As Lockdowns Ease in Europe, Greece’s Culture Minister Again Puts the Squeeze on London to Return the Parthenon Marbles

In a television interview on Friday, May 22, Greece’s Culture
Minister Lina Mendoni reiterated calls for the British Museum to
return the Parthenon Marbles. The renewed pressure for London to
reunite the 2,500-year-old sculptures in Greece comes after a
letter urged politicians and proponents to launch a co-ordinated
effort to lobby the institution for repatriation. It also comes as
Greece, aiming to restart its struggling economy, plans to open up
certain vacation spots to tourists—and the country’s vital tourism
industry—in mid-June.

“Without the supreme symbol of culture, the Parthenon, Western
civilisation cannot exist, and this symbol deserves to be reunited
with its expatriate sculptures,” Mendoni said during an interview
with STAR TV.

The Greek government was seemingly emboldened in its demands
after receiving a letter from the International Association for the
Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures on May 21, marking the
International Day of World Culture. The letter proposed putting a
coordinated pressure on the British Museum to lobby for the
marbles’ return, according to Le Journal des
Arts.

In the televised interview, the minister said she hopes that the
UK institution, which is currently closed to the public due to the
ongoing lockdown in the UK, will reconsider its position ahead of
the Acropolis Museum’s 11th birthday on June 20. “Does [the British
Museum] want to be a museum that meets and will continue to meet
modern requirements and speak to the soul of the people, or will it
remain a colonial museum which intends to hold treasures of world
cultural heritage that do not belong to it?” she asked.

For generations, Greek officials have been calling for the
return of the ancient sculptures that were removed by Lord Elgin
and brought to the British Museum in 1816. In recent years, the
scales of public opinion have tipped in favor of restitution:
a survey from 2018 on the issue conducted by the UK government
found that 56 percent of respondents thought that the marbles
should be returned to Greece.

Next year marks the 200th anniversary of Greek independence.
Last fall, Greece’s prime minister Kyriakos
Mitsotakis made a request to
the UK government to loan the marbles in exchange for other Greek
antiquities. The British Museum is reportedly considering the
request.

Greece is planning to weave contemporary culture into its
historical sites throughout 2020 with a new program
called “All of Greece, one Culture” that is set to begin in
July and include more than 250 events and performances across
111 archaeological sites and museums in the nation.

The post As Lockdowns Ease in Europe, Greece’s Culture
Minister Again Puts the Squeeze on London to Return the Parthenon
Marbles appeared first on artnet News.