invitation of UNESCO or other organisations to record damage, provide know-how and assistance in the protection and recovery of cultural goods. 

Professor Emanuel Papi, Director of the Italian Archaeological School of Athens, referred to the long-standing practice of seizing antiquities as early as Roman times, and just before the start of the struggle for the Independence of the Greek State, Greece was the scene of the ‘important monuments of the ancient cosmos’ (Aphaia in Aegina, Epicureus of Apollo, Parthenon). He concluded his speech by asking the Italian State and the Sicilian region to return a piece of the sculpted decor of the Parthenon, which is now in the Museum of Palermo.

Dr. Elena Korka, Honorary Director-General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, testified the results of the thorough research she conducted in archive material, which reveals both the truth and the fiction that surrounds the removal of the sculpture from the Parthenon, while demonstrating legitimate use by distorting data related to the export of the sculptures by Lord Elgin, and the subsequent acquisition by the British Museum in 1816.

Mrs. Sophia Chiniadou Kambani, Head of Cultural Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic, focused on the erosion of the meaning of the sculptures when viewed away from the context of the monument, and set the goals for the success of the relevant struggle: preventing forgetfulness, the use of diplomatic channel as a main strategy to offer stability and consistency to the campaign, the emergence of the importance of the monument's uniqueness and integrity, as well as the unity and coordination that must identify every initiative, national and international.

The closing session, was co-ordinated by Marlen Taffarello-Godwin, from the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

The Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports, Mr. Constantine Stratis, noted that the Parthenon Sculpture case also raises a series of wider issues pertaining to the perceptions of the preservation, restoration, protection and enhancement of the cultural heritage, as well as the way in which it should be presented to the international community. It highlights the problems surrounding antiquity, the property regime, the commercialisation and trafficking of antiquities.Greece has continued to abolish all the arguments of the British side concerning both the preservation and protection of the Sculptures, as well as their appearance and presentation to the public, while the British Museum's rhetoric is rejected internationally as the remnant of an outdated colonial logic.The interventions of the representatives of the National Committees were then heard. They presented with enthusiasm their campaigning thoughts, some also outlined the efforts they have undertaken or implement in their individual countries, contributing to the swell in public opinion for reunification in many parts of the globe. Greece thanks them from the heart! We keep these great ideas and suggestions and we are committed to working on them and making the right use of them.

Professor Ove Bring, a member of the Swedish Parthenon Committee, Professor of International Law, Swedish National Defense College, Stockholm University, former lawyer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: proposes that the British Museum obtain exact copies and temporary repatriation of the property. He suggested that ownership is shifted to Greece and that Greece then in turn continues to lend the sculptures to the British Museum.

Emanuel Comino, Founder and President of the International Organization of Organizations (IOC-A-RPM) - supports cultural diplomacy, remarking on how it was Melina Mercouri that encouraged him to work with the British Committee, founded by James Cubitt. He added that the two committees had worked closely together for nearly 40 years and that he would continue to give his personal and committee’s support. He mentioned the International Colloquy held in London in 2012 before the London Olympics, the second held in Sydney, Australia in November 2013 and the third held in Athens in July 2015. He also mentioned attending BCRPM’s 200^th commemorative event held at Senate Housewhere Melina Mercouri also spoke, this event was held in London 07 June 2018 to mark 200 years since British Parliament voted to purchase from Lord Elgin his collection of sculpted marbles collected from the Parthenon and elsewhere on the Athenian Acropolis.

George Vardas, Secretary of the International Association (IARPS), Australian Council for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, Secretary of the Greco-Australian Council: analysed the legal dimension of the issue and suggested that the International Court of Justice should be consulted on this matter.

Mrs. Alexandra Pistofidou, Founder and President of the Austrian Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Sculptures, Historian-Palaeographer: presented her Committees use of social media networking as a tool and how these tools might be used to further the campaign of the IARPS.

Professor Maria Guimarães Kangussu, Brazilian Committee for the Reunification of Parthenon Sculptures, Professor of Philosophy, Federal University Ouro Preto: presented the Brazilian activities which included raising students' awareness of the plight of the Sculptures, talked about the website and a photographic exhibition that they will present at their embassy in Athens in November of this year.

Mr Roland Devivier, President of the Belgian Committee, spoke about their new website and facebook page, Mr Pantermalis' lecture in Brussels in January of this year and a Luxembourg decision to set up a committee there too.

Ms Donatella Monterisi Andreani, French Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Marbles, read out a moving letter from Ms Arberler to President Macron requesting the return of the section of the frieze that is currently in the Louvre. The letter also went to the French Ministry of Culture and the Directorate of the Louvre.

Mr Ole Norrback, Finnish Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Sculptures, a former Minister and Diplomat, former Ambassador of Finland to Greece, proposed better co-ordination of the actions of national committees in relation to the International Association. He feels there has to be activities on both national and international level.

Ambassador Krister Kumlin, Swedish Parthenon Committee, former Swedish Ambassador to Greece, supported Professor Bring's statement and spoke of the hope that we may get from a young people’s movement.

Professor Dusan Sidjanski, President of the Swiss Committee, Professor of Political Sciences, Geneva University, Honorary President of the Geneva Cultural Centre: talked about cultural diplomacy, but added the need to exert pressure, rather than a judicial claim, and analysed his thoughts on Greek culture and democracy, bringing the value of history and people. Without the will of people the campaign would have no traction.

In summing up, the return of the Sculptures is also directly linked to the theoretical discussions taking place across Europe on the return of so-called "colonial" cultural goods. This is why the current meeting of the IARPS is important not only for Greece but also for the global community. The Greek claim, a timely and imperative demand, is constantly winning supporters at the level of Civil Society and International Organizations. This is confirmed by the recent developments in both the UN plenary session and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Commission, as well as by the presence here at the Acropolis Museum of the International Association and its member Committees.After all, the arguments of the British side have now been broken down one by one:

• Elgin had no legal authority to remove the Sculptures as he did, as modern archival research has also shown.

• A modern Museum operates in direct visual contact with the Holy Rock and the Parthenon.

• New technologies can provide solutions for visitors to the British Museum by creating three-dimensional digital copies of maximum precision.

• The Greek side constantly declares its intention to collaborate creatively with the British Museum, as it has done with other museums, for the presentation of periodical reports and the development of joint research programmes.To achieve our goal, cultural diplomacy and public awareness remain our main weapons. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports continues to coordinate and process the necessary steps, updating it on the basis of the data, in cooperation with the National Advisory Committee, the Acropolis Museum and, of course, the Presidency of the Republic.

In the above context, having the International Committees and National Committees working alongside us, we believe that it would not be inconceivable to design and implement a campaign that would take place at the same time internationally through modern technologies and social media tools. On behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, we commit ourselves that the relevant department, the Directorate for Documentation and Protection of Cultural Goods will undertake a public awareness campaign on April 15, 2020, and we call on a similar action on the same day, one year from now. We propose that the Committees discuss the matter at their meeting tomorrow.

We believe that the outcome of this conference is a strong and loud message. In a turbulent period that Europe is experiencing today, the return of the Sculptures from the British Museum will be a gesture of unity and belief in the ideals and values ​​of European culture. As Italy's important institutional representatives are among us, the first step, with the consent of the Italian Government, would be the permanent return of the fragment from the Pietus in Palermo, Italy, and that of the Vatican Museum, with the consensus Holy See. And finally, a larger coordinated effort to return the fragment from the Louvre. Such an achievement would be a decisive precedent for Britain's next moves.                                                                         

Thank you all. 

verage on this, check the articles listed below:

For coverage on the conference, some of the articles are listed below:

Greek president demands UK return Parthenon marbles from ‘murky prison’ of British Museum

Greek president brands British Museum a 'murky prison' for Elgin Marbles

Greece calls on the UK to free the Parthenon marbles from the British Museum's 'murky prison'

Greek president demands UK return Parthenon marbles from British Museum’s 'murky prison'

On Saturday 18 May 2019 the Acropolis Museum celebrates International Museum Day and European Night of Museums and invites visitors to participate in family programmes with free entry and extended opening hours from 8 a.m. to 12 midnight. The Museum restaurant will operate during the same hours.

Family programmes

On Saturday 18 May 2019 our younger visitorswill be able to participate in the two free family programmes: ‘Experience the Panathinaea Festival with all my senses’ (3-5 years old) and ‘What happened to Athena’s statue from the Parthenon?’ (6-9 years old). 

The cranes of the Acropolis

On the occasion of this year’s International Museum Day, the Acropolis Museum has produced, in collaboration with Hellenic Mint, commemorative medals dedicated to the cranes of the Acropolis. On the cornice of the first Parthenon (570 BC), cranes (geranos, in Greek) were depicted in horizontal flight, rendered in soft colors and in dense formation. For the ancient Greeks, the crane symbolized intelligence, alertness and good fortune. The medals will be available for purchase in the museum shop, located on the ground.

International Women's Day was celebrated at the Acropolis Museum with a special event organised by the museum and the Marianna V. Vardinoyannis Foundation on the evening of Tuesday 08 March 2022. Guest of honour was H.E the President of the Hellenic Republic, Ms Katerina Sakellaropoulou. The event was entitled 'The Expatriate Goddesses of the Parthenon'.

Tom Flynn, supporter for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles for many decades, travelled from the UK and spoke at the event. To read Tom's full speech, kindly visit our Articles and Research section or follow the link here.

Interview by Ta Nea, UK Correspondent  Ioannis Andritsopoulos with the Director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer

Mr Fischer, do you think the Greeks are right to want the Parthenon Sculptures back?

I can certainly understand that the Greeks have a special and passionate relationship with this part of their cultural heritage. Yes, I understand that there is a desire to see all of the Parthenon Sculptures in Athens.

Would the British Museum consider returning the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece?

There is a long-lasting debate on this issue. The Parthenon Sculptures in Athens are being shown in a specific context and since 2009 in this wonderful new museum in a very fascinating display. And the Parthenon Sculptures that are in London tell different stories about a monument that has a very complex history. As a temple of Athena, and then a Christian church and then a mosque. It was blown up in the 1687, and abandoned and neglected. And then rediscovered. And the rediscovery is obviously part of European history. We are showing the Parthenon Sculptures which are at the British Museum in a context of world cultures, highlighting achievements from all over the world under one roof, and showing the interconnectedness of cultures. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the monument’s history is enriched by the fact that some (parts of it) are in Athens and some are in London where six million people see them every year. In each of these two locations they highlight different aspects of an incredibly rich, layered and complex history.

Greece says that it’s not just about returning the sculptures. It’s about reuniting the sculptures. Because they are a single work of art that should not be divided and fragmented. What’s your take on that?

People go to some places to encounter cultural heritage that was created for that site. They go to other places to see cultural heritage which has been moved and offers a different way to engage with that heritage. The British Museum is such a place, it offers opportunities to engage with the objects differently and ask different questions because they are placed in a new context. We should cherish that opportunity. You could of course, and with reason, regret that original contexts are dissolved.
When you move cultural heritage into a museum, you move it out of context. Yet that displacement is also a creative act. That is also true for the Acropolis Museum; the sculptures are out of their original context there. Nothing we admire in the Acropolis Museum was created for the Acropolis Museum.

It’s there though. The Museum faces the Acropolis. It’s not the same as being (the Sculptures) here in London.

Absolutely not. You’re right. They are close to the original context but they have still been taken away from it and been transformed through this act.

So the answer to the question if you would consider returning the Sculptures to Greece, is it a no? Is it a yes? Is it a maybe?

The British Museum was created in 1753 and opened in 1759 to allow people to not only encounter world cultures free of charge, but also to draw comparisons between cultures. Parliament who created this institution transferred the responsibility for this collection to the Trustees, stipulating that this collection has to be preserved for future generations. And that fiduciary responsibility the Trustees of the Museum take absolutely seriously. The Trustees feel the obligation to preserve the collection in its entirety, so that things that are part of this collection remain part of this collection. And to share them as much and wherever this is possible. The British Museum lends thousands of objects every year. And we also lend to the Acropolis Museum, we have excellent relations with our colleagues there.

But that is the reason why the Museum will not permanently return the Sculptures? What you just told me about the Trustees.

Yes.

However, the British government has the power to pave the way for the Sculptures’s return. The majority of the trustees (15 out of 25) are appointed by the government. The parliament could also legislate. So there is, in theory, a way for it to happen.

Well, if the British Parliament wants to legislate on this, then it is sovereign in doing so. It would have to pass primary legislation to change the legal basis that we are operating on today.

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to interview the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. He told me that if he became PM he would make sure the Parthenon Sculptures return to Greece. What’s your comment on that?

I think that this is Mr Corbyn’s personal view on the question, that you take note of. Obviously, that is not the stance and the view of the Trustees of the Museum.

And of the Director as well?

And of the Director.

Are there active talks between the Museum and Greek officials or authorities about a possible return of the sculptures?

There are no active talks.

According to all polls, the British people are in favour of the reunification. Does that mean anything to you?

I see the value of the objects that are part of the collection of the British Museum in being at the British Museum in the context that we just discussed.

There is a question over the scultures’s ownership. Would you accept that Greece is the legal owner of the Parthenon Sculptures?

No, I would not. The objects that are part of the collection of the British Museum are in the fiduciary ownership of the Trustees of the Museum.

Would you consider an open-ended loan to Greece?

There are two aspects to this: firstly, there are no indefinite loans. Every thing we lend, even on a long-term basis, will, at some point, return to the British Museum. And then it can go out again. The other aspect is that when we lend, we lend to those places where the ownership is acknowledged.

There were several media reports last month regarding a leak in the Duveen Gallery where the Marbles are housed. As you can imagine there was a negative reaction. What’s your explanation about what happened?

We had a tiny leak in one area of the roof in the Parthenon Sculptures’ galleries. A small quantity of rain entered the gallery, but did not touch any of the Sculptures and this was fixed right away.

But you could see plastic containers collecting water next to the Sculptures. Did you find this embarrassing to the Museum?

Buildings, especially buildings that are of a certain age, have to be taken care of. I don’t want the slightest little leak in any of the roofs of the Museum. We’re all aware of our responsibilities. And that we all have to do the utmost to live up to that responsibility. And that is what we do.

Could you reassure the Museum’s visitors that in the future when it rains again they’re not going to see the same phenomenon?

We will be renovating the building over the next few years. The immediate problem has been solved.

Have you visited the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum?

Of course I have.

Did you like it?

You cannot ask me if I like the Parthenon! 

Why not? Some people might not like it. They have the right not to!

I think it’s one of the miracles of world culture. When you stand in front of it you are filled by awe and admiration. That also goes for the Museum, but in a different way. The Museum is a major achievement. It’s a beautiful museum. It’s very inspiring.

Don’t you think that something is missing there?

Oh, I think that everywhere in the world something is missing. That is our human condition.

What are the chances the Parthenon Sculptures returning to Greece?

I think I’ve answered that question.

You are the first non-British director of the British Museum since 1866. How does that feel, especially in times of Brexit?

I feel, not as a German, but as the person I am, extremely honoured to be the Director of this institution. And to be responsible for the future of this institution, along with all my colleagues and the Trustees and the patrons. I do not assume this role as a German or the son of somebody who was born French or somebody who is married to somebody who was Italian and is now French and in between was Peruvian. I assume this as a European, who is a citizen of the world and who cherishes this.

Do you think Brexit would affect the British Museum’s operation?

Yes. I think that, depending on what kind of Brexit will happen in the end, if it happens, it will have a very strong impact.

Do you fear a no-deal scenario?

A no-deal Brexit would have a more profound impact.

Why did you want to become Director of the British Museum?

It was not my plan from birth, nor when I started my career. But being asked to think about it, I thought that this is the most wonderful place in the world.

Have you thought about what you’d like to do after leaving the British Museum – whenever that happens?

I’ve never thought about those things. I concentrate on the work.

An option would be for you to be the Director of the Acropolis Museum. If you take the Marbles with you!

You are a very creative journalist!

For more on Hartwig Fischer's plans for the Beitish Museum, do read the article by Martin Baily in the Art Newspaper, 01 September 2017, follow the link here.

The Sunday Post's Ross Crae wrote an article on the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, to read the article published on Sunday 12 December, kindly follow the link here. 

Isabel Ruffell, professor of Greek drama and culture at Glasgow University, reflects on the Parthenon Marbles. She is quoted as saying: “It is morally indefensible for them to be in London. It’s bizarre that you’ve got all these bits from the same building all over Europe.

These are iconic images of profound significance to the people of Greece. Their removal belongs to the smash-and-grab period of classical archaeology, which is intertwined with our colonial past, and we need to face up to that.

You’ve got these really high stakes pieces of sculpture that matter a great deal to one of our fellow European countries and it seems slightly peculiar that we’re not giving them back. It’s really quite childish in a way.”

She, too, believes the Acropolis Museum in Athens would be the best place to show the marbles in all of their glory. “From an educational point of view, the British Museum display is really unhelpful,” she said.

“The Panathenaic frieze is inside-out, and the other frieze elements dislocated in other ways. The display in Athens, which is waiting for their return, will display the surviving material in a way that is as close as possible to the original layout.

“It is a fabulous museum. It has really good displays of some of the other stuff that was on the site so you get a much better sense of what it was like – it was incredibly crowded. It’s not just the edited highlights, you see the whole lot. A lot of museums have big aesthetic treasures completely divorced from context.

“Having them in this austere white room in the British Museum is a very strange, misleading way of looking at it.

“As someone who has benefited from the school trip to London in my time, it is very educational and useful but you could do that with plaster cast or loans of material. I think museums are quite co-operative on the whole these days, so these kinds of things are not unprecedented, loan deals and plaster casts and so forth.

“If the goal here is to provide a resource to people to learn, which is what it should be, then there are ways of doing it without having to do the ‘it’s mine, you can’t have it back’ kind of thing.”

Professor Isabel Ruffell has now joined BCRPM as a member and we're delighted to welcome her.

Sunday 20 June 2021, British Museum

Janet Suzman and members of BCRPM, with supporting friends stood outside the British Museum to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Acropolis Museum and hand out flyers.

TELL THE STORY

It is time for this great world culture museum to COME CLEAN.

We at The British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles urge the British Museum to give visitors the full story of how the Parthenon marbles came to be in the Duveen Galleries - just as the Bristol Museum has now done with the fallen statue of Colston, the slave trader.

THIS SENTENCE APPEARS ON THE BRITISH MUSEUM’S WEBSITE:

‘Lord Elgin acted with the full knowledge and permission of the legal authorities of the day in both Athens and London. Lord Elgin’s activities were thoroughly investigated by a Parliamentary Select Committee in 1816 and found to be entirely legal’.

This is a factoid: a factoid is a false fact repeated often enough to take on a truth of its own. It is not worthy of such an august institution as The British Museum.

NO PROOF EXISTS of either the ‘full knowledge’ nor ‘the full permission’ being granted by the Ottoman Sultan giving Elgin permission to remove its sculptures.

Single-mindedly, selfishly (because he wanted these exquisite figures for his own pile in Scotland not for the nation) a Scottish lord appointed British Ambassador to the Ottoman Court chopped bits of sculpture off an edifice so perfect in its mathematical symmetry that it is a work of art in itself. All the carvings on the Parthenon were part of the fabric of the building itself.

You might say all of Western culture is predicated on this building. It is the logo of UNESCO. Every classical building in the ancient - and modern world - springs from its genius.

IT’S WHERE THE DEMOCRATIC IDEA WAS BORN

It is emphatically not with the expressed will of the independent Greek people that the Marbles reside in London. For over two hundred years they have ASKED FOR THEIR RETURN.

The Parthenon Marbles can no longer be kept hostage.

These marbles were wrenched from a building that belonged - not to 'the one true god', not a tyrant, nor a king - but to the people. And astonishingly, after more than two thousand years THAT BUILDING still stands atop the sacred rock of the Acropolis in the centre of Athens, in sight of millions of Athenians going about their business down below. It is embedded in their national identity.

The Greek government has never asked for any other piece of statuary in any other museum in the world to be returned to them.

The Culture Secretary’s latest refrain is to ‘retain and explain’ all colonial acquisitions, so while it insists on retaining the Marbles, the BM should have the honesty to explain their presence.

But it is NOT explaining the full story of these Marbles, and that is not worthy of such an august institution. Each case should be considered on its merits since each case is different. The Marbles case is unique.

Greece was under Ottoman occupation when Lord Elgin was appointed Ambassador to Athens.

There is vague wording in an Italian transcript of a 'firman' - an official permission - which only gives Elgin leave to take 'qualque pezzi di pietra' that had fallen to the ground – ‘qualque’ indicating 'some' or 'a few pieces of stone'.
He was permitted to 'mould and dig' around the base of the Parthenon only, or ‘copy and draw’ from a ladder on the figures up high.

Scholars know, and further research into the Ottoman archives in Istanbul has confirmed - and it is worth repeating this - that there exists no official permissions to take down friezes, pediments, nor metopes.

However we do know that Elgin heavily bribed various Ottoman functionaries who then turned a blind eye to his depredations. This is neither legal nor acceptable.

Elgin was a terrible imperialist, but the truly colonial-imperial act was that of the British Parliament in 1816 in recognizing Elgin's title to his loot by buying it from him. That Act of Parliament thereby claimed 'ownership'.

The BM is not a private company with a board of directors. Its Trustees are required solely to look after things entrusted to their care, not play at politics.

Does culture exist outside of politics? How can it?

Post World War II international Courts of Justice now exist where once they did not. Parliament should surely rethink its position.

Questions arise: does an occupying power have legitimacy to dispose of a vassal nation's heritage for the rest of history? Should Britain own a mass of foreign heritage till the crack of doom?

The BM's Director, Hartwig Fischer, has developed a defensive trope about separation being a 'creative act'. Well, he would, wouldn’t he? The Marbles are one of the BM's star attractions.

The Rodin show a few years ago re-enforced the marbles' supremacy in execution and their diminished meaning in isolation. Imagine one of Rodin’s great figures from the group called The Burghers of Calais standing separated from its fellows in a far country? That would hardly be a ‘creative act’.

The BM is a great encyclopaedic institution while being an Aladdin's Cave of conquest. Imperial Britain took objects from other countries because it could.
But there's a mood abroad which abhors colonialist attitudes and entitlement that it must wake up to

Polls taken in 2012 were 73% for the return of sculptures to Greece. That figure will have grown since then. Cultural appropriation is a hot subject for discussion.

The director of the Rijksmuseum recently said: "It's a disgrace that the Netherlands is only now attending to the return of colonial heritage…We should have done it earlier and there is no excuse". Macron in France is also thinking out of the colonialist box.

It is high time the BM showed us a heart within the beast. Make perfect models for heavens sakes! - but do the right thing.

In the name of fairness and morality' said Melina Mercouri in 1986 'please give them back. Such a gesture from Great Britain would ever honour your name'.

Hair-splitters say modern Greeks are not ancient Greeks. If language, landscape, philosophic and artistic tradition do not amount to national continuity, what on earth does?

There is nothing to stop the British from making a generous gesture, bar overturning an act of Parliament, and there is nothing to stop that except will.

WHAT REMAINS IS A MATTER OF SIMPLE JUSTICE. HISTORY HAS DONE ITS STUFF. THE FUTURE BECKONS.

For further information and a list of books you can read on the subject not stocked in the British Museum, please visit our further information section on this web site and head to books!

 The text printed on the flyer, is a joint effort of BCRPM and IOCARPM. 

Janet Suzman, our Chair was on ERT TV's 9 o'clock news on Saturday 06 March 2021. The interview took place following on from the article that was published in Ta Nea by UK Correspondent Yannis Andritsopoulos that morning. Janet emphasised that all like minded, profound people, hope to see the sculptures removed by Lord Elgin and currently housed in the British Museum's Room 18, re-joining their surviving halves in the Parthenon Gallery of the superlative Acropolis Museum.

Janet added in her press statement to Yannis Andritsopoulos of TA NEA that: "the fact that George Clooney, and an increasing number of thoughtful people in the public eye, would wish to see the Parthenon Marbles reunited with their other halves in the Acropolis Museum is a measure of how aware they are of the justice of such an event. Were it to be achieved it will be the pressure in the public sphere both of respected individuals with high profiles, and a groundswell from the museum-going populace at large that will eventually persuade a great institution like the British Museum to shift its stance. These sculptures belong uniquely to an edifice that still dominates the skyline of Athens and all of Western thinking. They stand at the very heart of Greece’s cultural patrimony. Claiming a spurious ownership is not something such a respected treasure house can continue without feeling a bit foolish, above all because there exists no absolute proof of that ownership. The Museum has more than enough fascinating objects to survive the gesture with its universalist head still held high."

Professor Paul Cartledge as Vice-Chair of the BCRPM and the IARPS added:"We warmly welcome George Clooney's continued supportfor the reunion of the Parthenon Marbles. What is needed now is a supreme generosity of internationalist spirit and moral courage. Our campaign has recently been accompanied by a large wave of international support from various anti-colonial movements calling for the repatriation of cultural treasures. For centuries, colonial powers and their merchants have plundered or individualised, officially or informally, these treasures, either for purely personal gratification or as a means of national self-evolution - or both."

To read the Ta Nea article (in Greek), please follow the link here. 

Many other outlets picked up on this story including The Art Newspaper that also carried Janet Suzman's letter in their March 2021 edition.

It’s a bit disappointing that such a factually doubtful argument is sketched in by Jonathan Sumption about the Parthenon marbles, in complete contrast to his nice assessment of the travails of English National Opera, where a grossly unfair and skinflinty case has been put by ACE in wrenching this marvellous opera organisation limb from limb.

These scupltures were removed without express permission from the occupying power by Lord Elgin, Britain’s ambassador to the Ottoman court, who wanted them to adorn his Scottish pile. The museum in Athens which Sumption airily dismisses was expressly built to house them, is gloriously modern, and is directly opposite the Parthenon so the visitor will at long last be able to make visual sense of where the figures stood before being hacked off the building by Elgin’s clumsy workers.

UNESCOhas voted as one to have them returned to their home turf. The Hellenic Republic itself has committed to have them returned the moment it gained its independence from Ottoman rule. Nor can the British Museum claim to have cared for them with curatorial exactitude; in Duveen’s day they had them scrubbed with wire cleaners to restore ‘whiteness’ to the Pentelic marble thereby removing the precious patina that had protected them.

Besides that destructive gaffe, Room 18 leaks and had been closed for a year and it has no air conditioning so cold and heat are always wafting through these rooms. And by the bye, there are far more than just 'three sadly deteriorated panels' in that Acropolis Museum, there is also the other half of the matchless pedimental figures and they deserve to be seen as a whole. Not to mention the frieze and the metopes. 

As to the hysterical slippery slope scenario that Jonathan Sumption fears, the Greeks are not asking for a single piece bar the British Museum’s ill-gotten Parthenon marbles. I don’t know what special hot-line he might have to lament the loss of all the world treasures he cites, but apart from the Benin Bronzes, Rosetta Stone, Hoa Hakananai'a,  we have not heard of any decimatory demands from elsewhere. Those museums that have opted to return seminal cultural objects taken in colonial days will have shown an openness of mind that the BM might well emulate in this instance.

I suggest former Judge Jonathan Sumption sticks to opera as his pet subject, and leaves Greek sculpture to its own battles.

+ PS: London: the British Museum displays around half of the surviving works: 56 blocks of frieze (247ft), 15 metopes (panels) and 17 pediment figures.
Athens: the Acropolis Museum displays 40 blocks of frieze, 48 metopes and 9 pediment figures. Fragments from the same pieces are in London and Athens. One can’t help wondering if Jonathan Sumption would perhaps enjoy his Rheingold more if he watched the first half in London and flew to Bayreuth during the long interval for the second bit?

Jonathan Sumptions article ( 'The cringing self-abasement of Britain’s museums') was published in The Spectator on 25 February 2023. Janet Suzman's response was sent into the publication to both the letters section and editorial. No part of Janet's response was published.

From Janet Suzman
Chair: British Committee for the Reunification
of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM)
1st January 2024

It really is very dispiriting that eminences like Lord Sumption (Sunday Times Dec 31st 2023) still make so many wrong assumptions. (Sorry). Here are some of them:

He fails to find a difference between a bas relief (the frieze, running round the perimeter of the building) and the 3D sculptures (metopes and pedimental figures). He can’t see why those pedimental figures make a stunning triangular pedimental shape when placed together, quite lost by enforced separation. The half of the extant frieze not in Bloomsbury is in Athens.

He avers that Lord Elgin obtained a ‘decree from the sultan authorising him to remove the sculptures.’ No such document has ever been found, only a permit (a ‘firman’) from a high official in Constantinople allowing him to retrieve ‘qualche pezzi di pietra’ already fallen down (it is an Italian copy) and to make drawings of pieces out of reach. Elgin, who kept a careful record of his expenses, bribed functionaries at every level to turn a blind eye to his crude attack on an already fragile building. Tourists reported shocking falls of precious metopes and such smashing to pieces, and a disdar – a guard at the time – was described as weeping at the mayhem inflicted on the building.

Elgin commandeered a ship of the line to transport his booty to Britain – so, taxpayers’ money – and had every intention of displaying the pieces at Broomhill, his Scottish seat, and none of sharing them with the public. Only when bankrupted after his rich wife left him did he turn to the British Government for a hasty sale.

Yet what’s done cannot be undone, and what matters now is a solution to a modern moral maze and not an old blame-game. And yet, Lord Sumption widens his argument to justify how artifacts have always voyaged to distant lands for our enlightenment. But this avoids the point; these Parthenon Marbles are sui generis. Elgin took far more than those cut off the Parthenon, but Greece is not asking for the caryatid he stole from the Erechtheum, nor is it asking for the Winged Victory of Samothrace from the Louvre.

In 2019 at a conference in Athens, I was invited into the then President’s rooms in his official residence where he took care to explain to me that Greece is proud that Hellenic pieces are in the Louvre (apart from Parthenon pieces…) and proud that around the world Greece’s treasures are displayed. “Let me be clear: we want only those pieces that Elgin took off the Parthenon itself”, he told me. The Greeks first claimed those Marbles when it was freed of Ottoman rule and became the Hellenic Republic in the 1830s. Melina Mercouri cast a spotlight on that claim in the 1980’s. Boris Johnson, when he was still an honest scholar, wrote a spirited article for the Oxford Union paper pleading for their return to the land of Achilles. The world is today more aware of cultural plunder than during colonial times. The British Museum is the only major museum in the world staying silent about its often ill-gotten contents. All of UNESCO is aware of this silence and is finding it embarrassing.

Sumption seems unmoved that panels from Duccio’s altarpiece are divided between nine museums, as if it might be diminished in some way were the whole to be displayed as Duccio intended. That altarpiece is a separate inspiration, whereas the Parthenon marbles are part of the very fabric of the building; it is one thing, conceived and carved as one thing. Alexander Herman (‘The Parthenon Marbles Dispute; Heritage, Law, Politics’ – Hart, Bloomsbury, 2023) makes this point: ‘Because we live in democratic times, we tend to have a predilection for remnants that connect us to the Athenian prototype. For this reason the Parthenon as a symbol continues to dominate’.

After two hundred years in London and badly displayed in a grey gallery in Bloomsbury since the 1960s, the Marbles have done their work of enlightening Europe to the glories of the ancient world. The United Kingdom is second to none in classical scholarship; the British Museum has millions of other ancient artifacts in its collections, and wonderful objects are promised for exhibition by the Greeks themselves to compensate for the (inevitable) return. George Osborne, Chairman of the BM Trustees, is embarking on an important act of international co-operation.

As to numbers, only one sixth of the 6 million annual visitors that enter its portals visit the Duveen Galleries. Approximately that same number passes through the Acropolis Museum in Athens, and why, one wonders, should not a Greek child be as astounded as a British one at the god-like figures caught in a high wind off Mount Olympus, and be as proud as Punch that his distant ancestors were so utterly brilliant with white stone? Why should the Greek people not thrill to such visions? They might be as far down the line as the Druids are to the English, but just listen to the fuss if half of Stonehenge had been nicked and plonked in Potsdamerplatz.

To read Lord Sumption's article, 'The Elgin Marbles weren’t stolen — Greece is just exploiting our weakness' follow the link to The Times.