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Following the refusal of conservative UK leaders to repatriate the Parthenon fragments to Greece, a new administration has initiated ‘productive’ talks regarding their potential return.

For many years, Greek officials have been advocating for the permanent restoration of the
so-called Parthenon Sculptures
, also known as the Elgin Marbles.

This comprises approximately half of the remaining pieces from a 160-meter-long (520-foot) frieze originating from the Parthenon Temple, dating back roughly 2,500 years. These artifacts are presently part of the British Museumโ€™s collection in London.

Athens desires their return to Athens since they were removed from the Acropolis approximately 200 years ago. Previous UK Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have both dismissed any possibility of such a transfer.

In 2023, Sunak stated that the UK has been custodian of the Elgin marbles for many years. He added that our galleries and museums receive taxpayer support as they represent significant assets to the nation.

However, in December 2024, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Greek President Kyriakos Mitsotakis to London shortly after the British Museum revealed they had been engaged in “productive” talks with Athens regarding the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles.

George Osborne, who chairs the British Museum, stated that at some future time, portions of the sculptures might be transferred to Greece as part of an exchange involving artifacts from Athens.

According to AFP reports, Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni stated that an agreement would require “more time and effort,” but she also noted that both parties have “crossed the initial hurdle.”

She pointed out that the UK Labour government elected in 2024 didnโ€™t possess the pessimism exhibited by previous administrations.

The prospects for a swap deal were enhanced after Constantine Tassoulas, a prominent advocate for returning the Parthenon sculptures, assumed the position of Greek president in February.

A decade ago, when serving as the culture minister, Tassoulas assisted in reviving Greeceโ€™s efforts to regain the Parthenon artifacts. Amal Clooney, who is married to actor George Clooney, played a key role in raising global attention regarding this restitution claim.

Continuing hesitance to return marbles

Currently, legal obstacles hinder the return of the marbles to Athens. The British Museum Act from 1963 prohibits this action.
British Museum
From regularly taking items out of its collections, with just a handful of exceptions.

In the meantime, Tiffany Jenkins, who authored “Keeping Their Marbles: How the Treasures of the Past Ended Up in Museums and Why They Should Stay There” (2016), a work contending that the Parthenon Sculptures ought to stay in the United Kingdom, was recently named to the board of trustees at The British Museum.

The British Museum has consistently maintained that the marbles were obtained through legal means and ought to stay in Britain.

The claims regarding the Parthenon sculptures started when they were removed from Greece under orders from Lord Elgin, who was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire based in Constantinople. The Ottomans governed Athens until 1832.

In 1801, Elgin’s team started taking ancient artifacts from the Acropolis, and subsequently sold these alongside numerous other relics removed from Athens to the British government.

Numerous additional fragments from the Parthenon frieze in marble form can now be found at the Athens Acropolis Museum, which commenced operations in 2009.

In March, Professor Nikolaos Stampolidis, who leads the Acropolis Museum as its general director, addressed a gathering in Switzerland, emphasizing the reconciling impact of returning cultural artifacts.

Today, the democratic nations of the whole free world ought to back the return and reunion of the Parthenon marbles to Athens, the birthplace of Western civilization and the origin of all democracies, allowing their importance to be commemorated together once more,” he stated. “Greece isnโ€™t requesting this solely for itself; itโ€™s doing so for all of humanity, serving as a model for unification.

Vatican fragments return to Greece

In 2023, the Vatican completed the procedure for repatriating various Parthenon marble fragments. These three artifacts from their collection at the Vatican Museums have been housed there since the 1800s.

They finally returned to Athens on March 7, 2023, said theVatican.

The first is part of a horseโ€™s head from the steed that pulled Athena’s chariot within the frieze. The second shows a youthโ€™s head, thought to represent someone taking part in a ceremony celebrating the establishment of Athens.

In December 2022, Pope Francis presented these relics to Ieronymos II, who leads the Greek Orthodox Church, as “a tangible manifestation of his earnest wish to pursue the ecumenical journey towards truth,” stated the Vatican. Likewise, in January 2023, an additional piece of relic was offered.
Parthenon sculptures
The depiction of the goddess’s foot was returned to Athens from the Antonino Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo, Sicily.


Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier and Louisa Schaefer


Editor’s Note: The initial release of this piece on March 14, 2023, was later revised on March 24, 2025, following reports about renewed talks aimed at returning the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece.

Author: Sarah Hucal


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