Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Greece Demands Return of Parthenon Marbles from Britain

Anthee Carassava

   Ratcheting up fresh pressure, Greece has blasted the British Museum for
   exhibitingtheParthenon marbles, calling thecollection "stolen"
   treasuresanddemanding the masterpieces be returned to Athens.

   The call comes as Greece celebrates the 11th anniversary of the New
   Acropolis Museum, a four-story, state of the art edifice built to house
   the ancient treasures and weaken Britain's claim that it is best able
   to look after the 2,500-year-old masterpieces.
   "Since September 2003 when construction work for the Acropolis Museum
   began, Greece has systematically demanded the return of the sculptures
   on display in the British Museum because they are the product of
   theft," the country's culture minister LinaMendonisaid.

   "The current Greek government -- like any Greek government -- is not
   going to stop claiming the stolen sculptures which the British Museum,
   contrary to any moral principle, continues to hold illegally," she told
   the Athens dailyTaNea.
   Depicting figures of ancient Greek mythology, the 75-meter frieze and
   its 17 statues were sawed off the Parthenon temple and shipped to
   London by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, during his tenure as
   Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.
   Bankrupted by the venture, the British aristocrat sold them to the
   British Museum in 1816, where they became a major attraction and began
   one of the world's longest running cultural disputes.
   Mendonisaid"It is sad that one of the world's largest and most
   important museums is still governed by outdated, colonialist views."

   While successive governments in Britain have opposed calls for the
   return of the sculptures to Greece, pressure has mounted in recent
   years with a bandwagon of celebrities and politicians joining the
   repatriation campaign.
   Greece's center-right government is also stepping up efforts to win
   back the treasures as the country gears up for its bicentennial
   independence anniversary next year.

.