The Great London:
Southern Europe

The British Government is refusing to negotiate with Greece about the return of the so-called Elgin Marbles despite a request to do so from the United Nations, a decision that could prompt Athens to begin legal action for the first time.

British campaigners likened the UK’s stance to “clinging on to stolen booty for dear life” and contrasted it with the “generous act” of returning the sculptures to help a friendly country on the brink of economic collapse. Youth unemployment has hit 50 per cent and suicide rates have soared amid a crisis so severe the Financial Times has warned Greece could turn into a “quasi slave economy”.

In 2013, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) invited the UK to take part in mediation about the marbles, created 2,500 years ago to decorate the Parthenon temple in Athens. Then last year it asked for a response by 31 March.

However a Government source said the UK “won’t be able to make any significant announcement this side of the [May] election”.

A motion calling for the UK to reply to Unesco and move to return the marbles is to be filed in the House of Commons on Monday.

The failure to respond in time could prompt Greece to abandon decades of diplomacy and take legal action, possibly in the European Court of Human Rights. A team of lawyers in London, including leading QC Geoffrey Robertson and Amal Clooney, wife of actor George, is preparing a “book-length” document setting out the options.

A source who has advised successive Greek governments said the main problem was finding a court to take jurisdiction in the case, but once that hurdle was overcome “then the lawyers are saying there is about a 75 to 80 per cent chance of success”.

The marbles are regarded as some of the finest works of art in history and a symbol of the birth of Western civilisation. Some sculptures were taken to Britain by Lord Elgin in controversial circumstances just over 200 years ago when Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire.

Dr Elena Korka, director of antiquities at the Greek Culture Ministry, said the central issue was “reunifying these exceptional, outstanding and most important sculptures, which belong as an integral part of a unique symbolic monument for the whole world”.

“This is the essence of it, making something which exists today as whole as it can be… this is what the public wants, every poll shows it. It’s such an important issue. Even if Greece didn’t ask for it, the whole world would,” she said.

She said if the British authorities relented it would be “a day of true joy, not only for the monument itself but I think for the value of the gesture for the sake of co-operation”. “It would definitely help the [public] morale. It would be a huge boost,” she said.

Asked about the prospect of legal action, Dr Korka said Greece was “still so much into the process of mediation that we’re not thinking of the next step”. “We haven’t exhausted the possibilities so let’s not go so fast,” she said.

She added that the UK’s silence since 2013 was “not so polite really”.

David Hill, chairman of the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures in Australia, said there was a “growing appreciation even among people who are timid about the prospect of litigation that we have reached the point of last resort if this UNESCO gambit fails. The diplomatic and political strategies of the last 30 years have not produced any progress at all.”

Polls have consistently showed strong support in Britain for returning the marbles. In November, a survey for The Times found there was a two-to-one majority in favour.

Andrew George, chairman of Marbles Reunited and Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, said: “One of our friends is down on their uppers and we can offer something to them that might make their lives easier and give them a lift, which can only be good for their economy.

“It would be a generous act which would improve Britain’s standing in the world. At the moment we look rather grubby… like we are clinging on to stolen booty for dear life.”

He said he planned to lodge an early day motion in the Commons tomorrow calling for  the Government to “demonstrate that Britain is prepared to... reunite these British-held Parthenon sculptures with those now displayed in the purpose-built Acropolis Museum in the shadow of the monument to which they belong, the Parthenon in Athens”.

The British Museum, which denies Elgin stole the marbles, argues that it “tells the story of cultural achievement throughout the world” and the Parthenon sculptures are “a significant part of that story”. It regards itself as “a unique resource for the world” with visitors able to “re-examine cultural identities and explore the complex network of interconnected human cultures” within its walls.

“The Parthenon Sculptures are a vital element in this interconnected world collection. They are a part of the world’s shared heritage and transcend political boundaries,” it says.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it would “respond in due course” to UNESCO.

Author: Ian Johnston | Source: Indpendent [March 07, 2015]

An ancient Cypriot clay ring-vase (kernos - ceremonial vessel), dated to the Protogeometric period (1050-900 BC), has been repatriated to Cyprus from the United Kingdom. The vessel was identified by the Department of Antiquities at a London-based antiquities dealer’s shop, as a result of the Department's routine online investigations.

Following a request by the Department of Antiquities and the Cyprus Police, the shop handed over the vessel to the London Metropolitan Police, which in turn, handed it over to the High Commission of the Republic of Cyprus in London, in October 2016. A Conservator of the Department of Antiquities supervised the packing of the antiquity in London and escorted it to Cyprus on 16 November 2016.

The vessel was part of Mr Christakis Hadjiprodromou’s registered private collection that was kept in his house in Ammochostos (Famagusta) prior to the Turkish invasion in 1974. As a result of the invasion, Mr Hadjiprodromou’s residence was pillaged, and his collection was looted, its objects scattered around the world.

It is noted that another antiquity (a clay horse-and-rider of the Cypro-Archaic period, approx. 700 BC), from the same collection, was repatriated from London in July 2016.

Source: Department of Antiquities, Republic of Cyprus [November 24, 2016]

A private citizen’s group called the “Athenians’ Association” said on Thursday they filed a lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights against the United Kingdom over the removal of the Parthenon Marbles by Lord Elgin in the 19th century, the association said in a press conference in Plaka on Thursday.

The association, which opened in 1895 and among whose aims is to research the history of Athens and help preserve of its cultural monuments, said the decision was taken after its board was informed about Britain’s refusal to participate in a mediation procedure, as part of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Goods in the Country of Origin.

“The reason we disclose our action today is because not only was the suit not rejected [by the Court], but it was officially lodged and recently the Court requested clarifications, which presages that it will reach the courtroom,” the member of the association’s board, Stratis Stratigis said at the press conference.

Stratigis has been entrusted with monitoring the legal aspect of the suit, and is also responsible for coordinating the actions and contacts that will be needed in Greece and abroad.

He said the Athens Association has been following the issue closely for years and when it realized in March 2015 that Britain had rejected even its participation in the mediation procedure, it decided it was an opportunity to appeal before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg as a private association, independently from the State.

Stratigis also clarified that this move by the association does not affect in any way Greece’s right to sue when it chooses at a national or international court.

“Besides, the issue of recovering architectural elements recognized by UNESCO World Heritage monuments which have been stolen is ongoing,” he said. “It is therefore in the country’s interest to keep the issue alive in international public opinion and periodically update on the issue with appropriate actions,” he added.

According to the association’s press release which followed the press conference, its founding members comprised of descendants of the Athenians who stood up against the destruction of the Parthenon by Lord Elgin. It also said that one of the very first actions undertaken by the Association was an event organised in 1896 to commemorate the liberation of the Acropolis from the Ottoman Turks.

During the event, the association’s deputy chairman, Professor Theodossios Venizelos (1821-1900) said the Parthenon was “a place of daily worship, the holy of holies, a life good for our ancestors and that the Athenians strongly protested against the despoilment of the Acropolis’ extant statues by Elgin.”

Source: ANA-MPA [February 19, 2016]

The head of an ancient Greek statue of extraordinary artistic and historical value will finally arrive back in Italy on Friday – almost three decades after being illegally ripped from the ground.

The stunning statue had been on display at the J.Paul Getty museum in Los Angeles but was eventually discovered to be Italian property after archaeologists identified one of the statue's beard curls among fragments found at a looted site in Sicily.

The unique terracotta head depicts Hades, god of the underworld. He is shown with a bushy blue beard and curly hair, which still bear a good deal of the blue and red pigments with which they were painted 2,400 years ago.

But the mission to bring Hades home has taken years.

“It was great to be able to work with our Sicilian counterparts to identify the provenance of the head,” a spokesperson for the museum told The Local.

"The process of identifying the head took two years and the museum agreed to give it back in 2013. Since then it's been in storage while we waited for instructions from Sicily for its eventual return. Officials finally arrived to pick up the statue this week.”

The head had been on display in Los Angeles since 1985, when the museum acquired it from Belgian businessman - and long time partner of former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy - Maurice Tempelsman, for $500,000 (€460,000).

Templeman sold the piece through successful London art-dealer Robin Symes, who specialized in fencing looted antiques, often of Italian provenance. In January 2005, Symes was sentenced to 21 years in jail (of which he served a mere seven) for trafficking stolen pieces.

On Friday, the statue will finally take pride of place at Enna's Adione museum, a stone's throw from the site where it was originally taken: an outcome which has satisfied Italians on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We owe it above all to the archaeologists who helped identify that ceramic lock of blue hair among the remains of a fraudulent dig site,” said Italy's Consul General in LA, Antonio Verde.

In January 2014, several other pieces of looted art were returned to Enna's Adione museum by the J. Paul Getty museum.

Items included a two-metre Greek marble statue of Venus, which the museum had also bought from Symes in 1988 for an eye-watering $18 million (€16.4 million).

Former curator of the museum, Marion True, was placed on trial in Italy in 2005, but was acquitted after the charges against her expired in 2012.

But the institution is not alone in giving Italy back illegally acquired objects. In recent years pieces have been returned from other high-profile institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

According to one Italian prosecutor, artworks from more than 100,000 raided tombs worth in excess of €460 million have been illegally taken out of the country.

Author: Patrick Browne | Source: The Local [January 31, 2016]

Diplomacy rather than litigation will help Greece win its claim for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum, Alternate Minister for Culture Nikos Xydakis said in an interview on Wednesday.

“On the one hand, you can’t file a suit over any issue, and, on the other, the outcome in international courts is never certain,” Xydakis said.

“The way to winning back the Marbles is diplomatic and political,” he said in response to a report by the British firm of cultural heritage lawyers Norman Palmer and Geoffrey Robertson, urging Greece to take swift legal recourse.

Source: Kathimerini [May 13, 2015]

Greece has not abandoned the idea of resorting to international justice to repatriate the Parthenon marbles and is investigating new ways in which it might bring a claim against the British Museum.

As campaigners prepare to mark the 200th anniversary of the antiquities’ “captivity” in London, Athens is working at forging alliances that would further empower its longstanding battle to retrieve the sculptures.

“We are trying to develop alliances which we hope would eventually lead to an international body like the United Nations to come with us against the British Museum,” the country’s culture minister, Aristides Baltas, revealed in an interview.

“If the UN represents all nations of the world and all nations of the world say ‘the marbles should be returned’ then we’ll go to court because the British Museum would be against humanity,” he said. “We do not regard the Parthenon as exclusively Greek but rather as a heritage of humanity.”

But the politician admitted there was always the risk of courts issuing a negative verdict that would wreck Athens’ chances of having the artworks reunited with the magnificent monument they once adorned.

“Courts do not by definition regard [any] issue at the level of history or morality or humanity-at-large. They look at the laws,” said Baltas, an academic and philosopher who played a pivotal role in founding Syriza, Greece’s governing leftist party. “As there are no hard and fast rules regarding the issue of returning treasures taken away from various countries, there is no indisputable legal basis.”

The move came to light as the world’s longest-running cultural row looks poised to intensify. Almost 200 years have elapsed since the British parliament voted on 7 June 1816 to purchase the collection from Lord Elgin, the Scotsman who as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire ordered the frieze to be torn from the Parthenon and shipped to England. Activists are counting down to what they call the “black anniversary”.

In London, only metres away from the British Museum, a huge billboard funded by campaigners in Australia this weekend showed six strategically placed words across a statue of classic nudity – and above a list of the vital contributions Greece has made to modern democratic life. The words read: “Please give us back our marbles.”

“There is no point any longer in taking the gentle approach because that has failed,” said Alexis Mantheakis, chairman of the New Zealand-based International Parthenon Sculptures Action Committee. “The British have never given anything back, be it colonies or artefacts, without pressure. To ignore that fact is to undermine the chances of any success in the campaign for the return of the Parthenon sculptures.”

Seen as the high point of classical art – a peerless example of beauty in carving – the antiquities were acquired for £35,000 on condition they be exhibited in the British Museum. Mortified, steeped in debt and determined to dispel rumours that he had exploited his post as emissary to plunder the Acropolis, Elgin reluctantly accepted. It had, all expenses considered, cost him nearly twice that he claimed.

But in a 141-page document of legal advice – the details of which have been leaked exclusively to the Guardian – QCs specialised in cultural restitution say Elgin clearly exceeded the authority, or firman, he was given when he ordered the treasures to be “stripped” from the monument. The lawyers, including the human rights expert Amal Clooney, insist that Greece could mount a strong case to win the marbles back.

“We consider that international law has evolved to a position which recognises, as part of the sovereignty of a state, its right to reclaim cultural property of great historical significance which has been wrongly taken in the past – a rule that would entitle Greece to recover and reunite the Parthenon sculptures.”

The advice – provided at the request of the country’s former centre-right coalition but previously only made public in summation – amounts to a toolbox of how Athens could pursue its claim to the classical masterpieces. Greece could either bring the UK before the European court of human rights, or the UN cultural body Unesco could apply for an advisory judgment by the international court of justice. Court action could prompt Britain, which has repulsed every entreaty to date, to agree to arbitration or mediation.

“The legal case is strongly arguable, both under international customary law and provisions of the European convention. [Greece] would stand a reasonable prospect of success.”

But the lawyers also counsel that Athens should move fast in pursuing litigation. Mired in its longest recession in modern times, many fear the cash-strapped country would not have the means to take such action.

The advice, which took almost a year to draft, was reputedly financed by a Greek shipowner sympathetic to the cause.

“Unless the claim is brought fairly soon, Greece may be met with the argument that it has ‘slept on its rights’ too long for them to be enforced,” the lawyers argue, adding that even if initial litigation failed it would not be the end of the fight.

“If Greece does fail, it will very likely be on technical ‘admissibility’ grounds, which will have nothing to do with the merits of its claim. A case lost on a legal technicality can often be fought again.”

Author: Helena Smith | Source: The Guardian [May 08, 2016]

An incredibly rare gold crown estimated to be more than 2,000 years old was found in a tattered cardboard box under a retiree’s bed in England.

The elderly man— who wants to remain anonymous— says he inherited it from his grandfather and had put it away with other “stuff” he had accumulated over the years.

The perfectly preserved gold wreath, used in Ancient Greece to crown athletic and artistic competitions, as well as in religious ceremonies, could be worth more than $200,000, according to auctioneers who plan to put the item up for sale.

According to Guy Schwinge, the auctioneer who was invited to the man’s house to have a look at items he wanted to auction, “It is notoriously difficult to date gold wreaths of this type. Stylistically it belongs to a rarefied group of wreaths dateable to the Hellenistic period and the form may indicate that it was made in Northern Greece. It is eight inches across and weighs about 100 grams. It’s pure gold and handmade, it would have been hammered out by a goldsmith.”

Gold wreaths like the one found were meant to imitate the wreaths of real leaves that were worn in Ancient Greece in religious ceremonies and given as prizes in athletic and artistic contests.

They usually depicted branches of laurel, myrtle, oak and olive trees, which were symbolic of concepts such as wisdom, triumph, fertility, peace and virtue.

Due to their fragile nature, they were only worn on very special occasions. Many were dedicated to the Gods in sanctuaries or placed in the graves of royal or aristocratic people as funerary offerings.

Bits of dirt embedded on the wreath suggest this one was buried at some point, according to London’s Daily Mail, which first reported on the find.

Most date to the Hellenistic period (323BC to 31BC), which this one is also thought to date from, and show the exceptional skill of goldsmiths at that time.

Some were made during earlier periods but the wreaths became more frequent after Alexander the Great’s Eastern conquests, when gold was more available in Greece.

The current owner’s grandfather was a great collector who was fascinated by archaeology and the ancient world.

Although his family do not know how he acquired it, it is likely he bought it sometime in the 1940s when he travelled extensively.

The man said: ‘I knew my grandfather travelled extensively in the 1940s and 50s and he spent time in the north west frontier area, where Alexander the Great was, so it’s possible he got it while he was there. But he never told me anything about this wreath.”

“I inherited quite a lot of things from him and I just put this to one side for almost a decade and didn’t really think anything of it. Recently I decided I needed to sort through things and called in Duke’s (auctioneers) to have look at some of the items he’d passed on to me.”

Author: Gregory Pappas | Source: The Pappas Post [May 28, 2016]

Culture Minister Aristides Baltas decided that Athens will no longer claim the return of the Parthenon sculptures from the British Museum in fear that Greece might lose the legal battle.

Speaking to the parliamentary committee on educational issues, Baltas said, “We will not proceed with legal claims because we are at risk of losing the case.” The committee is working on a draft bill for the return of cultural artifacts that have been illegally removed from Greek soil.

Former culture minister Costas Tasoulas called the handling of the issue “unacceptable.” Tasoulas had made an effort to pursue the return of the Parthenon sculptures using the legal advice of a British law firm.

The British law firm gave the document of their counsel to the Greek Embassy in London which was forwarded to the ministry of culture. The ministry of culture ignored the counsel and refused to accept it.

It should be noted that the total cost of the legal advice came to 200,000 English pounds, an amount that was paid by a Greek living in London who preferred to remain anonymous.

The fact that Amal Clooney was part of the legal team that came to Athens, gave the issue great publicity and drew international sympathy for the Greek argument. In fact, Tasoulas said, at the time the issues was raised, three British lawmakers stated in British Parliament that the marbles should return to their place of origin.

Greece argued that the sculptures should return to Athens to “join” the remaining marbles in their natural habitat and be exhibited at the Acropolis Museum with the rest of the sculptures so that the world admires them as a whole.

Tasoulas said that Baltas’ decision is defeatist and presumes that Greece will lose the case in international courts when in fact the country has a solid argument and international support in its favor. He further said that the defeatist attitude enhances the argument of the opposite side.

Author: A. Makris | Source: Greek Reporter [December 09, 2015]

The 5th of October 2015 is the centenary of the start of the First World War’s Salonika Campaign, when a large Allied army arrived at the port of Thessaloniki (Salonika) in northern Greece.

The video below introduces both the Salonika Campaign and the British Salonika Force archaeological collection at the British Museum. The collection was formed as a result of trench digging and other military activity in Macedonia. The initial offensive in autumn 1915 failed and so British and French forces dug themselves into the rich archaeological landscape around Thessaloniki.

Various archaeological finds were gathered by both the British and French armies in temporary museums in Thessaloniki and after the end of the war they were despatched, apparently with the agreement of the Greek government, to London and Paris. Significant finds, such as the warrior’s grave on display in the British Museum, are described as well as the important personalities involved in the formation of the collection.

Archaeologists such as Professor Ernest Gardner, who had studied in Greece before the First World War, served in the army in intelligence roles but also found time to pursue their archaeological interests.

Source: The British Museum [October 05, 2015]

A large complex used for food preparation, distribution and storage facilities plus an “intriguing device” for keeping track of the 30-day lunar calendar were investigated during the latest excavations in the islet of Geronisos off Paphos.

The complex was built along the southern edge of the island during the final years of Ptolemaic-Egyptian rule on Cyprus, the antiquities department said.

It said that four weeks of excavations had just been completed with a focus on the complex used for food preparation, distribution and storage facilities built along the southern edge of the island.

The excavations were carried out by the New York University Geronisos Island Expedition under the direction of Joan Breton Connelly. An international team of senior staff members and students excavated within the island sanctuary of Apollo, just opposite Agios Georgios tis Pegeias.

The rubble of a wall with an associated plaster floor was unearthed, dated to the first century BC Excavations also revealed fine Hellenistic pottery deposited up against this wall, including a skyphos-bowl of “Koan-Knidian” type, produced in local materials. Eight Chalcolithic pounder stones, a mortar and flints found on the floor give evidence of Hellenistic reuse of Chalcolithic tools, the department said.

During the four weeks, Professor Jolanta Mlynarczyk of the University of Warsaw continued her study of Geronisos pottery, while Dr Mariusz Burdajewicz worked on his publication of the Geronisos glass finds.

Dr Alaria Bultrighini of University College London began her study of a rare stone parapegma unearthed on Geronisos, “an intriguing device” for keeping track of the 30-day lunar calendar. Dr Paul Croft of the Lemba Archaeological Field Station supervised excavations within the Central South Complex and continued his study of the Geronisos animal bones. Architect Richard Anderson undertook a 3-D digital survey of the island’s architectural remains the department said.

“The 2015 season included new and important work on the mainland opposite Geronisos where a surface survey was undertaken, stretching from Maniki Harbor at the south to the acropolis of Agios Georgios tis Pegeias at the north,” it added.

The relationship of Geronisos to the mainland settlement is now a major focus of the work, it said.

Geronisos, also known as ‘Holy Island’, due to its remoteness from the mainland has preserved its treasures. The 12,000 square metre rock, flourished during the late Hellenistic period and its soil has produced coins, pottery, glass objects, inscriptions and important architectural remains.

The New York University archaeological mission has suggested that the island appeared to have been devastated by an earthquake during approximately the 1st century B.C and life returned to the island again during the 6th century A.D, when a reservoir and animal shelters were constructed.

Source: Cyprus Mail [July 29, 2015]

The first-ever legal bid to force the UK to return the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece has been thrown out by the European Court of Human Rights.

The court ruled that because the alleged theft of the sculptures from the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple took place more than 150 years before the UK signed up to the human rights convention, it did not have the power to consider the lawsuit.

Campaigners for the return of the sculptures pointed out that the court had not made a ruling on the “merits of the case”.

The marbles were taken from the temple by the Earl of Elgin in the 1800s and he then sold them to the British Government in 1816 after running into financial difficulties.

At the time, Greece was occupied by the Ottoman Empire. Lord Elgin obtained a “firman”, a legal document, that apparently allowed him to take some stones but some believe it did not entitle him to cut sculptures from the building.

The marbles are regarded as some of the finest sculptures ever created and the Parthenon, built by the democratic Athenians after victory over the Persian Empire, is arguably the most important monument in Europe.

The Greek Government was given extensive legal advice from lawyers Amal Clooney and Geoffrey Robertson, but appears to have decided against taking Britain to court.

Instead, the case against the UK was brought by the >Athenians’ Association, a cultural group, after the British Government refused an offer last year by UNESCO to mediate between Greece and Britain.

The British Government and the British Museum, where about half the surviving Parthenon sculptures are on display, insist the Earl of Elgin acquired them legally.

>In its ruling, which was sent to the Athenian Association last month, the European court said: “The Court notes that the marbles were removed from Greece in the early 19th century.

“In order to bring the matter within the temporal jurisdiction of the Court, the applicant has sought to rely on the refusal of the United Kingdom to enter into mediation with Greece concerning the return of the marbles and the continuing refusal to return the marbles.

“However, it is clear from the nature of the applicant’s complaints that its underlying grievance is the allegedly unlawful removal of the marbles from Greece. The removal having occurred some 150 years before the Convention was drafted and ratified by the respondent state, the applicant’s complaints would appear to be inadmissible.”

The judges also said the Athenians’ Association did not have “any right … to have the marbles returned to Greece”.

The Athenians’ Association’s legal representative, Vassilis Sotiropoulos, said the case was a “first step”.

He claimed the judgement could actually help the Greek Government take legal action in the future.

“Globally, this first statement of the European Court, historically the first court judgement, on the subject of the Parthenon Marbles highlights the points that Greece should focus on with particular attention in her recourse against the United Kingdom,” Mr Sotiropoulos said.

“This decision leaves open the possibility of a recourse submitted by Greece being proclaimed admissible, thus also indirectly offering precious expertise on how to handle the case henceforth.”

Andrew George, of the British Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, said the ruling did not affect the arguments in favour of sending the sculptures back.

“We’ve learned nothing from this. There’s been no test of the merits of the case, just that this is not the arena to resolve the justice or otherwise of the case,” he said.

“The UK Parliament effectively state-sanctioned the improper acquisition of the sculptures exactly 200 years ago this year.

“But this doesn’t make it a cause of pride for the British, nor does it make the act nor their continued retention either ethical or just.”

On 10 July, a cross-party group of MPs launched a >Bill to return the sculptures to Athens, where the Acropolis Museum was built specifically to house them within sight of the Parthenon.

The British Museum argues that it “tells the story of cultural achievement throughout the world, from the dawn of human history over two million years ago until the present day”.

“The Parthenon Sculptures are a vital element in this interconnected world collection. They are a part of the world’s shared heritage and transcend political boundaries,” it says.

“The Acropolis Museum allows the Parthenon sculptures that are in Athens (approximately half of what survive from antiquity) to be appreciated against the backdrop of ancient Greek and Athenian history. The Parthenon sculptures in London are an important representation of ancient Athenian civilisation in the context of world history.”

Author: Ian Johnston | Source: Telegraph [July 20, 2016]